Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main

venue Venue is the location at which an event takes place. It may refer to: Locations * Venue (law), the place a case is heard * Financial trading venue, a place or system where financial transactions can occur * Music venue, place used for a concer ...

for the performing arts in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southe ...

. The

naming rights Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...

to the center currently are held by Duke Energy (formerly Progress Energy), which purchased them from the city in 2005 for a 20-year term at the cost of $7.5 million. The original naming rights previously were held by Business Telecom, Inc. (now

EarthLink EarthLink is an American Internet service provider. It went public on NASDAQ in January 1997. Much of the company's growth was via acquisition; by 2000, ''The New York Times'' described Earthlink as the "second largest Internet service provider ...

)), and the facility was known as the BTI Center for the Performing Arts from 1997-2005. BTI Owner Peter Loftin donated $3.1 million to the center in 1999, matching BTI's earlier donation. The center consists of: * Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (opened 1932, renovated 1990) * Meymandi Concert Hall (opened 2001) * A. J. Fletcher Opera Theater (opened 2001) * Kennedy Theater (opened 2001) * Lichtin Plaza (opened 2001)

Performance Venues and Facilities

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Raleigh Memorial

Auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, community ...

opened in 1932 to replace the city's original 1912 City Auditorium, which burned in 1930. The auditorium's name commemorates Raleigh citizens who died serving their country during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Situated downtown at the southern end of

Fayetteville Street Fayetteville Street is a major street in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America. It is a north-south thoroughfare that connects the State Capitol to the Raleigh Convention Center and the Progress Energy Center for the Performin ...

, the

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

structure is an architectural complement to the

North Carolina State Capitol The North Carolina State Capitol is the former seat of the legislature of the U.S. state of North Carolina which housed all of the state's government until 1888. The Supreme Court and State Library moved into a separate building in 1888, and the ...

located a few blocks away at the northern terminus of the street. The removal of the obstructive original

Raleigh Convention Center The Raleigh Convention Center is a convention and exhibition facility in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina that opened in September 2008. The architect was Tvsdesign with the participation of local firms O'Brien/Atkins Associates and Clearscapes. ...

in 2005 (now replaced with a building on an adjacent site) restored the historic vista along Fayetteville Street between Memorial Auditorium and the Capitol. Following minor improvements in 1963 and 1977, the auditorium was renovated extensively in 1990, with the notable addition of an external modern glass concourse and lobby. The venue seats 2,369 and most often hosts large

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

productions.

Meymandi Concert Hall

Meymandi Concert Hall seats 1,700 in a shoebox configuration. It is the home of the

North Carolina Symphony The North Carolina Symphony (NCS) is an American orchestra based in Raleigh, North Carolina, with sixty-six full-time musicians. The orchestra performs in Meymandi Concert Hall and performs occasionally with the Carolina Ballet and the Opera Com ...

, which previously held its concerts in Memorial Auditorium. Named for the mother of Raleigh

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and philanthropist Dr. Assad Meymandi, the facility has excellent acoustics. The North Carolina Debutante Ball is held annually at the Meymandi Concert Hall.

Fletcher Opera Theater

Fletcher

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 ...

Theater seats 600, providing a more intimate space for chamber music,

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and operatic performances, as well as other

ensemble Ensemble may refer to: Art * Architectural ensemble * Ensemble (album), ''Ensemble'' (album), Kendji Girac 2015 album * Ensemble (band), a project of Olivier Alary * Ensemble cast (drama, comedy) * Ensemble (musical theatre), also known as the ...

productions. The theater is named in honor of Alfred Johnston Fletcher (1887-1979), a pioneer of television broadcasting in Raleigh, whose family foundation provided partial funding for its construction. In 2010
Carolina Ballet
became the theater's resident performing arts organization, performing over 40 times per season in the theater.

Kennedy Theater

Seating 150, the Kennedy Theater offers a 40x60-foot black-box space for nontraditional performances and

experimental theater Experimental theatre (also known as avant-garde theatre), inspired largely by Wagner's concept of Gesamtkunstwerk, began in Western theatre in the late 19th century with Alfred Jarry and his Ubu plays as a rejection of both the age in particular ...

. It is named for longtime Raleigh theater patron K.D. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Sara Lynn.

Lichtin Plaza

Lichtin Plaza is the lawn fronting the Duke Energy Center. It often serves as a venue for outdoor festivals, as well as the site of public and private gatherings and tented events. The plaza is named for Harold Lichtin, a prominent regional commercial

real estate developer Real estate development, or property development, is a business process, encompassing activities that range from the renovation and re- lease of existing buildings to the purchase of raw land and the sale of developed land or parcels to othe ...

Performance Groups and Organizations

Organizations that regularly hold performances and concerts at the Duke Energy Center include: * Theatre In The Park * Broadway Series South * North Carolina Opera *

Carolina Ballet Carolina Ballet is one of America’s premier arts organizations, programming traditional ballets by legendary masters and new works by contemporary choreographers. The Ballet was launched as a professional company in 1998 under the direction of F ...

* North Carolina Theatre
Pinecone, The Piedmont Council of Traditional Music
*

* Triangle Youth Orchestra, Triangle Youth Symphony, & Triangle Youth Philharmonic * Raleigh Dance Theater *

Raleigh Little Theatre Raleigh Little Theatre (RLT) is a community theatre in Raleigh, North Carolina, that produces 10 to 11 full productions annually and conducts youth and adult theatre education programs. About Raleigh Little Theatre was established in 1936 to pro ...

* Burning Coal Theatre Company * Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy * A.J. Fletcher Opera Institute * Triangle Brass Band * Triangle Youth Brass Band * Shaw University
The Raleigh Ringers

TheaterWorksUSA -- The Pout Pout Fish

References

External links

*
Website of the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
{{Authority control Dance in North Carolina Music venues in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Raleigh, North Carolina Opera houses in North Carolina Performing arts centers in North Carolina Tourist attractions in Raleigh, North Carolina Theatres in Raleigh, North Carolina