Famous Theatres

Africa: Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria (Egypt) displays a blend of architectural

styles from the Vienna State Opera and the Odeon Theatre in Paris. When built, Sayed
Darwish Theatre in Alexandria was known as Mohamed Ali Theatre, which was given its
present name in 1962 to pay tribute to the father of popular music in Egypt.
After its construction, Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria hosted a number of
memorable performances by Arab singers and performers from other countries.
However, the splendor of Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria soon succumbed to the
wear and tear of time Only in 2000, Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria was enlisted
into the Heritage List of the country and a huge project of renovation was undertaken.
Finally, Sayed Darwish Theatre in Alexandria was refurbished with state-of-the-art
infrastructure suiting the need of an opera house of its fame. The newly modeled Sayed
Darwish Theatre in Alexandria was reopened in 2004, and the grand occasion was
celebrated with a lavish ceremony.
South Africa The Artscape Theatre Centre, which belongs to the provincial
administration, was opened on 19 May 1971 as the Nico Malan Theatre Centre. In line
with the new South African political dispensation and the concurrent changes the
complex was renamed to Artscape in March 2001.
Argentina:
The Teatro Colón(Columbus Theatre) is the main opera house in Buenos Aires,
Argentina, considered one of the best five opera houses in the world. It was opened on
the 25th of May, 1908 with Verdi's Aïda. The theatre is closed for refurbishment since
late October 2006, and it has already presented its program for the 2010 season, starting
on the 24th of May.
Canada:
The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto,
Ontario, Canada which had its grand opening Wednesday, June 14, 2006. The first actual
performance however, commenced in September 2006 with the first Canadian production
of Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen. The theatre, designed by Jack Diamond,
is at the southeast corner of University Avenue and Queen Street West, across from
Osgoode Hall. The land on which it is located was a gift from the Government of
Ontario. The venue is the home of the Canadian Opera Company (COC) and the National
Ballet of Canada, replacing the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (earlier named the
Hummingbird Centre and O'Keefe Centre) that had housed the COC for some 40 years
 Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia
and the largest opera company in western Canada. It performs in the Queen Elizabeth
Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two
specialized opera orchestras in Canada (the other being Toronto’s Canadian Opera
Company). Vancouver Opera mounts four productions a year.

United States:
The David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and opera, part of the Lincoln Center for the
Performing Arts located at Columbus Avenue & 63rd Street in New York City. Originally named the
New York State Theater, the house is home to both the New York City Ballet and New York City
Opera. The theater opened in 1964 and occupies the south side of the main plaza of Lincoln Center,
opposite Avery Fisher Hall.
The Wortham Theater Center is a performing arts center located in downtown Houston, Texas,
United States. The Wortham was designed by Eugene Aubrey of Morris Architects and built entirely
with $66 million in private funds. The City of Houston owns the theater, and the city's Convention &
Entertainment Facilities Department operates the facility. It officially opened on May 9, 1987 with one
of the inaugural performances being a modern dance program, Tango Argentino, in the Brown Theater
and Robert Wilson and David Byrne's The Knee Plays, presented by the Society for the Performing
Arts in the Cullen Theater

Australia

Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre on Bennelong Point in

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was conceived and largely built by Danish
architect Jørn Utzon, who, in 2003, received the Pritzker Prize, architecture's highest
honour. Sydney Opera House was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site on 28 June
2007.[2] Currently, it is the most recently constructed World Heritage Site to be
designated as such, sharing this distinction with such ancient landmarks as Stonehenge
and the Giza Necropolis. It is one of the 20th century's most distinctive buildings and one
of the most famous performing arts centres in the world.

China

The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), and colloquially described as
The Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The Centre, an
ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people
in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul
Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in
December 2007.
Malaysia

The Istana Budaya or The Palace of Culture, founded in September 1999, is Malaysia's
main venue for all types of theatre including musical theater, operetta, classical concert
and opera from local and international performances. It is located next to the National Art
Gallery in Jalan Tun Razak at the heart of Kuala Lumpur.

Austria

Theater an der Wien: The theater opened in 1801 and was the brainchild of the Viennese
theatrical impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, who is best known to history as Mozart's
librettist and collaborator on the opera The Magic Flute (.Schikaneder's troupe had
already been successfully performing for several years in Vienna in the smaller (800-seat)
Theater auf der Wieden, where The Magic Flute had premiered. Schikaneder, whose
performances often emphasized spectacle and scenery, felt ready to move to a larger and
better equipped venue.

The Vienna State Opera (Wiener Staatsoper) is an opera house — and opera company
— with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of
Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera; in 1920, it was renamed
the Vienna State Opera. The members of the Vienna Philharmonic are recruited from its
orchestra.

England

Sadler's Wells Theatre is a major performing arts venue located in Rosebery Avenue,
Clerkenwell in the London Borough of Islington. The present day theatre is the most
recent of six theatres that have existed on the same site since 1683. The building which
stands today consists of two performance spaces, the 1,500 seat main auditorium and the
Lilian Baylis Studio, with extensive rehearsal rooms and technical facilities also housed
within the site. Sadler's Wells is recognised as one of the United Kingdom's foremost
dance venues and producing houses, with a number of associated artists and companies
who produce original works for the theatre. Sadler's Wells is also responsible for the
management of the Peacock Theatre in the West End.
France

The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more
commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in
Paris, France, which was the primary home of the Paris Opera from 1875 until 1989. A
grand landmark designed by Charles Garnier in the Neo-Baroque style, it is regarded as
one of the architectural masterpieces of its time.Upon its inauguration in 1875, the opera
house was officially named the Académie Nationale de Musique - Théâtre de l'Opéra. It
retained this title until 1978 when it was re-named the Théâtre National de l'Opéra de
Paris. After the opera company chose the Opéra Bastille as their principal theatre upon
its completion in 1989, the theatre was re-named as the Palais Garnier, though its more
official name, the Académie Nationale de Musique, is still sprawled above the columns of
its front façade. In spite of the change of names and the Opera company's relocation to
the Opéra Bastille, the Palais Garnier is still known by many people as the Paris Opéra,
as have all of the many theatres which have served as the principal venues of the Parisian
Opera and Ballet since its founding.

Germany

Frederick II commissioned the original building on the site and construction work began
in July 1741 with what was designed to be the first part of a "Forum Fredericianum".
Although not entirely completed, the Court Opera (Hofoper) was inaugurated with a
performance of Carl Heinrich Graun's Cleopatra e Cesare on December 7, 1742. This
event marked the beginning of the successful, 250-year co-operation between the
Staatsoper and the Staatskapelle Berlin, the state orchestra, whose roots trace back to the
16th century.

Italy

La Scala is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated
on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal Theatre at La Scala The
premiere performance was Antonio Salieri's Europa riconosciuta. Today the theatre is
recognised as one of the leading opera and ballet theatres in the world and is home to the
La Scala Theatre Chorus, La Scala Theatre Ballet and La Scala Theatre Orchestra. The
theatre also has an associate school, known as the La Scala Theatre Academy which
offers professional training in music, dance, stage craft and stage management.

Russia

The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by the architect
Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and
Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and greatest ballet and opera companies of the
world, respectively. The theatre is the parent company of The Bolshoi Ballet Academy, a
world-leading school of ballet.