Cogeco Amphitheatre, Open-air theatre in Trois-Rivières, Canada.
The Cogeco Amphitheatre is a multi-purpose open-air amphitheatre at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and St. Lawrence Rivers in Trois-Rivières. Its flat dark roof overhangs facades of tall rectangular panels in grey, blue and dark red, with a red "Amphithéâtre Cogeco" sign beside a tall white pillar. The hall has 3,300 covered seats, over 200 corporate box seats and a grassy esplanade for 5,500 people, 9,000 in all.
The project, championed by Trois-Rivières mayor Yves Lévesque, was announced in 2009 during the city's 375th-anniversary celebrations, when the Quebec and Canadian governments gave $40 million toward it. An architectural competition drew European entrants, and on 5 April 2011 the jury chose Montreal architect Paul Laurendeau's scheme, "Le Temple". Construction ran from 2013 to 2015, documented by photographer Marc Gibert, and the venue opened in July 2015.
Since 2015 the Cirque du Soleil has created an exclusive show each summer here, built around the music of a Quebec figure or group: Beau Dommage in 2015, Robert Charlebois in 2016, Luc Plamondon in 2017, then Les Colocs, Les Cowboys Fringants, Guy Lafleur and Rock et Belles Oreilles. From November to May the stage becomes the Cabaret de l'Amphithéâtre Cogeco.
Outdoor shows run from June to September; from November to May the stage is enclosed by a steel-and-glass door and becomes the indoor Cabaret de l'Amphithéâtre Cogeco. The site sits at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and St. Lawrence rivers, with the stage opening toward the water. The hall has 3,300 covered seats plus over 200 corporate box seats.
The building won a Governor General's Medal in Architecture in 2016, one of twelve works honoured that year. Its design by Montreal architect Paul Laurendeau, titled "Le Temple", was chosen in 2011 from an architecture competition that drew European entrants. The photographer Marc Gibert documented the construction from 2013 to 2015.
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