Opera House, Wellington facts for kids
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Previously: State Opera House, The Grand Opera House
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The Opera House on Manners Street, Wellington.
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| Address | 111–113 Manners Street Wellington New Zealand |
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| Coordinates | 41°17′29″S 174°46′40″E / 41.2915°S 174.7778°E |
| Designation | NZHPT classification I |
| Type | Opera House |
| Capacity | 1,381 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | 1914 |
| Architect | William Pitt |
| Website | |
| Venues Wellington: The Opera House | |
| Designated: | 27 June 1985 |
| Reference #: | 1432 |
The Opera House is a famous theatre in Wellington, New Zealand. It's located on Manners Street, right across from Te Aro Park. This special building is known for its stage, which is like a picture frame, perfect for plays, concerts, and shows.
Contents
History of The Opera House
The Opera House you see today isn't the first one on Manners Street. An earlier theatre, called the Imperial Opera House, opened in 1878 but sadly burned down just a year later.
Building the Grand Opera House
Work on the current building started in 1911. It was first named The Grand Opera House. The main architect, William Pitt, was from Australia. A local Wellington architect, Albert Liddy, helped make sure everything was built correctly.
The theatre officially opened on April 12, 1914. The first show was by an American Burlesque Company. The theatre could hold 2,141 people! It had three levels: the stalls (main floor), the dress circle, and the gallery. There were even 50 special box seats. The seats were made by a Wellington company called Kirkcaldie & Stains. Inside, you can still see beautiful plaster designs and a fancy dome on the ceiling.
A photo in the theatre's foyer shows Phyllis Porter, a dancer from the J.C. Williamson company.
Name Changes and Renovations
In 1977, the theatre got a big makeover with help from a New Zealand insurance company. Because of this, it was known as the State Opera House for many years.
Later, in 2011, a group called Positively Wellington Venues started managing the theatre. They changed its name back to The Opera House.
In 2012, engineers found that the building might be at risk from earthquakes. Luckily, by the end of 2016, the Wellington City Council and other groups provided money to make the building much stronger and safer. During this work, the original inside features were carefully restored by local artists and painters. This restoration even won an award!
The Opera House is so grand that it was used in Peter Jackson's 2005 movie King Kong for the theatre scenes.
See also
In Spanish: Ópera de Wellington para niños
