Montpellier's Corum is a building that houses both a conference centre and an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

house (Opéra Berlioz), and is located in the centre of the city in southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It was designed by

Claude Vasconi Claude Vasconi (24 June 1940 - 8 December 2009) was a French architect. Vasconi was born in Rosheim, and was educated at the ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et de l'Industrie'' in Strasbourg. In 1964, he set up office in Paris. After desi ...

and opened to the public in 1988. The building forms the visual closing of the ''Esplanade'' seen from the ''

Place de la Comédie The Place de la Comédie is square in Montpellier, Hérault in Southern France. It is at the southeast point of the city centre, at , where the fortifications of the city were formerly located. History The square is first mentioned in 1755 and ...

''. It is covered in slabs of pink

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...

. The high costs of the building were subject of political debate in the 1980s, mostly directed against then-mayor

Georges Frêche Georges Frêche (July 9, 1938 – October 24, 2010) was a French politician. He served as President of the Languedoc-Roussillon Region from 2004 until his death: prior to that, he had been mayor of Montpellier for 27 years, and was also a fo ...

. The Conference Center has 6000 m² of exhibition space. The Opéra Berlioz, named after Hector Berlioz, seats 2000 persons, and since 1990 has been one of the performance venues for the

Opéra National de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the French Minist ...

.Opéra et Orchestre National de Montpellier
on company website

References

External links

Enjoy Montpellier, the management company of the Corum
Buildings and structures in Montpellier Hector Berlioz Tourist attractions in Montpellier {{Montpellier-stub