The María Guerrero Theater (formerly called Teatro de la Princesa) is a public theater, designed by Agustín Ortiz de Villajos, is located in Madrid, Community of Madrid, Spain.
It belongs to the Ministry of Culture of Spain, and within that to the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM). Together with the Valle-Inclán theater, it is the headquarters of the Centro Dramático Nacional (CDN), the name of the national theater of Spain.
History
Driven by the Marquis of Monasterio, Alfonso Osorio de Moscoso (1857-1901), who ordered the construction of the building, it was inaugurated on October 15, 1885 with the name of Teatro de la Princesa. The comedy Muérete y verás, by Bretón de los Herreros, and the farce El corral de comedias, by Tomás Luceño, were performed, with the premiere being attended by Maria Christina of Austria and the dethroned Isabella II. The Marquis’s objective was to create a select venue, in which there were no cheap seats, which excluded the most rowdy part of the public. But the death of King Alfonso XII a few weeks later brought mourning to the court and financial difficulties to the theatre.
Between the summer of 2000 and June 2003, major renovation work was carried out on the building’s structure, which had been damaged by a termite infestation, the stage machinery and the stalls were renovated, and architectural elements that had been lost during previous renovations were restored. Taking advantage of the works, the old and popular café in the basement was transformed into a second space, the Sala de la Princesa, named after the theatre’s first name. With a capacity for 80 spectators, it is used to stage small-scale shows.
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