National Centre for the Performing Arts (China)
The National Centre for the Performing Arts (Chinese: 国家大剧院), formerly known as the National Grand Theatre[1], and The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, China. It opened in June 2007. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu with initial planned cost of ¥ 2.688 billion CNY to build.[2] The theatre seats 6,500 people and is 200,000 m² in size.
Location
The location, immediately to the west of the Great Hall of the People and near the Forbidden City, wasn't a popular choice among locals. Some also believe the overall design is too modern. Paul Andreu countered that although there is indeed value in ancient traditional Chinese architecture, Beijing must also include modern architecture, as the capital of the country and an international city of great importance. His design, with large open space, water, trees, was specially designed to complement the red walls of ancient buildings and the Great Hall of the People, in order to melt into the surroundings as opposed to standing out against them. Still, many locals believe that the contrast between the building and its immediate environment is still too great.
Structure
The exterior of the theater is a titanium accented glass dome that is completely surrounded by a man-made lake. It is said to look like an egg floating on water. Guests arrive in the building after walking through a hallway that goes underneath the lake. It was designed as an iconic feature, something that would be immediately recognizable, like the Sydney Opera House.
Internally, there are three major performance halls: there are a total of 2,416 seats in the Opera Hall for operas, ballet, and dances, and there are a total of 2,017 seats in the Music Hall. There is a total of 1,040 seats in the Theater Hall for the plays and Beijing opera.
Cost
When the construction had completed, the total cost was increased from the original planned ¥ 2.688 billion CNY to more than ¥ 3.2 billion CNY, a nearly 24% increase. The major cause of the cost increase was a delay for reevaluation and subsequent minor changes as the precaution after a Paris airport terminal building collapsed. The cost has been a major source of controversy because many believed that it is nearly impossible to recover the investment. When the cost is averaged out, each seat is worth about ¥ half a million CNY. The Chinese government answered that the theater is a not for profit venture.
The government sanctioned study completed in 2004 by the Research Academy of Economic & Social Development of Northeast University of Finance and Economics, of the upkeep costs of the building were publicized in domestic Chinese media:
The water and electricity bills and the cleaning cost for the external surface would be at least tens of millions CNY, and with other maintenance cost, the total could easily exceed one billion CNY. Therefore, at least 80% of the annual operational costs must be subsidized by the government for at least the first three years after the opening, and for the rest of its operational life, at least 60% of the annual operational cost must be subsidized by the government.
The director of art committee of the National Grand Theater and the standing committee member of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Mr. Wu Zuqiang (吴祖强) and the publicist / deputy director of the National Grand Theater Mr. Deng Yijiang (邓一江) have announced that 70% of the of the tickets would be sold at low price for ordinary citizens, while 10% of the tickets would be sold at relatively expensive prices for separate market segments, and the 60% of annual operational cost needed to be subsidized by the government would be shared with the central government and the Beijing municipal government.
In September, 2007, there was huge debate over the practice when the National Centre offered 200 tickets costing from ¥ 10 to ¥ 20 CNY for customers to stand inside instead of being seated.
References
External links
- Official website
- Slideshow from the Guardian Unlimited
39°54′12″N 116°23′1″E / 39.90333°N 116.38361°E
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