Opera House Theatre, Blackpool

Opera House Theatre, Blackpool

Coordinates: 53°49′02″N 3°03′03″W / 53.8171°N 3.0509°W / 53.8171; -3.0509

Opera House Theatre
The Church Street fontage of the Winter Gardens, with the Opera House theatre entrance to the left
Opera House theatre entrance
Address 97 Church Street
City Blackpool
Country England
Designation Listed Building Grade II*
Owned by Blackpool Council
Operated by Crown Leisure Ltd.
Capacity 2,920
Type Provincial
Opened 1889
Rebuilt 1910, 1939
Previous names Her Majesty’s Opera House

The Opera House Theatre is a 2,920 capacity theatre in Blackpool Lancashire, England.[1] It is located within the Winter Gardens, a large entertainment complex in the town centre and originally opened in 1889, although it has been rebuilt twice, in 1910 and 1939.[2]

As part of the Winter Gardens, the theatre is a Grade II* Listed Building.[3] It is operated by Crown Leisure Ltd, on behalf of Blackpool Council, who purchased the property from Leisure Parcs Ltd as part of a £40 million deal in 2010.[4]

Contents

History

The Opera House Theatre is one of the largest theatres in the United Kingdom. The present theatre is the third one to have been built on the site.[2]

The original building, completed in 1889, at a cost of £9,098 was designed by the prolific theatre architect Frank Matcham, who also designed the nearby Grand Theatre and the Tower Ballroom. It had 2,500 seats, and was named Her Majesty’s Opera House. The first performance at the theatre was Gilbert and Sullivan’s new Savoy opera, The Yeomen of the Guard on 10 June 1889.[2]

The theatre was soon deemed too small and in November 1910 was closed for reconstruction. The new and larger building, by architects Mangnall and Littlewood, formally opened just nine months later. However, in 1938 the second Opera House was demolished and the present 3,000 seat theatre opened in 1939. It was designed in a modernist style with a sweepingly curved proscenium. A Wurlitzer organ was installed to the design of Horace Finch and he and Reginald Dixon played on the opening night. It was the last new Wurlitzer organ to be installed in the UK and it is still in regular use today. The new Opera House was opened on 14 July 1939 by actress Jessie Matthews and her husband, actor and director Sonnie Hale. The first performance followed - the revue Turned Out Nice Again, starring George Formby.[2]

The first Royal Variety Performance to be held outside London was staged at the Opera House on 13 April 1955. Compèred by Jack Hylton and held in the presence of the HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. Performers included Arthur Askey, Morecambe and Wise, The Crazy Gang, Reginald Dixon at the Wurlitzer organ, Joan Regan, Alma Cogan, George Formby, Beryl Grey, John Field, Flanagan and Allen and Charlie Cairoli.

On 7 December 2009 the 81st Royal Variety Performance was again staged at the theatre in the presence of The Queen, and compèred by Peter Kay. The performers included Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Alexandra Burke, Diversity, Hal Cruttenden, Miley Cyrus, Whoopi Goldberg, Adam Hills, Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe, Les 7 Doights de la Main, Katherine Jenkins, Jason Manford, Pilobolus Dancers, Mika, Bette Midler, Andre Rieu, Faryl Smith, Paul Zerdin - Also the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, the cast of Sister Act the Musical, with Whoopi Goldberg and the cast of Here Come the Girls; Anastacia, Lulu and Chaka Khan.[5]

The Opera House Theatre hosts many theatrical performances in addition to variety shows and music concerts.

Capacity

Current capacity is 2,920 consisting of 1,504 stall seats, 654 balcony seats and 762 seats in the circle.[1]

References

Further reading

  • Crabtree, Bernard; Band, Charles Barry (28 November 2003). That Was Showbiz!. Barry Band. ISBN 1898413118. 

External links


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Blackpool Grand Theatre — is probably the oldest and best known theatre in the town of Blackpool, England. Since 2006, the theatre is also now known as the National Theatre of Variety.HistoryThe Grand was designed by the famous Victorian theatre architect Frank Matcham… …   Wikipedia

  • Blackpool — For other uses, see Blackpool (disambiguation). Borough of Blackpool   Town, Borough Unitary authority   …   Wikipedia

  • Theatre Museum — Coordinates: 51°30′43″N 0°7′16″W / 51.51194°N 0.12111°W / 51.51194; 0.12111 The Theatre Museum in the …   Wikipedia

  • Theatre organ — Console of the 3/13 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ at Ann Arbor s Michigan Theatre A theatre organ (also known as a cinema organ) is a pipe organ originally designed specifically for imitation of an orchestra. New designs have tended to be around some …   Wikipedia

  • Winter Gardens, Blackpool — The Winter Gardens is a large complex of theatres and conference facilities in the town centre of Blackpool, England. The site was opened in 1878 but a large part of the current building is relatively recent, dating back to the 1930s. The Winter… …   Wikipedia

  • New Theatre Royal — Coordinates: 50°47′47″N 1°05′36″W / 50.7965°N 1.0932°W / 50.7965; 1.0932 …   Wikipedia

  • What Will The Neighbours Say:Live From Hammersmith Apollo — What Will the Neighbours Say? Live in Concert концерт Girls Aloud Дата выпуска 7.11.2005 Записан 28 29 мая 2005 Hammersmith Apollo Жанр живой звук, поп Длительность 175 минут …   Википедия

  • List of historic buildings and architects of the United Kingdom — The Historic buildings of the United Kingdom date from the stone age to the twenty first century AD, and tell the story of the architecture of the United Kingdom.See also: List of British architects Pre Historic buildings structures Roman… …   Wikipedia

  • Hayley Tamaddon — Infobox actor name = Hayley Tamaddon imagesize =220px caption = Hayley Tamaddon birthdate = birth date and age|1982|1|24 location = flagicon|England Bispham, Blackpool, Lancashire, England height = deathdate = deathplace = birthname = othername …   Wikipedia

  • Jodie Prenger — Infobox actor name = Jodie Prenger imagesize = 150px caption = birthname = Jodie Prenger birthdate = birth date and age|1979|6|12|df=yes birthplace = Blackpool, Lancashire, England othername = occupation = Actress, Singer yearsactive = 2006… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”