Opera in the Amazons

The Amazon rain forest. The name itself draws images of an impassable expanse of towering trees, dangerous and exotic animals and plants and Native Americans who continue to live in the same way their ancestors did before 1492. At the heart of the Amazons sits Manaus. Manaus is a huge city, almost 2 million people and a center of tourism and industrial power. If come to Manaus expecting to find a small city lost in the Amazons, you will be very mistaken. Shopping centers, banks and skyscrapers are just as common here as any other city in Brazil.
In the middle of the city you will find an opera house. The Amazonas Teatro was finished in 1896 and was constructed with materials from all over the world that were shipped up the Amazon river to reach Manaus. It is really an amazing piece of architecture and design that is used to show the story of the area with European and native influence.

After taking a tour of this amazing building we were able to return in the evening to attend an opera concert. It was the pinnacle of globalization:South Koreans that live in the US (New York) that were signing in Italian/German in Brazil.  It was a wonderful concert and the singing was amazing.
Tomorrow we head out into the rain forest, so after an hour boat ride we should be there. Sorry for the poor quality of photos of the opera house, my camera doesn't work so great at night.