Teatro Auditorium Manzoni, Concert hall and theatre in Bologna, Italy

The Teatro Auditorium Manzoni is a concert hall and theatre in central Bologna, built in Art Nouveau style with decorated façades and interiors. Its load-bearing walls are of solid brick, supporting the metal structures of the gallery and stalls, while the proscenium is made mainly of nailed beams. Above the stage hangs a variable-geometry acoustic shell of panels weighing about 2,000 kg, moved by electric chain hoists on two overhead rails.

The building was originally built as a cinema in 1933 and served as a film theater for decades. In 2003 it underwent comprehensive renovations and was transformed into a modern venue dedicated to symphonic concerts.

The hall hosts the symphonic season of the Teatro Comunale di Bologna and also stages light-music concerts. Its name comes from the Cinema Teatro Manzoni, inaugurated in 1933 as a cinema and theatre. The 2003 renovation turned it into an auditorium for symphonic music.

The auditorium is in the centre of Bologna, used mainly for the Teatro Comunale's symphonic season and also for popular music concerts. The acoustic shell above the stage is motorised: about 2,000 kg of panels move on electric chain hoists along two rails fixed to the stage ceiling, with walkways above for maintenance. The panels tilt automatically so the sound reaches stalls and gallery alike.

Above the stage hangs an acoustic shell of panels weighing about 2,000 kg, moved by electric chain hoists on two rails fixed to the ceiling. A computer controls each panel's tilt to millimetre precision, tuning the sound for the audience in the stalls and the gallery alike.