ABSTRACT

Modern Theatres 1950–2020 is an investigation of theatres, concert halls and opera houses in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and North and South America.

The book explores in detail 30 of the most significant theatres, concert halls, opera houses and dance spaces that opened between 1950 and 2010. Each theatre is reviewed and assessed by experts in theatre buildings, such as architects, acousticians, consultants and theatre practitioners, and illustrated with full-colour photographs and comparative plans and sections. A further 20 theatres that opened from 2009 to 2020 are concisely reviewed and illustrated.

    An excellent resource for students of theatre planning, theatre architecture and architectural design, Modern Theatres 1950 – 2020 discusses the role of performing arts buildings in cities, explores their public and performances spaces and examines the acoustics and technologies needed in a great building. This beautifully illustrated book is also a must-read for architects, theater designers, theatre historians, and theatre practitioners.

    part 1.00|127 pages

    Aspects of Modern Theatres

    chapter 1.00|2 pages

    Introduction

    chapter 1.01|7 pages

    Edwin O. Sachs

    A British Theatrical Enigma

    chapter 1.02|6 pages

    Cities, Global and Regenerating

    chapter 1.03|10 pages

    Theatres and Publicness

    chapter 1.05|10 pages

    Towards a New Theatre Architecture

    Developments in Britain after 1950

    chapter 1.06|8 pages

    Front of House Moves to the Forefront

    chapter 1.08|8 pages

    The Modern Opera House

    chapter 1.09|11 pages

    Playhouses and Spaces for Drama

    chapter 1.10|11 pages

    Stage Engineering Systems

    chapter 1.11|10 pages

    Stage Lighting

    chapter 1.12|6 pages

    Sound, and Opera’s Dirty Little Secret

    chapter 1.13|7 pages

    New Technologies and Performance

    chapter 1.14|7 pages

    Acoustics and the Modern Theatre

    part 2.00|349 pages

    Thirty Significant Theatres 1950–2010

    chapter 2.00|12 pages

    Introduction

    part |45 pages

    1950s The Fifties

    chapter 3.01|12 pages

    Royal Festival Hall, 1951 London, UK

    Architect, London County Council Architects Department – Robert Matthew, Leslie Martin

    chapter 3.02|12 pages

    Festival Theatre, 1957 Stratford, Ontario, Canada

    Architect, Robert Fairfield with Tanya Moiseiwitsch

    chapter 3.03|10 pages

    Kalita Humphreys Theater, 1959 Dallas, Texas, USA

    Architect, Frank Lloyd Wright

    chapter 3.04|10 pages

    Musiktheater im Revier, 1959 Gelsenkirchen, Germany

    Architect, Werner Ruhnau

    part |35 pages

    1960s The Sixties

    chapter 4.01|12 pages

    Arena Stage, 1961 Washington, DC, USA

    Architect, Harry Weese

    chapter 4.02|12 pages

    Tokyo Bunka Kaikan, 1961 Tokyo, Japan

    Architect, Kunio Maekawa

    chapter 4.03|10 pages

    Philharmonie Berlin, 1963 Berlin, Germany

    Architect, Hans Scharoun

    part |57 pages

    1970s The Seventies

    chapter 5.01|11 pages

    Finlandia Hall, 1971 Helsinki, Finland

    Architect, Alvar Aalto

    chapter 5.02|12 pages

    Sydney Opera House, 1973 Sydney, Australia

    Architect, Jørn Utzon

    chapter 5.03|10 pages

    Teatro Regio Torino, 1973 Torino, Italy

    Architect, Carlo Mollino

    chapter 5.04|11 pages

    National Theatre, 1976 London, UK

    Architect, Denys Lasdun

    chapter 5.05|12 pages

    Royal Exchange Theatre, 1976 Manchester, UK

    Architect, Levitt Bernstein (Axel Burrough)

    part |59 pages

    1980s The Eighties

    chapter 6.01|12 pages

    Schaubühne am Lehniner Platz, 1981 Berlin, Germany

    Architect, Jürgen Sawade

    chapter 6.02|12 pages

    Arts Centre Melbourne, 1982 Melbourne, Australia

    Architect, Roy Grounds

    chapter 6.03|8 pages

    Joyce Theater, 1982 New York, USA

    Architect, Hardy, Holzman, Pfeiffer (Hugh Hardy)

    chapter 6.04|10 pages

    Derngate, 1983 Northampton, UK

    Architect, RHWL Architects

    chapter 6.05|8 pages

    Lucent Danstheater, 1987 The Hague, Netherlands

    Architect, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Rem Koolhaas

    chapter 6.06|8 pages

    Opéra Bastille, 1989 Paris, France

    Architect, Carlos Ott

    part |11 pages

    1990s The Nineties

    chapter 7.01|10 pages

    Sadler’s Wells Theatre, 1998 London, UK

    Architect, Nicholas Hare (interiors by Renton Howard Wood Levin)

    part |123 pages

    2000s The New Millennium

    chapter 8.01|10 pages

    The Lowry, 2000 Salford, UK

    Architect, Michael Wilford and Partners

    chapter 8.02|14 pages

    Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, 2002, Singapore Architects, DP

    Architects (Singapore) and Michael Wilford & Partners (UK)

    chapter 8.03|10 pages

    Walt Disney Concert Hall, 2003 Los Angeles, California, USA

    Architect, Frank Gehry

    chapter 8.04|12 pages

    KÀ Theatre, 2004 MGM Grand Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, USA

    Architect, Marnell Corrao Associates and Cirque du Soleil

    chapter 8.05|12 pages

    Matsumoto Performing Arts Centre, 2004 Matsumoto, Japan

    Architect, Toyo Ito

    chapter 8.06|12 pages

    Casa da Música, 2005 Porto, Portugal

    Architect, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) Rem Koolhaas

    chapter 8.07|12 pages

    Auditório Ibirapuera ‘Oscar Niemeyer’, 2005 São Paulo, Brazil

    Architect, Oscar Niemeyer

    chapter 8.08|8 pages

    National Centre for the Performing Arts, 2007 Beijing, China

    Architect, ADP (Aéroports de Paris – Paul Andreu) with Tsinghua University

    chapter 8.09|14 pages

    Operahuset, 2008 Oslo, Norway

    Architect, Snøhetta

    chapter 8.10|8 pages

    National Opera House, 2008 (originally the Wexford Opera House) Wexford, Ireland

    Architect, Keith Williams Architects

    chapter 8.11|10 pages

    Guangzhou Opera House, 2010 Guangzhou, China

    Architect, Zaha Hadid Architects

    part 3.00|73 pages

    Snapshots of Twenty Recent Theatres 2009–2020

    chapter 9.00|1 pages

    Introduction

    chapter 9.01|3 pages

    Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre, 2009 Dallas, Texas, USA

    Architect, OMA (Rem Koolhaas) and REX (Joshua Prince-Ramus)

    chapter 9.02|3 pages

    Onassis Cultural Center, 2010 Athens, Greece

    Architect, Architecture Studio

    chapter 9.03|3 pages

    New World Center, 2011 Miami, Florida, USA

    Architect, Frank Gehry

    chapter 9.04|3 pages

    Royal Opera House, 2011 Muscat, Oman

    Architect, WATG

    chapter 9.05|3 pages

    Harpa, 2011 Reykjavik, Iceland

    Architect, Henning Larsen Architects

    chapter 9.06|3 pages

    Royal Shakespeare Theatre, 2011 Stratford-upon-Avon, UK

    Architect, Bennetts Associates

    chapter 9.07|3 pages

    Heydar Aliyev Center, 2012 Baku, Azerbaijan

    Architect, Zaha Hadid

    chapter 9.08|3 pages

    ‘A’ali’ikūhonua Creative Arts Center, 2012 Seabury Hall, Makawao, Hawaii, USA

    Architect, Flansburgh Architects

    chapter 9.09|3 pages

    Musiktheater am Volksgarten, 2013 Linz, Austria

    Architect, Terry Pawson

    chapter 9.10|3 pages

    Everyman Theatre, 2014 Liverpool, UK

    Architect, Haworth Tompkins

    chapter 9.11|3 pages

    Han Show Theatre, 2014 Wuhan, China

    Architect, Stufish

    chapter 9.12|3 pages

    Harbin Opera House, 2015 Harbin, China

    Architect, MAD Architects

    chapter 9.13|3 pages

    Dubai Opera, 2016 Dubai, UAE

    Architect, Atkins (Janus Rostock)

    chapter 9.14|3 pages

    Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center, 2017 Athens, Greece

    Architect, Renzo Piano Building Workshop

    chapter 9.15|3 pages

    Boulez Saal, 2017 Berlin, Germany

    Architect, Frank Gehry

    chapter 9.16|3 pages

    Elbphilharmonie, 2017 Hamburg, Germany

    Architect, Herzog & de Meuron

    chapter 9.17|3 pages

    Bridge Theatre, 2017 London, UK

    Architect, Haworth Tompkins

    chapter 9.18|3 pages

    National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts, 2018 Taipei, Taiwan

    Architect, Mecanoo Architects (Francine Houben)

    chapter 9.19|3 pages

    The Shed, The Bloomberg Building, 2019 New York, USA

    Architect, Diller Scofidio + Renfro

    chapter 9.20|3 pages

    Xiqu Centre, 2019 Hong Kong

    Architect, Bing Thom Architects + Ronald Lu & Partners

    chapter 10.00|6 pages

    Conclusions

    chapter 10.01|2 pages

    Postscript – “The Ghost Light”