The Valencia Opera House

The Valencia Opera House, the conception of an architectural genius has made the city proud because it has become famous all around the world as a cultural hub. The performances are all produced on a large scale and thousands of art lovers assemble to enjoy the performances. The aesthetically structured opera house of Valencia is now a formidable presence in the heart of the city, enabling it to feature as the sacred place where art is worshiped.

The Valencia Opera House has been named after Queen Sofia who had inaugurated the opera house in October 2005 in Valencia, Spain. It is now called “El Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia”. The opera house is the brainchild of the famous architect Santiago Calatrava who was from Valencia descent. It took 14 years for the opera house to complete. It is one of the best opera houses in the world and it creates a sort of relationship between the musician, the audience and the artist. It is considered to be an architectural masterpiece. The opera house has gained immense popularity and has become synonymous with the city of Valencia. The amount spent in building the opera house was 120 million Pound.

Configuration and the Interior Decoration of the Valencia Opera House

The City of Arts and Science comprises of the Valencia Opera House and is situated on the dried river bed of the Turia River. There is a museum and a planetarium in the complex. The opera house is divided into three different halls. One of the halls is reserved for the main performance aided by the symphony orchestra and ballet shows. Theaters shows are also arranged at the venue. The hall has a capacity to accommodate 1,800 people at a time.

The other hall, known as the 'Aula Magistral', is reserved for staging children's plays and for holding

seminars, conferences, meetings and lectures. This hall has the capacity to hold 400 viewers. The special musical events are held at the Amphitheater which also supports visual effects and videos during the events. This hall has the capacity to hold 1700 viewers at a time.

The Architecture of the Opera House

The enormous Valencia Opera House covers an area of 87,000 square meters among which 10,000 square meters is the pool surrounding it. The building stands as high as 70 meters and the area of the floor is 400 square meters. The roof of the building is stunning which was built with feathers and two shells on the outer side of the building. It is wrapped in lucent steel and an intricate design of ceramic is found on the outer structure. This lends a light and shade effect to the building. The roof is supported by two pillars. The shape of the opera house resembles an egg shell and also a ship, which has round portals. The most striking structure part of the opera house is the two sheaths which form a structure of a blown up ribbon rendering uniqueness.

The construction company in charge of the building was Dragados and Nescos. Apart from the main rooms there are other rooms too for different purposes including lighting, sound, wardrobe, props and all other things required for the production. There are separate rehearsal, orchestra and dance rooms. There are separate dressing rooms for solo performers and group performers. Rooms are reserved for the administrators as well.

Therefore, this massive structure and architectural masterpiece in Valencia has a earned a name for itself since it stages premier shows and also other live performances on a grand scale.

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