Opera House, Opera house in Wellington, New Zealand
The Opera House is a proscenium theatre on Manners Street, opposite Te Aro Park. Its brick masonry walls enclose wooden floors and a timber-framed roof, with three levels of stalls, dress circle and gallery seating 2141 people, including 50 box seats. The interior has fine plaster mouldings and an ornate dome.
This venue opened in 1914 as a replacement for an earlier opera house that had served the city. The brick structure was designed by architect William Pitt and represented a new phase in Wellington's cultural development.
The building's name changed with its owners: from 1977, after restoration funded by State Insurance, it was long known as the State Opera House, and in July 2011 it was renamed The Opera House under Positively Wellington Venues. The dress circle foyer alcove holds a photo of dancer Phyllis Porter of the J.C. Williamson Peep Show Company, who died in 1923 after her costume caught fire.
This theater is centrally located in Wellington and is easily accessible on foot from downtown areas. It helps to check ahead which performances are scheduled and their typical duration so you can plan your visit accordingly.
In the dress circle foyer alcove hangs a photograph of Phyllis Porter, a dancer with the J.C. Williamson Peep Show Company in 1923, who died in Wellington Hospital after her costume caught fire. The portrait marks a performer rather than the building's architects or managers.
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