Manila Grand Opera House

Manila Grand Opera House

H.T. Hashim’s National Cycle Track (before 1890) Teatro Nacional (1890–1902)
Address	925 Rizal Avenue corner Doroteo Jose Street Manila Philippines
Type	Opera house
Construction
Opened	Mid-19th century
Demolished	1970s

The Manila Grand Opera House (Filipino: Marangal na Bahay-Opera ng Maynila, abbreviated MGOH) was a theater and opera house located in the district of Santa Cruz in Manila on the intersection of Rizal Avenue and Doroteo Jose Street. It was the Philippines' premiere entertainment venue during the Spanish and American colonial periods and the most popular theater in the 1900s.^[1][2] It was also the site of historically significant political meetings.^[1] It could entertain crowds of more than 200 people.^[1]

It hosted performances by musicians Katy de la Cruz, Bobby Gonzales, Diomedes Maturan, Sylvia La Torre, Pilita Corrales, Elizabeth Ramsey, Bayani Casimiro, the Reycards Duet, and comedy acts Bentot, Chiquito, Lupito, and Pugo and Tugo and Tugak.^[1][2] Plays directed by Lamberto Avellana and Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero were also performed here.^[1]

First built in the mid-19th century as a circular wooden structure with a nipa roof known as the H.T. Hashim's National Cycle Track, the complex served as the center of Philippine culture and the primary theater for the viewing of plays, movies and zarzuelas in Manila prior to the construction of the Cultural Center of the Philippines in the 1960s.

The complex had undergone several incarnations and name changes before being demolished. A hotel has since been constructed on the site on where the theater once stood.