- Four Seasons Centre
The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat
theatre inToronto ,Ontario ,Canada which had its grand opening Wednesday, June 14, 2006.The venue is the new home of the
Canadian Opera Company (COC) and theNational Ballet of Canada , replacing theSony Centre for the Performing Arts (Hummingbird Centre). The inaugural production in the new opera house wasRichard Wagner ’s epictetralogy "Der Ring des Nibelungen " ("The Ring of the Nibelung"), attended by Governor GeneralMichaëlle Jean , as well as numerous other Canadian luminaries. Three complete Ring Cycles were performed in September 2006.A substantial donation from the Four Seasons hotel chain gave them naming rights to the complex.
Location
The new theatre is at the southeast corner of University Avenue and
Queen Street West , across fromOsgoode Hall . The land on which it is located was a gift from theGovernment of Ontario . It was a former location of the offices of theSupreme Court of Ontario and is valued at C$31 million.The Osgoode subway station and the Queen Street streetcar line serve this location.
Design and construction
The COC organized a competition to select an
architect for the new theatre. Ten firms of architects submitted their proposals, from which CanadianDiamond and Schmitt Architects was selected as the winner for its modernist design.The auditorium is modelled after
Europe anopera house s, with its five-tiered, horseshoe-shaped auditorium. Collaborating with Diamond Schmitt, New York-based theatre planning and design specialists [http://www.fda-online.com/ Fisher Dachs Associates] designed the room’s geometry and seating configuration to bring every seat as close to the stage as possible, maximizing a sense of intimacy between audience members and the performers. Every seat was computer-modeled in 3D to insure the best possible sightlines.The COC and its design team attempted to create the best natural acoustics possible, guided by acoustician Bob Essert of [http://www.soundspacedesign.co.uk/ Sound Space Design] and a team that included [http://www.aercoustics.com/ Aercoustics Engineering] , [http://www.wiai.com/ Wilson Ihrig & Associates] and [http://www.engineeringharmonics.com/ Engineering Harmonics] .
The complex took three years to construct at an estimated cost of $181 million.
ee also
*Grand Opera House, Toronto's premiere concert hall in the 19th century
External links
* [http://www.coc.ca/ Canadian Opera Company official website]
* [http://www.fourseasonscentre.ca Four Seasons Centre official website]
* [http://www.fourseasonscentre.ca/gallery/construction.htm Review construction progress]
* [http://www.aercoustics.com/ Aercoustics Engineering Limited]
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