Opera House, Wellington

The Opera House
State Opera House
Address 111–113 Manners Street
Wellington
New Zealand
Coordinates 41°17′29″S 174°46′40″E / 41.2915°S 174.7778°E / -41.2915; 174.7778
Designation NZHPT classification I
Type Opera House
Capacity 1381
Construction
Opened 1914
Architect William Pitt
Website
PWV Opera House page
Designated 27 June 1985
Reference no. 1432

The Opera House is a proscenium theatre in Wellington, New Zealand, located on Manners Street opposite Te Aro Park.

History

Construction work on the building, originally known as the "Grand Opera House", began in 1911. William Pitt, the architect, was based in Melbourne, Australia, and much of the work was overseen by local architect Albert Liddy. It is a brick building, with wooden floors. The Opera House has three levels: stalls, circle and grand circle. It has fine moldings and an ornate dome. On either side of the proscenium arch are two boxes – arranged on top of each other.

In 1977, it was restored by the State Insurance company, and for many years it was known as the State Opera House. Today, it is simply called "The Opera House".

In recent years, The Opera House was operated by the same Trust which ran the nearby St James Theatre.

The Opera House was used for the theatre scenes in Peter Jackson's 2005 film King Kong.

In July 2011 Positively Wellington Venues, an integration between the Wellington Convention Centre and the St James Theatre Trust, began managing this theatre along with five other venues in the capital city.

In October 2012 it was announced that the Opera House is below 34% of the earthquake code and may have to close for strengthening.[1]

References

  1. ↑ Jackman, Amy. "Opera House may close". The Wellingtonian.
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