Madrid has had its fair share of cultural icons - Surrealist genius Salvador Dali lived in the city as a student, as did film-maker Luis Bunuel and Ernest Hemingway hung around for a while to write his masterpieces. Today, Madrid's cultural temperature is still high. With a distinctive dancing style (
chotis) and music (
zarzuela) of its own, as well as the best Spanish performers and directors, a gem of an opera house, cinemas like palaces, and year-long festivities, Madrid's cultural scene is best described as 'exuberant'.
Ticket prices for cultural events vary from about EUR5 to EUR21, with discounts on certain days (dia del espectador) - usually Wednesday and early Sunday performances. While most hotels can book tickets, they will charge for the service. It is cheaper to book directly at the box offices, not all of which accept credit cards. Advance bookings can also be made at savings banks - for example, Cajamadrid (tel: (902) 488 488). Tickets for sold-out performances may be purchased (at a price) at Localidades Galicia, Plaza del Carmen (tel: (91) 531 2732). Tickets for performances at the state-owned theatres (the Comedia, Maria Guerrero, Sala Olimpia, Teatro de la Zarzuela and Auditoria Nacional) are available from the box offices at each of the five venues.
The English-language monthly publication, In Madrid, and the Spanish weekly, Guia de Ocio, print listings on cultural events in and around the city.
Music
Madrid may have been a City of Culture in 1992 but at that time it was without a functioning opera house.
Nowadays, the Teatro Real, Plaza de Oriente (tel: (91) 516 0660), is one of the most modern opera houses in Europe.
The Teatro de la Zarzuela, Calle de Jovellanos 4 (tel: (91) 524 5400), is the major venue for zarzuela - a genre loosely comparable to Viennese operetta but encapsulating the idealised castizo (authenticity) of working-class Madrid. The zarzuela season runs from June to September. Performances - including classical music concerts by Madrid's finest classical outfit, Coro y Orquesta Sinfonica de Madrid - are also held at the Auditorio Nacional, Avenida Principe de Vergara, and outdoor (six weeks only) at La Corrala, Calle del Meson de Paredes 65. On Sunday lunchtimes, during the summer, concerts are held at the bandstand, Retiro Park.
Theatre
Madrid's dramatic tradition can be traced back to the Golden Age - classical playwrights Lope de Vega (1562-1635), Tirso de Molina (1584-1648) and Calderon de la Barca (1600-81) are still at the core of Madrid's programmes. The season runs from September to June - in summer, many performances are open-air, often part of the Veranos de la Villa festival. The Compania Nacional de Teatro Clasico, based in the Teatro de la Comedia, Calle Principe 14 (tel: (91) 521 4931), keeps the Spanish classics alive. International and contemporary Spanish drama is performed in the gracious Teatro Maria Guerrero, Calle Tamayo y Baus 4 (tel: (91) 319 4769), home to the Centro Dramatico Nacional. Twentieth-century drama and international classics are performed at the stunning Teatro Espanol, Calle Principe 25 (tel: (91) 429 0318), built in 1745, on the site of a theatre dating back to 1583. Since its opening in 1995, the Teatro de la Abadia, Calle Fernandez de los Rios (tel: (91) 448 1627), has met with great acclaim for its superb performances of international classics. A good introduction to alternative drama is provided by the Sala Triangulo, Calle Zurita 20 (tel: (91) 530 6891), which also hosts English productions by the ACT (American and Classical Theatre) and the Madrid Players. Most theatres are closed on Monday.
Dance
The Teatro Real, Plaza de Oriente (tel: (91) 516 0660), and Teatro de la Zarzuela, Calle de Jovellanos 4 (tel: (91) 524 5400), juggle Spanish and international dance, along with their commitment to music and opera.
Other venues include the Centro Cultural de la Villa, Jardines del Descubrimiento, Plaza de Colon (tel: (91) 575 6080), which regularly hosts seasons by visiting companies, and the modern Teatro de Madrid, Avenida de la Illustracion (tel: (91) 740 5274 or 730 1750). Ballet Nacional de Espana (National Ballet of Spain) performs Spanish dance to full houses at the Teatro Albeniz, Calle de la Paz 11 (tel: (91) 531 8311), during the Festival de Otono (Autumn Festival). Choreographer Nacho Duato has breathed new life into the Compania Nacional de Danza, who tour widely - their brief appearances in Madrid's principal venue, the Teatro Real, are hotly anticipated. Classical ballet is performed at the Teatro de Madrid and Albeniz by Victor Ullate's Ballet de la Comunidad de Madrid. Flamenco dance has risen in the last 20 years, from an outdated genre to a living passion. Traditional flamenco vies with nuevo flamenco (new flamenco) and both are enacted at numerous venues around the city. Madrid's talented flamenco dancers and musicians perform at the Festival Flamenco Cajamadrid in February or March.
Bullfighting
Bullfights in Madrid take place in the Las Ventas bullring, often referred to as the Mecca of bullfighting.
The season in Madrid is from March to October, with bullfights at Las Ventas every Sunday at 7:00 PM. During the Feria de San Isidro,
(from about mid-May to mid-June) and the Feria de Otoo (which begins toward the end of September) there are bullfights everyday, often with well known bullfighters. Tickets can be purchased at Las Ventas itself, with tickets going on sale two days before the bullfight.
Tickets can also be bought at a small outlet (indicated as such in English) on calle Victoria.
Las Ventas
Calle Alcala 237
Tel: 91 356 22 00
Metro: Ventas
Film
Spanish films are on the up and up. International stars like Antonio Banderas and Penelope Cruz made their reputations with Spain's leading director, Pedro Almodovar, who first claimed the world's attention with Women on the edge of a nervous breakdown (1988). All About My Mother (1999) won him the Best Director award at the 1999 Cannes film festival and Best Foreign Language Film at the 2000 Oscars. Filming on his latest movie, Hable con ella, started in June 2001. Another Spanish director, Alejandro Amenbar (actually a Chilean emigre) has also been in the news after his success at the Venice Film Festival with The Others (2001).
Madrilenos are great film-goers, especially on Sunday nights. Prior booking is not the norm, so queues are long. The most popular performances start at around 2200 and earlier screenings are less busy. Reduced tickets are available - usually on Monday or Wednesday (dia del espectador). Most cinemas are clustered around Calle Gran Via, including the vast Gran Via, Calle Gran Via 66 (tel: (902) 333 231), which has seating under sparkling chandeliers, for 1000 spectators. Films are usually dubbed Hollywood fare and homegrown products but screenings in English - marked as 'VO' (version original) in listings and local papers - are shown at the large multiplex Ideal Yelmo Complex, Calle Doctor Cortezo 6 (tel: (91) 369 2518). Arthouse cinema can be found at Cine Dore, Calle Santa Isabel 3 (tel: (91) 549 0011).
Cultural events: Each season brings a wave of festivities and parades, where religion, tradition or just sheer energy provides the impetus. Perhaps the most intriguing festival is Carnaval (Carnival), accompanying the traditional masked ball, Entierro de la Sardina (Burial of the Sardine), the week before Lent. In May, San Isidore is held in commemoration of Madrid's patron saint, with open-air dance performances, theatre productions, zarzuela, pop and rock concerts and sports competitions. The summertime (July to August) sees in Veranos de la Villa (Summer in the City), a season of theatre, dance, ballet, flamenco and concerts (pop and classical) featuring native and international performers. Autumn (October to November) in Madrid is just as lively, with Festival de Ontono (Autumn Festival), a host of cultural events (film, concerts and theatre), including a number of premiers in English and Spanish.
