Teatro Nacional de São Carlos

The Teatro Nacional de São Carlos (Portuguese pronunciation: [tiˈatɾu nɐsiuˈnaɫ dɨ sɐ̃w̃ ˈkaɾluʃ]) (National Theatre of Saint Charles) is an opera house in Lisbon, Portugal. It was opened on July 30, 1793 by Queen Maria I as a replacement for the Tejo Opera House, which was destroyed in the 1755 Lisbon earthquake. The theatre is located in the historical center of Lisbon, in the Chiado district.

In 1792, a group of Lisbon businessmen decided to finance the construction of a new Opera House in the city. The theatre was built in only six months following a design by Portuguese architect José da Costa e Silva, with neoclassical and rococo elements. The general project is clearly inspired by great Italian theatres like the San Carlo of Naples (interior) and La Scala in Milan (interior and façade). In the early 19th century, when the Portuguese Royal Court had to flee to the Portuguese colony of Brazil to escape the invading Napoleonic troops, a theatre modelled on the São Carlos was built in Rio de Janeiro.

The main façade has a decorated clock, the Portuguese coats-of-arms and an arched entrance hall (a portico). The theatre was named after the Princess Charlotte of Spain, who had come to Portugal in 1790 to marry the future King, Prince John: Carlos (Portuguese form of Charles) is the masculine form of Charlotte. A Latin commemorative inscription dedicates the theatre to the princess.

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