Antonio José Fernandes Júnior, a local legislator, proposed the opera house in 1881. A Lisbon firm's plan was chosen in a competition, and the infobox lists Celestial Sacardim as architect. Construction started in 1884 and was slow, with stops from 1885 to 1892. The theater was inaugurated on December 31, 1896.
The infobox gives the style as Renaissance Revival. Materials were imported, with roofing tiles from Alsace, steel walls from Glasgow and Carrara marble from Italy. The dome is covered with 36,000 decorated ceramic tiles in the colors of Brazil's flag. It has 198 chandeliers from Italy.
Seating totals 701. The first performance, on January 7, 1897, was Ponchielli's La Gioconda. The theater is home to the Amazonas Philharmonic and the Festival Amazonas de Ópera, and it was listed in Brazil's national heritage in 1966. The article gives no visiting details.
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