Grand Theatre, Leeds

Grand Theatre

Grand Theatre
Address	46 New Briggate Leeds, LS1 6NZ Leeds England
Owner	Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House Ltd Registered charity 500408
Designation	listed building Grade II*
Type	Visiting productions Home of Opera North
Capacity	1550
Construction
Opened	1878
Architect	George Corson
Website
www.leedsgrandtheatre.com

The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theatre and opera house in the centre of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was designed by James Robinson Watson, chief assistant in the office of Leeds-based architect George Corson, and opened on 18 November 1878. The exterior is in a mixture of Romanesque and Scottish baronial styles, and the interior has such Gothic motifs as fan-vaulting and clustered columns. The theatre is a Grade II* listed building. It seats approximately 1,500 people.

The theatre is home to Opera North and is regularly visited by Northern Ballet. It has hosted many touring productions, musical artists and comedians.

The theatre closed at the end of May 2005 for a major refurbishment, transformation, and it reopened on 7 October 2006 with a production of Verdi's Rigoletto. The Stalls area was completely re-seated and re-raked, the orchestra-pit enlarged, air-conditioning installed, backstage technical facilities dramatically improved, and Opera North now has an Opera Centre to the south of the theatre, accessible via a bridge and at street-level, which includes two new stage-sized rehearsal spaces and increased office space. The cost of the refurbishment has been estimated at £31.5 million.

A second phase of transformation included structural improvements and further refurbishment of the theatre and the restoration of the Assembly Rooms, a forgotten area on the first floor of the building that opened in 1879 and functioned as the Plaza Cinema between 1912 and 1978 and then as a rehearsal room for Opera North. With restoration now complete, the theatre has a second performance space, the Howard Assembly Room, which is used for recitals, concerts, chamber operas, experimental and educational work and other events for which the main theatre is unsuitable.

Since the "transformation" at the theatre, particularly after a state-of-the-art automated flying system was introduced, the theatre has been more able to host larger West End Musicals and plays.

Productions at the theatre have included: The Phantom Of The Opera, Dirty Dancing, Shrek The Musical, Oliver, We Will Rock You and Wicked.

References

Sources

• Linstrum, Derek (1978). West Yorkshire Architects and Architecture. Lund Humphries Publishers. ISBN 0-85331-410-1.
• Lennon, Patricia; Joy, David (2006). Grand Memories: The Life and Times of the Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds. Ilkley: Great Northern Books. ISBN 1-905080-20-4.

External links

• Grand Theatre website
• Howard Assembly Room website
• Leeds City Council page on the theatre
• Historic England. "Details from listed building database ({{{num}}})". National Heritage List for England.
• Historic England. "Monument No. 53018". Research records (formerly PastScape).
• Charity Commission record