Guangzhou Opera House
广州大剧院
Map
General information
StatusCompleted
Architectural styleDeconstructivism
LocationGuangzhou, People's Republic of China
Coordinates23°6′55″N 113°19′22″E / 23.11528°N 113.32278°E / 23.11528; 113.32278
GroundbreakingJanuary 2005[1]
InauguratedMay 9, 2010
Cost1.38 billion yuan (approx. US$200 million)
Technical details
Floor areaapprox. 71000 m2
Design and construction
Architect(s)Zaha Hadid
Other information
Seating capacity1804 (Opera Hall)
Website
www.gzdjy.org

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 on 9 May in 2010.

History

Guangzhou Opera House in Zhujiang New Town

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.[4] 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.[5]

The project cost 1.38 billion yuan (approx. US$200 million).[6][7]

Design

The structure was designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid.[8] It is conceived as two rocks washed away by the Pearl River.[9] 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."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Guangzhou Opera House in China by Zaha Hadid Architects", March 3, 2011, Sanjay Ganga
  2. ^ Rem Koolhaas proposal Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine, OMA.eu
  3. ^ "Zaha Hadid and Guangzhou Opera House", Episode II, CCTV.Com
  4. ^ Ouroussoff, Nicolai (5 July 2011). "Chinese Gem That Elevates Its Setting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. ^ "...banned until the end of the 20th century...Turandot was perceived as an insult to China and its people." Archived 7 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine, Metropolitan Opera, NY website
  6. ^ "Cost: 1.38 Billion RMB" Archived 2011-03-25 at the Wayback Machine, designlike.com
  7. ^ "Designs that make impossible possible", Yu Tianyu, China Daily, 2011-03-17
  8. ^ Newsgd.com. "Newsgd.com." Guangzhou starts opera house. Retrieved on 2010-02-24.
  9. ^ "Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou — China - Meet Me At The Opera". Meet Me At The Opera. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  10. ^ Glancey, Jonathan (28 February 2011). "Move over, Sydney: Zaha Hadid's Guangzhou Opera House". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 January 2022.

External links

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