New Opera House in London

Progress, Volume VI, Issue 12, 2 October 1911, Page 845

New Opera House in London

Mr. Oscar ITammerstein, the great American Impresario, who has gone to London to wake the English public up. as he puts it, is sparing no expense in the construction of his enormous theatre in the Kingsway. In his prospectus Mr. Ilammerstein says: "Grand opera can succeed ony when it is presented 'grand' in every detail; it must be grand in auditorium and on the stage; grand in singers, musicians, scenery, and costumes; its director and his staff must be imbued with the loftiest of purposes. Unhampered by any influences, 1 have succeeded in what will be found an incomparable ensemble . . . To be successful. I must not teach; I must interest." interest is beginning to be aroused already in the manner of the execution of the work, no fewer than one thousand plasterers being at work on the interior, and the London "Standard" adds to this impression of Yankee hustle the startling information that "a number of American millionaires are chartering an Atlantic

liner to bring them to England for the purpose of witnessing the first performance on November 11th." The "Standard goes further: "If thoroughness and attention to every requirement means success, Mr. Hammerstein is going to be eminently successful. There is a note of completeness about the whole undertaking. The work is a wonderful combination of speed and thoroughness. On November 1 last the excavations were commenced, and on November 11 next the curtain will rise for the first time in one of the most beautiful theatres in the world. Three hundred men have been employed, and the number of hours worked up till Saturday was 570,000. In creating the foundations 24-.000 tons of earth were excavated, and the quantities of materials used have been 120 tons of granite. 2800 tons of sand. 2000 tons of ballast, 1000 tons of breeze for the floors, 3000 tons of Portland stone, 3.500,000

bricks, 800 ions of steel, and up to the present 1500 tons of cement have been used. "The Opera House is constructed to accommodate 2700 persons, and forty-three boxes are being constructed, including a handsome suite for the use of the King. The stage measures 90ft. by 60ft., and is specially constructed with a view to magnificent spectacular effects. A fireproof curtain will be provided, which in case of fire will be lowered and automatically flooded with water, while on the stage itself a lantern light will be arranged which will open automatically in case of fire, thus causing a draft to carry away the heat and smoke from the public portion of the house. The ground floor below [he street level will be entirely devoted to stalls and boxes, and above the stalls, suspended from the circle, will be a complete tier of boxes, each with its own retiring-room. Two other tiers are arranged on each side of the audtiorium. Above the boxes will be the grand circle, and above that the lower and upper galleries. Every seat throughout the house will be a fauteuil. The proscenium arch

will be 45ft. by 30ft., and somewhat funnel-shaped, to throw out the sound. The back of the circles and gallery will be screened off, thus preventing the audience from being disturbed by promenaders. "The entrance hall will be 60ft, by 30ft., and surrounded by a peristyle of Corinthian columns, the special feature of the frontage being the central window. 39ft. in height. Statutes illustrative of music and art stand up on the corners, and each end of the building is crowned with large groups of classic statutary. The work is being carried out entirely by British workmen, and only British material is used. The architect is Mr. Bertie Crew, and Mr. Thomas Budge is the sculptor." '