25-577: Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay or nicknamed as The Durian is a performing arts centre located in the Downtown Core of Singapore near the mouth of the Singapore River . Named after the nearby Esplanade Park , it consists of two rounded structures: one housing a concert hall with about 1,600 seats; and the other a theatre with a capacity of about 2,000 for the performing arts. In 1989,
50-472: A durian (a tropical fruit) or the eyes of a fly . Hence, the building is colloquially known to locals as "the big durians" . More than 7,000 triangular aluminium sunshades that cover its two circular glass shell structures looked somewhat like spikes on two halves of the fruit. The structure was not intended to be a durian; it ended up being like that because it seemed to the architects the most interesting way of doing sunshades. They wanted to use glass because
75-487: A 30-minute-long performance aimed at showcasing Singapore's multi-cultural heritage to her international audience. Since 17 April 2010, Esplanade MRT station was opened, which provides a connection to the island's train system and the station was named after the theatre. For its last financial year ending March 2014, the Esplanade incurred a loss of S$ 2.3 million, the first operating deficit since its opening. This loss
100-426: A capacity of about 2,000 seats is a type of an adaptation of the horseshoe form of a traditional European opera house . The fan-shaped Recital Studio is able to contain 245 people and is a venue for small scale chamber musical performances, as well as presentations and meetings. The Theatre Studio, with a capacity of up to 220, is a small setting for experimental theatre and dance presentations. On 10 April 2017,
125-474: A means of generating new investment and increased economic activity and thus, a means for revitalizing neighborhoods as patrons are drawn to local restaurants and other businesses. PACs became a draw for touring shows and eventually included visual art in their facilities. Today, these centers are valuable civic resources that provide education, access, exchange of creative discourse, opportunities for cultural expression and awareness. A multi-use performance space
150-595: A single multi-use space, or alternatively, to a performing arts college. The origin of the world's oldest performing art, Noh , dates back to the 6th and 7th centuries when performing arts came to Japan from mainland China. Starting in the 6th century BC, the Classical period of performing art began in Greece, ushered in by the tragic poets such as Sophocles . These poets wrote plays which, in some cases, incorporated dance (see Euripides ). The Hellenistic period began
175-415: Is a single space intended for use by various types of performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. The intended multiple use of performing arts centers in this sense differentiates them from single-purpose concert halls , opera houses , or theatres , although the actual use of single-purpose spaces for other than their intended use is widespread. This sort of space has a long history, extending to
200-834: Is the Celebrity Series of Boston renting venues in Boston's Boch Center . Examples of performance arts complexes include the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Sydney Opera House , and the Lincoln Center in New York City . For a selection of venues with these terms in their titles, see: Concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage that serves as
225-561: The Esplanade Park . Planning began in 1992, headed by the Singapore Arts Centre Co. It was developed at the cost of about SGD 600 million. Construction officially started on 11 August 1996, with a groundbreaking ceremony officiated by then Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Tony Tan . The Esplanade occupies the site of the former " Satay Club ", a popular food haunt for Singaporeans which had been discontinued prior to
250-470: The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth announced that a new mid-sized waterfront theatre will be constructed at the now closed open-air car park. The theatre will cater for arts groups which require a mid-sized venue, facilitating modern productions which typically accommodate an audience of 500 to 1,000 people, and will feature flexible seating arrangements for future art showcases. Costing $ 30 million,
275-550: The 550-seat venue will be completed by the second half of 2021. Construction on the theatre officially started on 18 June 2019 with a ground-breaking ceremony officiated by Minister of Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu . On the same day, the new theatre's name was unveiled as the Singtel Waterfront Theatre in recognition of Singtel 's S$ 10 million donation. The Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth committed another S$ 10 million, with Esplanade raising
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#1732801520190300-659: The Advisory Council on Culture and the Arts, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Ong Teng Cheong , produced a report assessing the status of arts in Singapore. The report would form the blueprint for cultural policy in Singapore, and led to the establishment of the National Arts Council and National Heritage Board . The report noted a lack of suitable performance arts venues; for example, Victoria Theatre
325-527: The Esplanade Mall is accessible through an entry point located between these 2 halls. The concert hall serves as a venue for concerts , recitals , and other performances. The orchestral platform is able to hold up to 120 musicians. The concert hall's pipe organ comprises 4740 pipes and 61 stops. It was designed and built by Johannes Klais Orgelbau . The Concert Hall is able to seat about 1,600 people over four levels. The Lyric Theatre which has
350-529: The Esplanade's construction. The "Satay Club" had been relocated next to Sembawang Shopping Centre before moving over to the Gardens by the Bay since 2012, before closing down. Completed in February 2001, the centre was officially opened on 12 October 2002, by the then President of Singapore S. R. Nathan . On 5 July 2005, the opening ceremony of the 117th IOC Session was staged in the Esplanade, featuring
375-537: The London-based Michael Wilford & Partners (MWP), although the latter left the project in May 1995. The design consists of two rounded space frames fitted with triangulated glass elements and sunshades, which balance outward views with solar shading. The original design, presented to the public in 1994, consisted of unadorned glass cases over the theatres, and initially elicited criticisms from
400-659: The Roman Colosseum and Greek amphitheatres. A cluster of performance spaces, either separate buildings or under one roof, each space designed for a specific purpose such as symphonic music or chamber music or theatre, but multipurpose as a whole, are also described as performing arts centers. The modern version of this came into being only in the 1960s. In Australia, the Centre for the Performing in Adelaide
425-458: The defunct Mosaic Music Festival . It has also championed locally based acts. 1°17′23″N 103°51′19″E / 1.28972°N 103.85528°E / 1.28972; 103.85528 Performing arts centre Performing arts center/centre (see spelling differences ), often abbreviated as PAC , is usually a complex housing performance spaces for various performing arts, including dance, music, and theatre. In some cases it refers to
450-477: The major arts genres. These programmes are presented in different festivals and series designed to appeal to a broad range of audiences. Esplanade's in-house programming team presents over 14 festivals and 20 on-going series throughout the year. In the relatively short time that The Esplanade has been open it has played host to acts and performances, including the Queen musical We Will Rock You , Avenue Q and
475-465: The public, including calling it "two copulating aardvarks". Critics also accused that the design is insensitive to Singapore's location and climate as it would have created a greenhouse in the tropical climate of Singapore, but according to DPA director Vikas Gore some form of shading was always intended, and a cladding of aluminium sunshades was added to the final design. The unique architectural design has been said to have an appearance similar to either
500-486: The remainder of the projected S$ 30 million through donations. The theatre was completed and opened to the public in October 2022. Esplanade's programmes are broadly organised around key areas – the community and access programmes form the foundation of activities at the centre, collaborations with mainly local arts groups help develop the industry, while leading international productions aim to offer innovative programmes in
525-400: The views from Esplanade are beautiful in all directions, but since Singapore is so close to the equator, the structure also had to be protected from the sunshine and heat radiation. Other than performing venues, the Esplanade also contains meeting venues, as well as other lifestyle and arts related services. The concert hall and theatre are connected to the main concourse via a foyer , while
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#1732801520190550-514: The widespread use of comedy. Much of which was performed live in a center-point of the community. In 1576, Britain's first playhouse, "The Theatre", was built in Finsbury Fields , London. It was constructed by Leicester's Men – an acting company formed in 1559 from members of the Earl of Leicester's household. New performing arts centers emerged in the latter part of the 20th century as
575-639: Was the predecessor college of the Adelaide College of the Arts . The Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts is a college for Indigenous Australians in Brisbane . Some performing arts center organizations act as sole presenters for events using the venues within the center, but most also frequently rent their performance spaces to other performing arts presenters or self-presenting performing arts groups. An example of this practice
600-510: Was deemed only suitable for small to medium-sized performances, while Victoria Concert Hall was similarly lacking in its seating capacity and stage size. It recommended that a new performing arts centre be built, and in 1992 the Singapore Arts Centre (now known as "Esplanade Co Ltd") was established to build the Esplanade. The name for the centre was revealed in 1994. It was named after Esplanade due to its significant presence in
625-493: Was despite the Esplanade racking up relatively similar numbers in terms of audience attendance and activities from the previous year and was attributed primarily to the drop in sponsorship and donations. Exercise Heartbeat 2016, simulating the Nice terrorist attacks , was held at this building on 2 September 2016. The building was designed by two architectural firms working in conjunction: by DP Architects (DPA) of Singapore and
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