Teatre Principal

Teatre Principal is the oldest surviving theatre in Sabadell, a Catalan city just outside Barcelona. Standing in the historic heart of the city, it has served as a landmark of Sabadell's bourgeois cultural life for more than a century and a half.

Where did this theatre come from?

The building went up between 1863 and 1865 on the site of the earlier Teatro de la Vila, a venue dating back to 1839 that had grown too dilapidated to keep hosting audiences. The push for a new theatre came from Sabadell's rising merchant elite, gathered around the Casino dels Senyors and the Cercle Sabadellès, a society founded in 1856. This circle wanted a stage of its own, one that matched the ambitions of the city's newly prosperous class.

The design was entrusted to architect Francesc Daniel Molina, who took Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu, opened in 1847, as his model. That choice was no accident: the Liceu was regarded at the time as the reference point for Italian-style theatre architecture, and it matched exactly what Sabadell's investors had in mind.

What does the interior look like?

The auditorium follows the classic horseshoe layout typical of Italian theatres. It is arranged over a stalls floor (platea), two tiers of boxes, and a top level known locally as the "galliner," a gallery originally set aside for less affluent spectators. The layout allowed audiences from different social backgrounds to attend the same performances while keeping a clear division of seating by status.

The interior decoration was handled by artists brought in from Barcelona. Painter and set designer Marià Carreras Vila, who had already worked on productions for the Liceu and the Odeon theatre in Barcelona, was responsible for the hall's decorative scheme, with Joan Ballester also contributing to the work. The stage itself was designed by Joaquim Mansió, another figure with ties to the Liceu — giving Teatre Principal technical facilities on par with the region's largest theatres from the very start.

What about the restoration?

After decades of use, the building needed thorough renovation. Restoration works began in March 2003 under architects Lluís Dilmé and Xavier Fabré. The same pair had previously worked on rebuilding the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona after its fire, and their involvement in Sabadell underlines the continuity between the two theatres that stretches back to Molina's original 19th-century design.

How do you get there?

Teatre Principal sits in central Sabadell, a city well connected to Barcelona by regional rail and main roads. Its location right in the old town makes it easy to combine a visit with a walk through the surrounding historic streets.

Frequently asked questions

Is Teatre Principal the oldest theatre in Sabadell? Yes. It was the city's second theatre, but the first one, the 1839 Teatro de la Vila, no longer exists. That makes Teatre Principal the oldest surviving theatre building in Sabadell.

Who designed the building? Architect Francesc Daniel Molina designed it, modeling the project on Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Has the building been renovated? Yes, a major restoration began in March 2003, led by architects Lluís Dilmé and Xavier Fabré, who also worked on the Liceu's recovery.

What is the seating layout like? The auditorium has a horseshoe shape typical of Italian theatres, with a stalls floor, two tiers of boxes, and a top-level gallery called the "galliner."