Statement challenged

Press, 1 September 1982, Page 28

Statement challenged

PA Auckland The Mayor of Wellington. Sir Michael Fowler, who criticised Auckland's planned Aotea Centre was provincial

and misinformed, said the Auckland Regional Orchestra general manager, Mr Michael Maxwell.

Sir Michael recently said that the cultural centre would be “a $3O million w’hite elephant" with the world already struggling to support six major opera houses.

Auckland promoters and " artists, however, say that the city badly needs a large, g versatile venue. Mr Maxwell said that he admired Sir Michael's work for the cultural development of Wellington but felt he was completely misinformed about the opera houses of the world — those in Paris, New York. London, and Sydney

were doing well. "What Sir Michael has not completely grasped, however, is that we are not proposing simply an opera house, we are proposing a multi-purpose hall," Mr Maxw'ell said.

The centre would provide an enormous magnet for Auckland and New Zealand, attracting international productions that would not have been economic with existing venues.

He said that producers and directors from the Sadler’s Wells Ballet Company recently visited Australia and New Zealand to inspect venues available.

They found that Auckland did not have any theatres capable of supporting their major productions and had to settle for a programme of three smaller productions.