The East Pyongyang Grand Theatre () is a 2,500-seat theatre located in the

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

n capital,

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

. It was the site of the 2008 concert by the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

, which was the first significant cultural visit to North Korea by the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

since the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. The hall was built in 1989 and is normally a venue for performances that celebrate North Korea's dynastic leaders and national achievements. The December before the concert, it had hosted an opera honoring

Kim Jong-suk Kim Jong-suk (; 24 December 1917Suh Dae-sook. Kim Il Sung: The North Korean Leader. New York: Columbia University Press, 1988. – 22 September 1949) was a Korean anti-Japanese guerrilla, a Communist activist, North Korean leader Kim Il ...

, the mother of North Korean leader

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

. On New Year's Day 2007, following reconstruction, the theatre hosted the

Mansudae Art Troupe The Mansudae Art Troupe () is a North Korean troupe of musicians that create light-classical operas and music, as well as dance pieces. History The Mansudae Art Troupe is the successor to the Central Art Troupe that was formed on 27 Septembe ...

. Its "massive" stage needed an acoustic shell built to properly project the orchestra's sound. The theatre was specifically chosen by

Zarin Mehta Zarin Mehta (born 28 October 1938) is an Indian-Canadian arts executive who served as the president and executive director of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 to 2012, in addition to various positions in the performing arts industry ...

, who rejected the home of the North Korea State Symphony as too small. The overall size is more than 62,000 square meters. A colonnaded great hall (lobby) includes a mural of Ulrim Falls. According to a

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

journalist, its architecture is "bland communist", and a "hulking, ramshackle structure the locals struggle to keep heated and lit at night."

Gallery

East Pyongyang Grand Theater auditorium.jpg, Auditorium of the Grand Theatre, 2006 East Pyongyang Grand Theater monitoring room.jpg, Staff in the audio monitoring room, 2006 East Pyongyang Grand Theater lobby.jpg, Lobby and chandeliers, 2006

References

External links

* {{Theatres in North Korea Music venues completed in 1989 Indoor arenas in North Korea Buildings and structures in Pyongyang Theatres completed in 1989 Theatres in North Korea Murals in North Korea 1989 establishments in North Korea 20th-century architecture in North Korea

Gallery

See also

References

External links