Guangzhou Opera House
| Guangzhou Opera House | |
|---|---|
广州大剧院 | |
 | |
 | |
| General information | |
| Status | Completed |
| Location | Guangzhou, People's Republic of China |
| Coordinates | 23°6′55″N 113°19′22″E / 23.11528°N 113.32278°E |
| Groundbreaking | January 2005[1] |
| Inaugurated | May 9, 2010 |
| Cost | 1.38 billion yuan (approx. US$200 million) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Zaha Hadid |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1804 (Opera Hall) |
Guangzhou Opera House (simplified Chinese: 广州大剧院; traditional Chinese: 廣州大劇院; pinyin: Guǎngzhōu dajùyuàn; Jyutping: Gwong2 zau1 daai6 kek6 jyun2) is a Chinese opera house in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, People's Republic of China. Designed by Zaha Hadid, it opened in 2010.
History
In April 2002 an international architectural competition attracted Coop Himmelb(l)au, Rem Koolhaas and Zaha Hadid – each producing detailed designs.[2][3] In November 2002, Zaha Hadid's "double pebble" was announced the winner and the groundbreaking ceremony was held early in 2005.[1]
The theatre has become the biggest performing centre in southern China and is one of the three biggest theatres in the nation alongside Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts and Shanghai's Shanghai Grand Theatre. May 2010 saw American filmmaker Shahar Stroh direct the premiere production of the opera house: Puccini's opera Turandot[1] which had in previous years been a controversial opera in China.[4]
The project cost 1.38 billion yuan (approx. US$200 million).[5][6]
Design
The structure was designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid;[7] its freestanding concrete auditorium set within an exposed granite and glass-clad steel frame took over five years to build, and was praised upon opening by architectural critic Jonathan Glancey in The Guardian, who called it "at once highly theatrical and insistently subtle."[8] The dramatic structure was the source of inspiration behind fashion designer Vivienne Tam's fall '10 collection.
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Guangzhou Opera House in China by Zaha Hadid Architects", March 3, 2011, Sanjay Ganga
- ^ Rem Koolhaas proposal, OMA.eu
- ^ "Zaha Hadid and Guangzhou Opera House", Episode II, CCTV.Com
- ^ "...banned until the end of the 20th century...Turandot was perceived as an insult to China and its people.", Metropolitan Opera, NY website
- ^ "Cost: 1.38 Billion RMB", designlike.com
- ^ "Designs that make impossible possible", Yu Tianyu, China Daily, 2011-03-17
- ^ Newsgd.com. "Newsgd.com." Guangzhou starts opera house. Retrieved on 2010-02-24.
- ^ guardian.co.uk Move over, Sydney: Zaha Hadid's Guangzhou Opera House., guardian.co.uk, Retrieved on 2011-03-03
External links
