18 Must Visit Classical Music Venues

EMust Visit CLASSICAL MUSIC VENUES Sydney Opera House ARCHITECT Jørn Utzon, Ove Arup WHERE? OPENED CAPACITY Sydney, Australia 1973 5,738 DID YOU KNOW? Sydney Opera House is known as one of the world's most iconic building, the design of Sydney Opera House was won in a competition out of 233 entries, by Jørn Utzon after he saw the competition in a Swedish architectural magazine. sydneyoperahouse.com Boston Symphony Hall WHERE? OPENED Boston, Massachusetts, USA 1900 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Wallace Clement Sabine 2,625 DID YOU KNOW? Modelled on the second Gewandhaus concert hall in Leipzig, which was later destroyed in World War II. The first concert hall ever built on scientifically derived acoustical engineering. The hall has a 1.9 second reverberation time which is considered ideal for orchestral performances. www.bso.org Vienna State Opera ARCHITECT August Sicard von Sicardsburg, Eduard van der Nüll WHERE? OPENED CAPACITY Vienna, Austria 2,100 Initially opened in 1869 then re-opened 1955 DID YOU KNOW? Destroyed by fire and bombs during World War II. Gustav Mahler was the director of the Vienna State Opera from 1897 - 1907. wiener-staatsoper.at Carnegie Hall WHERE? OPENED New York City, USA 1891 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Andrew Carnegie, 3,671 William Tuthill DID YOU KNOW? A pedestrian reportedly stopped violinist Jascha Heifetz and asked him how to get to Carnegie Hall. Heifetz replied: "Practice!" carnegiehall.org Metropolitan Opera House WHERE? OPENED New York City, USA 1966 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Wallace Harrison 3,800 DID YOU KNOW? Known as 'The Met', opened 16 September 1966 with the world premiere of Barber's opera, 'Antony and Cleopatra'. It's part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. metopera.org Sage Gateshead WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Gateshead / Newcastle, UK 2004 Norman Foster & Spencer de Grey 2,240 of 'Foster • Partners' DID YOU KNOW? The resident orchestra at Sage Gateshead is Royal Northern Sinfonia. Classical musicians including Mitsuko Uchida and Emma Kirby have performed here. The acoustics in Hall One rival the likes of the Großer Saal of Vienna's legendary Musikverein and Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. sagegateshead.com La Scala WHERE? OPENED Milan, Italy 1778 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Giuseppe Piermarini, Mario Botta 2,800 DID YOU KNOW? Conductors include Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim. Verdi's opera, "Nabucco' and Puccini's 'Turandot' and 'Madame Butterfly' premiered here. teatroalascala.org Wiener Musikverein WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Vienna, Austria 1870 Theophil Hansen 2,854 DID YOU KNOW? Along with the Boston Symphony Hall, Vienna's Musikverein is considered one of the best concert halls in the world. The annual Vienna New Year's Concert is held here. musikverein.at Royal Albert Hall WHERE? OPENED London, UK 1871 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Francis Fowke, 5,272 Henry Young Darracott Scott DID YOU KNOW? Opened by Queen Victoria in 1871, initial acoustic problems in the hall have been solved by large discs suspended from the ceiling. royalalberthall.com Concertgebouw WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Amsterdam, Netherlands 1888 Adolf Leonard van Gendt 2,561 DID YOU KNOW? Opened on 11 April 1888 with a concert of Wagner, Handel, Bach and Beethoven. concertgebouw.nl Mariinsky Theatre WHERE? OPENED St Petersburg, Russia 1860 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Alberto Cavos 1,625 DID YOU KNOW? Mussorgsky's 'Boris Godunov' was first performed there in 1874 and the revised version of Prokofiev's ballet 'Romeo and Juliet' was first seen in 1940. mariinsky.ru Palais Garnier (Opéra de Paris) WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Paris, France 1861 Charles Garnier 1,971 DID YOU KNOW? The Palais Garnier was the primary home of the Paris Opera until 1989. The theatre was inaugurated in 1875, when music could be heard from classic operas including Rossini's 'William Tell' and Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots'. operadeparis.fr Walt Disney Concert Hall WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Los Angeles, USA 2003 Frank Gehry 2,265 DID YOU KNOW? Part of the Los Angeles Music Center. Designed by prize-winning architect, Frank Gehry, the opera house is one of the most acoustically accurate concert halls in the world. laphil.com Bayreuth Festspielhaus WHERE? OPENED Bayreuth, Germany 1876 ARCHITECT Gottfried Semper, Richard Wagner CAPACITY 1,925 DID YOU KNOW? Dedicated solely to performing operas by Richard Wagner, this opera house is the venue for the annual Bayreuth Festival. bayreuther-festspiele.de Hungarian State Opera House WHERE? OPENED Budapest, Hungary 1884 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Miklós Ybl 1,261 DID YOU KNOW? Although the auditorium has a capacity of 1,261 it has the third best acoustics in Europe after La Scala in Milan and the Palais Garnier in Paris. opera.hu Shanghai Oriental Art Center WHERE? Shanghai OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY 2004 Paul Andreu 3,301 DID YOU KNOW? Located in the centre of Pudong District, the concert hall is equipped with an 88 diapasons 5-layer hand controlled keyboard pipe organ which is the biggest pipe organ in China. shoac.com.cn Arena di Verona WHERE? OPENED ARCHITECT CAPACITY Verona, Italy 30 AD Unknown Circa 22,000 DID YOU KNOW? The Arena di Verona was built around 30 AD and is amongst the best preserved amphitheatres of the Roman period. arena.it Berlin Philharmonic WHERE? OPENED Berlin, Germany 1963 ARCHITECT CAPACITY Hans Scharoun 3,620 DID YOU KNOW? Designed by Hans Scharoun, Berlin's golden Philharmonie opened in October 1963 with a concert by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. berliner-philharmoniker.de Sources http://www.classicfm.com/pictures/more-pictures/worlds-best-classical-music-venues/ http://classicalmusic.about.com/od/concerthallsvenues/ss/bestconcerthall.htm http://www.classictic.com/en/top-venue/ Sage Gateshead http://en.wikipedia.org/ http://blog.kenkaminesky.com/2013/04/02/hungarian-state-opera-house/ www.sagegateshead.com