Cardiff Bay Opera House

Cardiff Bay Opera House was an ill-fated project in the 1990s in Cardiff, Wales, conceived as a crucial part of the Cardiff Bay redevelopment project, one aim being the creation of a new home for the Welsh National Opera company, which was then based in the New Theatre in Cardiff.

The plan, supported by the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation, was to construct a permanent home for Welsh National Opera.cite web |url= http://americanairlines.wcities.com/en/guide/entertainment/7/guide.html |publisher=American Airlines |title= Entertainment |accessdate=2008-04-12] An international design competition was held and was eventually won by the Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid. The Hadid design was called the Crystal Necklace by some in the media. [cite web |url= http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/why-cities-fell-in-love-with-opera-601121.html|publisher= independent.co.uk |title= Why cities fell in love with opera |accessdate=2008-10-09] [cite web |url= http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/page.cfm?objectid=11938971&method=full&siteid=50082 |publisher= Media Wales Ltd|title= Prestigious opera house a `missed opportunity'|accessdate=2008-10-09] However, the project failed to win financial support from the Millennium Commission, the body which distributed funds from the UK National Lottery.

International design competition

An international design competition was established by the Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust to decide on the architect for the project. The competition would eventually be in two rounds. The first round of the competition attracted 268 international competitors;cite web |url= http://arts.guardian.co.uk/art/architecture/story/0,,2263977,00.html |publisher= Guardian News and Media Limited |title= Zaha Hadid |accessdate=2008-05-01] it was won by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid. The list of architectural practices that took part in the competition included Itsuko Hasegawa, Mario Botta, Rem Koolhaas, Rafael Moneo, Manfredi Nicoletti, Pietro Marcozzi Architect, Rusli Associates, Percy Thomas Partnership and Greg Lynn FORM.cite web |url= http://www.bdonline.co.uk/story.asp?storyCode=3089962|publisher=Building Design|title=Diva Zaha steals the show in Cardiff Bay |accessdate=2008-03-04] cite web |url= http://www.pietromarcozzi.it/scheda%20cardiff.htm |publisher= www.pietromarcozzi.it |title= International Architectural Competition Cardiff Bay Opera House |accessdate=2008-04-12] cite web |url= http://www.basilisk.com/C/CARDIFF_608.html |publisher= BASILISK |title= Cardiff Bay Opera House |accessdate=2008-04-12] cite web |url= http://www.rusli.com/cdfAxo.html |publisher= Rusli Associates |title= CARDIFF BAY OPERA HOUSE, Wales, United Kingdom 1994 |accessdate=2008-04-12] Her avant-garde design was radical glass structure that surrounded the main theatre. However, her design was so radical that Lord Crickhowell as chair of the Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust, asked Hadid to submit her design again along with Norman Foster + Partners and Manfredi Nicoletti, who were asked to submit revised designs, for a second round of competition.cite web |url= http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19960114/ai_n9636266 |publisher= CNET Networks, Inc. |title= A monumental spot of local trouble |accessdate=2008-04-12] But she again won this round too.

Aftermath

The project lacked support from either South Glamorgan County Council or Cardiff City Council and was savaged by the media as being "elitist". The Millennium Commission, which gave funding to such projects from the UK National Lottery, refused to fund the project as it considered it to be financially risky. This was not helped by the successful application for funding for the Millennium Stadium, just a few miles away. Eventually, the project collapsed. The project was also said to have been destroyed by conservatism and provincialism in relation to the modern architecture, and by Cardiff Council's support for the Millennium Stadium.

The decision to formally reject the bid for lottery money by the Millennium Commission was announced on 22 December 1995. Many claim that the bid failed because of the widespread unpopularity of the Millennium Commission support for the Royal Opera House in London, which was seen as elitist.cite web |url= http://www.metropolismag.com/html/content_0498/ap98carf.htm |publisher= METROPOLIS |title= Opera House Lottery: Zaha Hadid and the Cardiff Bay Project by Nicholas Crickhowell |accessdate=2008-04-12]

Virginia Bottomley, Secretary of State for National Heritage, announced in a news conference that the project was flawed by uncertainties in the building's financing and construction, which made it the project too risky. Lord Crickhowell interrupted that news conference to denounce the rejection. He said the decision was "...shocking and incomprehensible...If this had been a project in London, it would be getting backing...You can understand the annoyance of people in Wales that we can't get the kind of vitally important projects that London seems to be allowed."cite web |url= http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DEED91539F936A15751C1A963958260 |publisher= New York Times |title= Britain Rejects Welsh Opera's Plea for Financing|accessdate=2008-03-04]

The project was succeeded by the Wales Millennium Centre, which included a broader range of artistic offerings and was said to be more in keeping with Welsh culture, whilst retaining the opera element. The Centre opened in November 2004.

Notes

Further reading

* Crickhowell, Nicholas (1997). "Opera House Lottery "Zaha Hadid and the Cardiff Bay Project" ISBN 0-7083-1442-2

External links

* [http://www.pritzkerprize.com/2004/pdf/Cardiff.pdf The Zaha Hadid project details]