The Grand Opera House is a theatre in
Belfast
Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...
, designed by the most prolific theatre architect of the period,
Frank Matcham
Francis Matcham (22 November 1854 – 17 May 1920)Mackintosh, Iain"Matcham, Frank" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, accessed 7 July 2019 was an English architect who specialised in the design of theatres and ...
. It opened on 23 December 1895. According to the
Theatres Trust
The Theatres Trust is the National Advisory Public Body for Theatres in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1976 by an Act of Parliament to "promote the better protection of theatres for the benefit of the nation". The Trust has played a lead ...
, the "magnificent auditorium is probably the best surviving example in the United Kingdom of the oriental style applied to theatre architecture". The auditorium was restored to its former glory, and the foyer spaces and bars were reimagined and developed as part of a £12.2 million project in 2020/2021, generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
/sup>
The venue hosts musicals, drama, ballet, opera and comedy performances as well as educational events and tours. The theatre's annual pantomime, which has been performed since its opening in 1895, remains the most popular show each year. The theatre's capacity is 1,058.
History
Originally called the New Grand Opera House and Cirque, it was renamed the Palace of Varieties in 1904, changing its name to the Grand Opera House in 1909. Charlie Chaplin performed there in 1908, and although Variety programmes dominated the pre-war years, entertainers as diverse as Nellie Melba, Sarah Bernhardt, Ralph Richardson and Gracie Fields
Dame Gracie Fields (born Grace Stansfield; 9 January 189827 September 1979) was a British actress, singer and comedian. A star of cinema and music hall, she was one of the top ten film stars in Britain during the 1930s and was considered the h ...
performed there regularly. It became a repertory theatre during World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and at the celebrations to mark the end of the war, Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
, Montgomery and Alanbrooke
Field Marshal Alan Francis Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke (23 July 1883 – 17 June 1963), was a senior officer of the British Army. He was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), the professional head of the British Army, during the Secon ...
attended gala performances at the theatre. Lena Horne performed here in the 1940s on her way to and from her travels to France.
After the war, stars of stage and screen returned to the theatre, with notably highlights including performances by Laurel and Hardy, Vera Lynn, Orson Welles, and Luciano Pavarotti in his UK debut. In 1965 the National Theatre brought its production of Love for Love to the Grand Opera House with a cast boasting Laurence Olivier, Lyn Redgrave, Albert Finney, Geraldine McEwan and a young Anthony Hopkins.
The Grand Opera House was acquired by the Rank Organisation
The Rank Organisation (founded as the J. Arthur Rank Organisation) is a British entertainment conglomerate founded in 1937 by industrialist J. Arthur Rank. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the Uni ...
, which led to its use as a cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
** Filmmaking, the process of making a film
* Movie theate ...
between 1961 and 1972.
As business slowed in the early 1970s with the onset of the Troubles
The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...
, Rank initiated plans to sell the theatre to a property developer, who proposed that the building be pulled down and replaced with an office block. However, following the action of Kenneth Jamison (director of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland
The Arts Council of Northern Ireland (Irish language, Irish: ''Comhairle Ealaíon Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots language, Ulster-Scots: ''Airts Cooncil o Norlin Airlan'') is the lead development agency for the arts in Northern Ireland. It ...
) and Charles Brett (founder member of the Ulster Architectural Heritage Society
Ulster Architectural Heritage Society was founded "to promote appreciation and enjoyment of good architecture of all periods and encourage the conservation, restoration and re-use of Ulster's built heritage to regenerate and sustain our communi ...
and ACNI board member), the building was bought by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland and listed in 1974. The Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, Arthur Brooke, lent his support to the project and his department provided the funding for extensive renovatation of the theatre. The Grand Opera House reopened in 1980, and in the years that followed many leading performers appeared on its stage, including Liam Neeson, Rowan Atkinson, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson, Ian McKellen, Darcey Bussell and Lesley Garrett.The building has been damaged by bombs on several occasions, usually when the nearby Europa Hotel had been targeted. It was badly damaged by bomb blasts in 1991 and 1993. The theatre continued, however, to host musicals
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, movement ...
, plays
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
, pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...
s and live music
A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...
.
2006 renovation and reopening
In 1995 the running of the theatre was taken over by the Grand Opera House Trust. In 2006 an extension was added which included a studio theatre space, extended foyers, dressings rooms and access for customers with disabilities. The theatre reopened with a Gala event on 21 October 2006.
Restoration 2020
In 2020 the Grand Opera House closed for restoration and development. The project saw the auditorium's paintings and decorative and ornate plasterwork painstakingly restored and conserved, as well as new seating, carpets, curtains and drapes installed. The design of the foyer and public spaces was reimagined, with a new bar installed in the restored 1980 glass extension overhanging Great Victoria Street, and the stalls and circle bars refurbished. As part of the project, the theatre's technical infrastructure was also upgraded and a permanent heritage exhibition installed telling the theatre's 125-year history installed.
References
External links
Grand Opera House website
{{Authority control
Theatres in Belfast
Music venues in Belfast
Event venues established in 1895
Music venues completed in 1895
Grade A listed buildings
Tourist attractions in Belfast
Opera houses in Northern Ireland
Art Nouveau architecture in Northern Ireland
Art Nouveau theatres