A

PROJECT REPORT

ON

“PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE ”

Submitted To

K.R. Mangalam University

(Submitted in partial fulfillment of requirement for the award of the degree of
(Master of Business Administration)
Session 2016-2018

Under the Guidance of: Submitted By:

Prof. Abhilasha Dudeja Shefali Pandey
(Asst. Prof.) MBA
Roll No.

K.R. Mangalam University

Sohna Road,
Gurugram (Haryana)
(122103)

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 Content

Guide Certificate………………………………………….
Declaration………………………………………………..

Acknowledgement…………………………………………

Preface……………………………………………………

Chapter 1…………………………………………………

a) Introduction
i) Purpose of the Study
ii) Context of the Study
iii) Significance of the Study

Chapter 2……………………………………………….

a) Literature Review

Chapter 3………………………………………………

a) Research Design
i) Research Objective
ii) Research Design
iii) Sample size
iv) Data Collection Method

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 v) Tools and Techniques
vi) Hypothesis

Chapter 4……………………………………………………

Analysis and Interpretation

Chapter 5…………………………………………………….

a) Conclusion and Suggestion

b) Limitation

Annexure…………………………………………………….

Bibliography…………………………………………………

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 GUIDE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that Mr. Jatin Goel ,Roll No 1602570007, a student of Master of
Business Administration in School of Management & Commerce at KRMU has
successfully completed his/her Research Project Report on “ PROJECT
MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE” under my supervision towards the
partial fulfillment of degree of master of Business Administration. To the best of my
knowledge the work is genuine.

Project Guide
Abhilasha Dudeja
(Asst. Prof.)

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 DECLARATION

I, Jatin Goel hereby declare that the Project Work entitled “PROJECT
MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE” submitted to School of Management &
Commerce in KRMU in partial fulfillment for award of master of Business
Administration, same has not been submitted to any other institute for the award of
any other degree.

PLACE- GURGAON
DATE- 22/09/2017

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 ACKNOWLEGEMENT

I wish to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to the employees of

bank industry that have helped, encouraged, inspired and enlightened me with their
constructive ideas and their all over support towards the completion of this
dissertation report successfully. This dissertation report would have been
incomplete without the active co-operation and guidance of (Prof. Abhilasha
Dudeja ) Asstt. ProfessorProfessor KRMU. She has been very kind and patient
while suggesting me the outlines of this dissertation report and correcting my
doubts. I thank him/her for his overall support.
I hope this dissertation report will reflect my observation regarding PROJECT
MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE.

Name
Jatin Goel

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 PREFACE

Project work is the essential part to one of the curriculum of any management
program. In the classroom coaching, we generally get theoretical knowledge of
management, but this knowledge does not prove to be adequate. As in future,
management students have to work with organization. By merely knowing what
management is, they cannot be capable of applying it.
So project work related to study of PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA
HOUSE is provide the opportunity to get familiar with the natural industrial
atmosphere through participation and observation.
As being a management /commerce student, I have done a study on PROJECT
MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE. For this purpose, the researcher has
observed the PROJECT MANAGEMENT OF WNO OPERA HOUSE.

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INTRODUCTION

Cardiff is well-served for entertainment of all types. From the world-famous National Orchestra
of Wales and Welsh National Opera to the various professional and semi-professional theatre
companies centred in the city, from large scale pop concerts to solo performances, there is
something to suit every taste. Being a multi-ethnic city, you can also find entertainments from
different cultural traditions—Japanese drummers, Chinese musicians, Indian dancers. And if
you prefer to be an active participant rather than a spectator, there's a multitude of city centre
clubs and pubs that have dancing into the small hours. Some of them even offer dancing classes
so you can brush up on your technique before hitting the disco floors.

Classical Music, Opera & Ballet

St David's Hall is the obvious choice. Home to the National Orchestra of Wales it features a full
programme of classical concerts including the Welsh Proms in July and the Cardiff Singer of the
World competition every two years. There are also regular visits from ballet and opera
companies, and top class orchestras and soloists from all over the world have played here. Opera
lovers should give the New Theatre a ring. Tickets for the Welsh National Opera seasons always
sell out very quickly, though it's sometimes possible to get tickets at short notice if you don't
mind where you sit. Recent years have seen operas by Britten, Janacek and Tchaikovsky as well
as the much-loved Verdi and Mozart offerings. The Sherman Theatre also has occasional opera
and operetta productions—the Cardiff Gilbert and Sullivan society perform here.

For something a little more unusual try the Norwegian Church Arts Centre or the Point in
Cardiff Bay. Baroque ensembles, guitar soloists and international groups make regular
appearances.

Ballet lovers have less choice, but St David's Hall stages ballet performances every Christmas,
the Northern Ballet makes regular appearances at the New Theatre and Diversions Dance
Company may be seen at the Sherman. Also look out for modern dance performances at Chapter
Arts Centre.

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Popular Music
For the big pop concerts you'll have to go to the Cardiff International Arena or the Millennium
Stadium, and be prepared to book well in advance. There are, however, some smaller venues
that are surprisingly good. The Coal Exchange in Cardiff Bay has several featured acts. Live
Jazz is on offer at the city centre's Jazz Cafe andRiverbank, which overlooks the Millennium
Stadium. St David's Hallalso features some popular music on its programme, though it tends
towards easy listening, folk and country.

Welsh speakers and learners are always welcome at Clwb Ifor Bach, a pub and club that acts as
a showcase for up-and-coming Welsh bands and soloists as well as featuring groups from other
parts of the British Isles. Indeed, many of the city centre pubs have regular live music nights—
check out the local publications for full details of what's happening on any night.

Theatre
From classical to contemporary, there's plenty of choice. The New Theatre is Cardiff's largest
stage and features a mixed programme of West End and Broadway hits, Shakespeare, Ayckborn
and Oscar Wilde comedies, contemporary drama and family pantomimes. Close by, the
smaller Sherman is more experimental in nature and features youth theatre productions in the
smaller studio theatre and comedy, small-scale opera and off-beat drama in the main theatre.
Many Welsh writers are showcased here, so come along if you want to sample some local
talent. Chapter Arts Centre also offers experimental drama, including works by the students at
the Welsh College of Music and Drama, while in the summer months there are open-air
productions of Shakespeare and popular comedy dramas at venues such as the Museum of
Welsh Life at St Fagans, Castell Cochand Cardiff Castle.

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Cinema
There is a twelve-screen UCI Cinema in Cardiff Bay (pictured above), which has a full
programme of all the latest films. Chapter Arts Centre is the premier 'Art House' cinema and
runs an annual film festival that features the best of world cinema.

Comedy
Cardiff Bay is a prime spot for comedy with the Glee Club. Cardiff's first dedicated comedy
venue, it features some of the biggest names on the UK circuit. St David's Hall and the Sherman
Theatre both feature performances by new and established names (acts from the Edinburgh
Fringe Festival often turn up in the Sherman). Many of the city's pubs also host comedy slots.
See the local newspapers for details.

Daytime Entertainment
There's plenty to see and do in Cardiff during the day. You could spend a whole day in
the National Museum & Gallery. One of Cardiff's best known landmarks, it has several large art
galleries and exhibition rooms and, unusual for a museum of this size, entry is free. For a taste
of Welsh history take a trip to the open air Museum of Welsh Life. Again, entry is free and there
are often special events in the summer and on public holidays. Children, meanwhile, will
loveTechniquest, the 'hands on' science centre in Cardiff Bay. Back into the city centre, Cardiff
Castle houses a small museum and a guided tour is recommended to anyone with an interest in
history, architecture or interior design. Follow this up with a meal in one of the many city centre
restaurants and a trip to a concert, show or club, and your time in Cardiff will fly by.

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Prestigious opera house a `missed opportunity'

AS construction begins this week on an ambitious national gallery that could turn Rome into the
heart of modern art and architecture, it is likely to make quite a few people uncomfortable here.

For the fantastic building was designed by Iraqi-born architect Zaha Hadid - responsible for the
controversial Cardiff opera house design.

It has been said the National Museum of Contemporary Art, to be situated in the north of the
Italian capital, will outshine the most celebrated pieces of modern architecture in the world,
including Frank Gehry's Guggenheim museum in Bilbao, Spain. And, opening in 2004, it is
likely to be rivalled only by the Rosenthal Centre for Contemporary Art in Cincinnati, United
States - also designed by Hadid.

Wales's capital had the chance to benefit from one of Hadid's designs more than five years ago.
So has the city missed a great opportunity to position itself on the world stage?

Certainly, opposition to the design was well-documented at the time. But it seemed to also have
as many supporters as it did opponents.

And, even now, architecture experts think a building by such a prestigious designer would have
given Cardiff and Wales international recognition - particularly as the capital is bidding to be
European City of Culture in 2008.

Hadid's "crystal necklace" was chosen as the Cardiff Bay opera house design after a
controversial architectural competition. But when the plans went on show, the public made it
clear they preferred one of the runners-up, a "glass wave" by Manfredi Nicoletti.

Controversy and argument followed, with Hadid's opponents attacking the way the competition
was run, the apparent lack of public consultation over the design and the cost of building the
opera house.

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The whole scheme was going to cost £86m, £50m of which was expected to come from the
Millennium Commission and a large chunk from public funds.

However, Virginia Bottomley, then National Heritage Secretary and chairman of the
Millennium Commission, sealed the project's fate when she announced that National Lottery
money would not be awarded to the project

It is true Wales will benefit from the equally spectacular Wales Millennium Centre in the place
of Hadid's opera house. But architects still think Wales has missed out through a number of
failed projects.

Dr Simon Unwin, lecturer at Cardiff University School of Architecture, said a Hadid building in
Cardiff would have attracted international attention to the city, in the same way as they have in
Japan, Austria and the US.

"The building would without doubt have attracted a lot of visitors from all over the world," said
Dr Unwin.

"It is a terrible missed opportunity." Dr Unwin is looking forward to seeing the new Wales
Millennium Centre, which he describes as a "good build-ing".

But, he added, "Wales still needs a lot more impressive architecture if it is to compete with other
countries on the world stage."

Cardiff Bay Opera House

The siting of the Welsh National Opera House on the Inner Harbor of Cardiff Bay mandates a
new concept for waterfront urban space that is nonetheless continuous with the history of the site
and Cardiff's waterfront. As the industrial spaces of the waterfront are transforming, a new
relationship to the water must be developed that relies neither on a nostalgia for the past nor an
erasure of the rich history of industrial waterfront space.

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Our proposal uses the empty shell of the defunct technology of the Oval Basin, not as a
monument to a bygone era but as the generator of a new waterfront public space and as the
starting point for a new civic institution. The Oval Basin becomes the chrysalis out of which the
Opera House emerges. Like the graving docks that are indigenous to Cardiff's waterfront, the
Opera House is sited so that is an interface between land and water.

Historically, Cardiff's coastline has not been the mere edge of the city, but has been the generator
of urban growth and development. The coastline is not a simple singular line in Cardiff but is
rather a highly particularized and negotiated edge that occurs at several scales. Cardiff Bay is
perhaps the first branch in scale of the coastline from which the Inner Harbor is an even finer
branch. At the scale of the site and its surroundings, the graving docks are an urban system that
proliferates across the coastline, blurring the edge between land and water.

Analogous to the branching bays, harbors and graving docks, the Opera House is an urban
threshold between land and sea. By borrowing the pattern of the graving docks and their ability
to slope the land into the sea the Opera House is connected to the water through the invention of
a new public reservoir space that flows under and through the site.

The new public reservoir originates with the restoration of the Oval Basin and a connection to
the proposed L.R.T. Terminus. The reservoir slopes gently from the Oval Basin to a three story
public space that connects the three stories of the partially underground (-5m) 600 car parking
garage with the public spaces of the Opera House. Because the reservoir flows under and through
the site it allows for the use of the garage and the public facilities of the building at times when
performances are not occurring. In this way the reservoir provides an opportunity to attract a
large population to the site and not only condense them into the building for an evening at the
Opera but also to disperse them into the surrounding context of the Oval Piazza and saturate the
site with activity that is sponsored by the building without relating to its specific theatrical
program. The reservoir allows for a multiplication of the site surface, where the Opera House

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foyers and lobbies exist at one half level above grade and parking and movement onto, across
and through the site occurs at one half level below grade.

This attitude toward the city promotes public spaces outside of and beyond the Opera House
interior. The project proposes a civic institution that is not monolithic but is rather permeated
with public space and programs at its base. The project has not only a public space in plan
surrounding the Oval Piazza, but deploys a sectional public space. Like the graving docks that
floated the volumes of the hulls on cradle supports, the Opera House programs are housed in
volumes which are supported above the reservoir. These spaces are approached on ramps that
rise approximately one half story above the site.

The section of the project is achieved through the use of three spatial and structural systems:
portalized wall fins, branching volumes and a lightweight tensile membrane. The use of three
systems allows for the structural and acoustical isolation of various spaces. The performance,
support and rehearsal spaces of the Opera House are isolated from external vibration and noise as
they are independently structured as discrete volumes. The potential for interference by the
P.D.R Tunnel to generate noise is also diminished given the separation of structural systems and
the ability to isolate vibration through the use of damping at the precise points of connection.

The project is structured through two systems; portalized wall fins and rib structured hulls. The
inspiration for these two structural systems and their relationship to the site came from the
graving docks in Cardiff, such as the Oval Basin. The portalized wall fins run from the
Northeastern edge of the site along West Bute Avenue toward the Oval Basin. These fins walls
act like the lateral supports of the wooden cribs upon which the dry docked boats were supported
and constructed in the graving docks of Cardiff. These walls are of concrete construction and run
continuously from a height of 32m to grade level though a series of variable slopes. These walls

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can be punctured at any point at which they can support transmitted loads from above, as they
are based on the structural principle of portalized masonry walls.

The branching volumes of the C.B.O.H. float above the site, freeing the sloped ground plane of

the reservoir for continuous public use because they rest on the portalized wall fins one half level
above grade. These volumes are suspended on the portalized walls of the crib fins as if they were
analogous to the ship hulls that would temporarily occupy the graving docks of Cardiff before
returning to the sea. Like the early wooden hulls of the boats that once occupied the waterfront
these volumes are structured by a series of parallel, transverse ribs that are tied together along
ridge beams and keel like transfer beams.

In addition to the structural isolation that is achieved in this separation of structures, these
volumes can be connected, sized and joined freely, based on the surrounding context and the
internal programmatic requirements of the project, as the portalized walls that support them can
be punctured in virtually any location. These two systems are sheathed in a lightweight tensile
membrane that provides a sheltered

but environmentally permeable space over the buildable site area. The mebrane would allow for
a diffused light, that would change throughout the day.

The translucency of the building would transform at dusk when the skin would become a
glowing surface during the evening and night. The inter-space that emerges between the support
walls, the hull like volumes, the lightweight tensile skin and the reservoir below the site becomes
the dynamic and multiply programmed space of a new civic institution and an urban space and
image that does not mimic the historic context in its relationship to the Oval Basin and Oval
Piazza.

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This project participates in the history of the site and the industrial heritage of the waterfront
without nostalgia, while proposing a new civic institution that is continuous with the history of
the site and the waterfront of the city. In this way the Opera House emerges from the Oval Basin
and participates inthe development of a new waterfront urbanism of Cardiff and the Oval Piazza.

Britain Rejects Welsh Opera's Plea for Financing

LONDON, Dec. 24— The dream of a spectacular new opera house for Wales has run aground on
a bitter dispute involving modern architecture, rugby, upper-class snobbery and accusations of
anti-Welsh bias.

The dispute reached a climax on Friday when the Government's Millennium Commission, which
distributes proceeds from Britain's hugely lucrative national lottery for projects to ring in the 21st
century, turned down a request for aid in building the $130 million Cardiff Bay Opera House in
Wales.

The project, talked about for decades in the song-loving land to the west, was to be the
centerpiece for a multibillion-dollar redevelopment of the Welsh capital's docklands. With a
spectacular but controversial avant-garde design, the 1,750-seat hall was to open on March 1,
2000 as a performing-arts center and permanent home for the Welsh National Opera.

In rejecting the request, Virginia Bottomley, the Secretary of State for Britain's National
Heritage, said the application was flawed by "uncertainties" in the building's financing and
construction, which made it too risky.

Critics saw a number of other factors at work, including nervousness over the building's bold
architectural design; an effort to placate Welsh rugby fans, who are backing their own bid for a
new stadium, and a desire to avoid accusations that the financing is going mainly to projects with
appeal to a well-to-do "cultural elite."

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In its first year, the lottery has yielded about $1.8 billion to go to five "good causes," ranging
from the arts to national heritage.

In July, the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden in London received $83 million for expansion
from the Arts Council, another body that makes grants from lottery money. It set off a storm of
protest that the money from bettors, many of them working class, would subsidize entertainment
for "the toffs."

Lord Crickhowell, chairman of the Cardiff Bay Opera House project and a former Conservative
Secretary for Wales, interrupted Mrs. Bottomley's news conference to denounce the rejection as
"shocking and incomprehensible." "If this had been a project in London, it would be getting
backing," he said. "You can understand the annoyance of people in Wales that we can't get the
kind of vitally important projects that London seems to be allowed."

The dispute is complicated by the Welsh Rugby Union's appeal for $83 million toward
rebuilding the National Stadium -- a project that would cost some $165 million altogether -- in
time for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Although that application was rejected earlier, the
proponents have been told to submit a slightly revised plan, a hint that it will win next time
around.

Since the two projects, highbrow and low, were in competition -- approval for both considered
unlikely -- newspapers spoke of what one politician called "a struggle for the soul of Wales."

Few doubted polls showing that, forced to choose, most people would opt for the rugby project.
But forcing that choice, or coming down so blatantly on the side of "the people," struck some
critics as typical London condescension toward the provinces. And as many people would point
out, Wales is more than a province; it's a proud separate country.

The Welsh opera stars Dame Gwyneth Jones and Dennis O'Neill called the decision "a slap in
the face for Wales and Welsh culture."

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The Labor Party spokesman for Welsh affairs, Rhodri Morgan, criticized the Conservative Party
Welsh Secretary of State, William Hague, saying: "If it came to a choice between the rugby
stadium and the opera house, then the stadium would come first. The Welsh Secretary is a Meat
Loaf fan and if you have a Meat Loaf fan as secretary, it's unsurprising."

The dispute also has overtones of class bias, since many of the committees distributing lottery
money are well stocked with peers, knights and other titled and landed gentry, as well as wealthy
professionals.

The chances of the Cardiff Opera house were probably not enhanced by the daring plans drawn
up by Zaha Hadid, an Iraqi-born architect working out of London. Her design, a sleek and
dazzling complex of sharp lines and surfaces that she compared to an "inverted necklace," won
out over those of 267 competitors. It was still so controversial that an additional round of
competition was declared; her design won that one, too.

Ms. Hadid called the commission's decision "a bummer," adding, "Do they want nothing but
mediocrity?"
Fantasies of Cardiff Bay Opera House

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This week a lot of work has gone into the Fantasies of Contemporary Culturesymposium that I’m
organising with Tom Harman. The event will take place at Cardiff University on 23 May, and the
programme and registration will hopefully go live sometime next week.
Today, the finishing touches have been put to the event poster (pictured left), which features a
rather abstract black-and-white image. This image is of an architectural model – more
specifically, a model for Cardiff Bay Opera House. It can’t be found on most websites about
the Opera House, however. You also won’t find this building anywhere in Cardiff today.

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What is the story behind this image, and why have we chosen to use an architectural model on
the poster for a fantasy symposium? The obvious answer is that, as both a Welsh monument and
a structure that today exists purely in the imagination, the Opera House applies directly to
our location and theme. But beyond that there’s a slightly more convoluted story that bears
telling.

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The Cardiff Bay Opera House that never was, © Greg Lynn FORM.
Back in the early ’90s, as part of the UK’s massive Millennium Commission, it was decided that
Cardiff needed a landmark building to put it on the map. An opera house would be built as part
of the ongoing renovations to Cardiff Bay, and various architects would compete to design this
iconic structure. Alun Michael, a former Cardiff city councillor, even made a link between the
ambition of the Cardiff project and the famous Sydney Opera House:
Sydney, as a city, was an empty space in people’s minds until the Opera House was built. We
need a similar sort of building in Cardiff for us to make our mark.

The project was announced and the proposals rolled in. Our poster image comes from a proposal
by Greg Lynn’s architectural firm FORM, which, in the lofty language of this paper
in Assemblage (April 1995), highlights ‘biological processes of growth and change to trope
traditional architectural design assumptions[, and takes] the computer as a generative instrument
for systems of symmetrical and asymmetrical organization using theories of biological variation’.
In simpler terms, the Opera House they imagined taps into the popular trend of ‘sustainable
architecture’, maximising the building’s integration into its location and minimising
environmental impact. It strives to build something as aesthetically close to a living organism as
possible.

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This is not the proposal that ultimately triumphed, however. The project went to Zaha Hadid’s
lovely ‘inverted necklace’, planned to at once adorn the crescent of Cardiff Bay and become its
crown jewel.

It was not to be, however, and Hadid’s plans were announced to substantial media controversy.
When the funding bid for Cardiff Bay Opera House was officially rejected, three days before
Christmas in 1995, Hadid cited prejudice against her gender and race as a primary cause.
Author Nicholas Edwards (a.k.a. Nicholas Crickhowell) writes:
If she had been male, white and Welsh would it have been different? I do not know. I hope not.
There are those who tell me I am naive. I really don’t know … I suspect that if it had been a

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young Welsh-speaking architect who had suddenly produced the design, the Western Mail might
have taken a different line.

Others cited lack of public support for the design, and the push for sports over the arts with the
construction of Millennium Stadium. Perhaps the most common word thrown around about the
Cardiff Bay Opera House was ‘elitist’, a label that was perhaps understandable given
the cultural connotations of opera today, but largely under-informed when applied to this project.
The Times Higher Education has a thorough article that attempts to unpack the various
causes. Those interested in reading more about the failed bid can also pick up Nicholas
Crickhowell’s Opera House Lottery: Zaha Hadid and the Cardiff Bay Project from Amazon for a
mere £10. You can also view many of the original materials relating to the project at the National
Library of Wales’ Cardiff Bay Opera House Trust Archive.
Whatever the reason for the project’s failure, it is now (again in the words of Alun Michael) ‘the
most famous unbuilt building in Wales.’ Indeed, in 2011 it became the most
famous rebuilt building in China, as Zaha Hadid’s rejected design was eventually applied to
the Guangzhou Opera House. The Wales Millennium Centre (in Welsh: Canolfan Mileniwm
Cymru) now stands where the Cardiff Bay Opera House would have.

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Zaha Hadid’s design lives on in the Guangzhou Opera House.
Before it was even built – or to put it in the terms of our symposium, while it was still a fantasy –
the Cardiff Bay Opera House brought a whole slew of the social and political issues in Wales to
light. For us, then, this image serves as a striking visual reminder of the way even our unrealised
ideas have power, and remain with us. For whom do we build culture, and what impact can
seemingly innocuous and apolitical projects have on our society?

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The problems and discussions surrounding the Cardiff Bay Opera House are echoed in various
ways through much of contemporary fantasy. What kinds of fantasies are currently at play in our
culture?Join us on 23 May at Cardiff University and find out!

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The first theatre

In 1728, John Rich, actor-manager of the Duke's Company at Lincoln's Inn Fields Theatre,
commissioned The Beggar's Opera from John Gay. The success of this venture provided him
with the capital to build the Theatre Royal (designed by Edward Shepherd) at the site of an
ancient convent garden, part of which had been developed by Inigo Jones in the 1630s with a
piazza and church. In addition, a Royal Charter had created a fruit and vegetable market in the
area, a market which survived in that location until 1974. At its opening on 7 December 1732,
Rich was carried by his actors in processional triumph into the theatre for its opening production
of William Congreve'sThe Way of the World.[4]

During the first hundred years or so of its history, the theatre was primarily a playhouse, with the
Letters Patent granted by Charles II giving Covent Garden and Theatre Royal, Drury
Lane exclusive rights to present spoken drama in London. Despite the frequent
interchangeability between the Covent Garden and Drury Lane companies, competition was
intense, often presenting the same plays at the same time. Rich introduced pantomime to the
repertoire, himself performing (under the stage name John Lun, as Harlequin) and a tradition of
seasonal pantomime continued at the modern theatre, until 1939.[5]

In 1734, Covent Garden presented its first ballet, Pygmalion. Marie Sallé discarded tradition and
her corset and danced in diaphanous robes.[6] George Frideric Handel was named musical
director of the company, at Lincoln's Inn Fields, in 1719, but his first season of opera, at Covent
Garden, was not presented until 1734. His first opera was Il pastor fido followed
by Ariodante (1735), the première of Alcina, andAtalanta the following year. There was a royal
performance of Messiah in 1743, which was a success and began a tradition of Lentenoratorio
performances. From 1735 until his death in 1759 he gave regular seasons there, and many of his
operas and oratorios were written for Covent Garden or had their first London performances
there. He bequeathed his organ to John Rich, and it was placed in a prominent position on the
stage, but was among many valuable items lost in a fire that destroyed the theatre on 20
September 1808. In 1792[7] the architect Henry Holland rebuilt the auditorium, within the
existing shell of the building but deeper and wider than the old auditorium, thus increasing
capacity.

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The second theatre

Rebuilding began in December 1808, and the second Theatre Royal, Covent Garden (designed
by Robert Smirke) opened on 18 September 1809 with a performance of Macbeth followed by a
musical entertainment called The Quaker. The actor-manager John Philip Kemble, raised seat
prices to help recoup the cost of rebuilding and the cost of an increased ground rent introduced
by the landowner, the Duke of Bedford, but the move was so unpopular that audiences disrupted
performances by beating sticks, hissing, booing and dancing. The Old Price Riots lasted over two
months, and the management was finally forced to accede to the audience's demands.[8]

During this time, entertainments were varied; opera and ballet were presented, but not
exclusively. Kemble engaged a variety of acts, including the child performer Master Betty; the
great clown Joseph Grimaldi made his name at Covent Garden. Many famous actors of the day
appeared at the theatre, including the tragediennes Sarah Siddons and Eliza O'Neill,
the Shakespearean actors William Charles Macready, Edmund Kean and his son Charles. On 25
March 1833 Edmund Kean collapsed on stage while playing Othello, and died two months
later.[9]

In 1806, the pantomime clown Joseph Grimaldi (The Garrick of Clowns) had performed his
greatest success in Harlequin and Mother Goose; or the Golden Egg at Covent Garden, and this
was subsequently revived, at the new theatre. Grimaldi was an innovator: his performance
as Joeyintroduced the clown to the world, building on the existing role of Harlequin derived from
theCommedia dell'arte. His father had been ballet-master at Drury Lane, and his physical
comedy, his ability to invent visual tricks and buffoonery, and his ability to poke fun at the
audience were extraordinary.

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Early pantomimes were performed as mimes accompanied by music, but as Music hall became
popular, Grimaldi introduced the pantomime dame to the theatre and was responsible for the
tradition of audience singing. By 1821 dance and clowning had taken such a physical toll on
Grimaldi that he could barely walk, and he retired from the theatre.[11] By 1828, he was
penniless, and Covent Garden held a benefit concert for him.

In 1817, bare flame gaslight had replaced the former candles and oil lamps that lighted the
Covent Garden stage.[12] This was an improvement, but in 1837 Macready employed limelight in
the theatre for the first time, during a performance of a pantomime, Peeping Tom of Coventry.
Limelight used a block of quicklime heated by an oxygen and hydrogen flame. This allowed the
use of spotlights to highlight performers on the stage.[13]

The Theatres Act 1843 broke the patent theatres' monopoly of drama. At that time Her Majesty's
Theatre in the Haymarket was the main centre of ballet and opera but after a dispute with the
management in 1846 Michael Costa, conductor at Her Majesty's, transferred his allegiance to
Covent Garden, bringing most of the company with him. The auditorium was completely
remodelled and the theatre reopened as the Royal Italian Opera on 6 April 1847 with a
performance of Rossini's Semiramide.[14]

In 1852, Louis Antoine Jullien the French eccentric composer of light music and conductor
presented an opera of his own composition, Pietro il Grande. Five performances were given of
the 'spectacular', including live horses on the stage and very loud music. Critics considered it a
complete failure and Jullien was ruined and fled to America.[15][16] Costa and his successors
presented all operas in Italian, even those originally written in French, German or English, until
1892, when Gustav Mahler presented the debut of Wagner's Ring cycle at Covent
Garden.[17][18]The word "Italian" was then quietly dropped from the name of the opera house

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The third theatre

On 5 March 1856, the theatre was again destroyed by fire. Work on the third theatre, designed
by Edward Middleton Barry, started in 1857 and the new building, which still remains as the
nucleus of the present theatre, was built by Lucas Brothers[20] and opened on 15 May 1858 with a
performance of Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots.

The Royal English Opera company under the management of Louisa Pyne and William Harrison,
made their last performance at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane on 11 December 1858 and took up
residence at the theatre on 20 December 1858 with a performance of Michael
Balfe's Satanella[21] and continued at the theatre until 1864.

The theatre became the Royal Opera House (ROH) in 1892, and the number of French and
German works offered increased. Winter and summer seasons of opera and ballet were given,
and the building was also used for pantomime, recitals and political meetings.

During the First World War, the theatre was requisitioned by the Ministry of Works for use as a
furniture repository.

From 1934 to 1936, Geoffrey Toye was managing director, working alongside the Artistic
Director, Sir Thomas Beecham. Despite early successes, Toye and Beecham eventually fell out,
and Toye resigned.[22]

During the Second World War the ROH became a dance hall. There was a possibility that it
would remain so after the war but, following lengthy negotiations, the music publishersBoosey
& Hawkes acquired the lease of the building. David Webster was appointed General
Administrator, and Sadler's Wells Ballet was invited to become the resident ballet company. The
Covent Garden Opera Trust was created and laid out plans "to establish Covent Garden as the
national centre of opera and ballet, employing British artists in all departments, wherever that is
consistent with the maintenance of the best possible standards ..."[23]

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The Royal Opera House reopened on 20 February 1946 with a performance of The Sleeping
Beauty in an extravagant new production designed by Oliver Messel. Webster, with his music
director Karl Rankl, immediately began to build a resident company. In December 1946, they
shared their first production, Purcell's The Fairy-Queen, with the ballet company. On 14 January
1947, the Covent Garden Opera Company gave its first performance of Bizet's Carmen.

Before the grand opening, the Royal Opera House presented one of the Robert Mayer Children's
concerts on Saturday, 9 February 1946.

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Reconstruction from the 1980s forward

The Royal Opera House, Bow Street Façade, after reconstruction

Several renovations had taken place to parts of the house in the 1960s, including improvements
to the amphitheatre but the theatre clearly needed a major overhaul. In 1975 the Labour
government gave land adjacent to the Royal Opera House for a long-overdue modernisation,
refurbishment, and extension. In the early 1980s the first part of a major renovation included an
extension to the rear of the theatre on the James Street corner. The development added two new
ballet studios, offices, a Chorus Rehearsal Room and the Opera Rehearsal room. Dressing rooms
were also added.

By 1995, sufficient funds from the Arts Lottery through Arts Council England[24] and private
fundraising had been raised to enable the company to embark upon a major £213 million
reconstruction of the building by Carillion,[25] which took place between 1997 and 1999, under
the chairmanship of Sir Angus Stirling. This involved the demolition of almost the whole site
including several adjacent buildings to make room for a major increase in the size of the
complex. The auditorium itself remained, but well over half of the complex is new.

The design team was led by Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones of Dixon Jones BDP as architects.
The acoustic designers were Rob Harris and Jeremy Newton of Arup Acoustics. The building
engineer was Arup with Stanhope as developer.[26]

Sky bridge connects theRoyal Ballet School (left) to the Royal Opera House (right) on the 4th
floor. The bridge was designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects

The new building has the same traditional horseshoe-shaped auditorium as before, but with
greatly improved technical, rehearsal, office, and educational facilities. Additionally, a new
studio theatre, the Linbury, as well as more public space was created. The inclusion of the
adjacent old Floral Hall, which had fallen into disrepair and was used as a scenery store before

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redevelopment, created a new and extensive public gathering place. The venue is now claimed
by the ROH to be the most modern theatre facility in Europe.

Surtitles, projected onto a screen above the proscenium, have been used for all opera
performances since they were introduced for schools matinees in 1984. Since the reopening of
the theatre in 1999 anelectronic libretto system provides translations onto small video screens for
some seats, and additional monitors and screens are to be introduced to other parts of the house.

In 2014 design work, known as the Open Up Project, began with the aim of improving the
entrances, lobby areas and the Linbury Theatre.[27][28]

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Facilitie

The Paul Hamlyn Hall is a large iron and glass structure adjacent to, and with direct access to,
the main opera house building. Historically, it formed part of the old Covent Garden flower
market, and is still commonly known as the 'floral hall', but it was absorbed into the Royal Opera
House complex during the 1990s redevelopment. The hall now acts as the atrium and main
public area of the opera house, with a champagne bar, restaurant and other hospitality services,
and also providing access to the main auditorium at all levels.

The redevelopment of the Floral Hall was originally made possible with a pledge of £10m from
the philanthropist Alberto Vilar and for a number of years, it was known as the Vilar Floral Hall;
however Vilar failed to make good his pledge. As a result, the name was changed in September
2005 to the Paul Hamlyn Hall, after the opera house received a donation of £10m from the estate
of Paul Hamlyn, towards its education and development programmes.

As well as acting as a main public area for performances in the main auditorium, the Paul
Hamlyn Hall is also used for hosting a number of events, including private functions, dances,
exhibitions, concerts, and workshops.[29]

Linbury Studio Theatre

The Linbury Studio Theatre is a flexible, secondary performance space, constructed below
ground level within the Royal Opera House. It has retractable raked seating and a floor which
can be raised or lowered to form a studio floor, a raised stage, or a stage with orchestra pit. The
theatre can accommodate up to 400 patrons and host a variety of different events. It has been
used for private functions, traditional theatre shows, and concerts, as well as community and
educational events, product launches, dinners and exhibitions, etc., and is one of the most
technologically advanced performance venues in London with its own public areas, including a
bar and cloakroom.

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The Linbury is most notable for hosting performances of experimental and independent dance
and music, by independent companies and as part of the ROH2, the contemporary producing arm
of the Royal Opera House. The Linbury Studio Theatre regularly stages performances by
the Royal Ballet School and also hosts the Young British Dancer of the Year competition.

The venue was constructed as part of the 90s redevelopment of the Royal Opera House. It is
named in recognition of donations made by the Linbury Trust towards the redevelopment. The
Trust is operated by Lord Sainsbury of Preston Candover and his wife Anya Linden, a former
dancer with the Royal Ballet. The name Linbury is derived from the names Linden and
Sainsbury.[32] It was opened in 1999 with a collaboration from three Croydon secondary schools
(including Coloma Convent Girls' School and Edenham High School) in an original performance
called About Face.[citation needed]

Royal Opera House, Manchester[edit]

Main article: The Royal Ballet § Royal Opera House.2C Manchester

In 2008 the Royal Opera House and Manchester City Council began planning stages a new
development known as Royal Opera House, Manchester. The proposal would have seen
the Palace Theatre in Manchester refurbished, to create a theatre capable of staging productions
by both the Royal Ballet and the Royal Opera. It was intended that the Royal Opera House would
take residence of the theatre for an annual 18-week season, staging 16 performances by the
Royal Opera, 28 performances by the Royal Ballet and other small-scale productions.[33][34] A
year later The Lowry sent an open letter to the then Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics,
Media and Sport, Ben Bradshaw, Arts Council England, Manchester City Council and the ROH,
calling for the scheme, in its current form, to be scrapped.[35] In 2010 it was announced that the
project was being shelved as part of larger arts-funding cuts.[36][37]

High House Production Park (High House, Purfleet)

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The Royal Opera House opened a scenery-making facility for their operas and ballets at High
House, Purfleet, Essex on 6 December 2010. The building was designed by Nicholas Hare
Architects.[38] The East of England Development Agency, which partly funded developments on
the park, notes that "the first phase includes the Royal Opera House's Bob and Tamar Manoukian
Production Workshop and Community areas".[38]

The Bob and Tamar Manoukian Costume Centre, also designed by Nicholas Hare Associates,
opened in September 2015, and provides a costume-making facility for the Royal Opera House
and a training centre for students of costume-making fromSouth Essex College. The building
also houses the Royal Opera House's collection of historically important costumes.

Other elements at High House, Purfleet include The Backstage Centre, a new technical theatre
and music training centre which is currently run by the National College for Creative Industries
and was formally opened by Creative & Cultural Skills in March 2013, alongside renovated farm
buildings. Acme studios opened a complex of 43 artist studios in Summer 2013.

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 WNO building exterior
The building exterior is dominated by walls built of waste slate, collected from the many

quarries throughout Wales, laid in coloured 'strata' depicting the different stone layers seen in

sea cliffs; naturally-occurring purple slate came from a quarry in Penryn, the blue from Cwt-y-

Bugail, green from Nantlle, grey from Llechwedd, and the black slate from the Corris Quarry in

mid-west Wales. An important industry within Wales for centuries, Welsh slate has changed

the landscape of North Wales forever, and is important to Welsh heritage.

"Until the Welsh Assembly building opened, the WNO was

the only building in Cardiff Bay with slate in its design."

The walls were built by stone and walling specialists, GH James Cyf, whose usual work

consists of building and repairing the dry stone slate walls bordering the roads in North Wales.

In total, 2,500t of slate was laid by the company at the WNO; although mortar had to be used,

it was black in colour to disguise it, in order for the final walls to resemble the look of stone laid

dry.

Some slates were used with natural pillared faces and some with sawn faces, to give

contrasting textures. In some places, the bands of slate are separated by glass, letting daylight

into the building. This 15cm-thick glass was cut and installed by the Architectural Glass

Department at Swansea Institute.

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Until the new Welsh Assembly building opened, the WNO was the only building in Cardiff Bay

to incorporate slate in its design.

Above the layered slate walls of the WNO is the main auditorium roof. The steel industry was

once a major employer in Wales, which is why it was decided to use champagne-coloured

textured stainless steel for the shell 'dome' of the lyric theatre. The architect decided against

using copper and aluminium because they would both change colour with weathering.

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Celtic inscription
On the front of the WNO, cut directly into the steel façade in large Celtic lettering, is the

inscription "CREU GWIR GWYDR O FFWRNAIS AWEN," which translated into English means

"Truth is as clear as glass forged in the flames of inspiration." The inspiration for this came

from the forging of the metal roof and the glass from which each letter is made. Each letter

stands over 2m tall and is a window for those inside the WNO overlooking Cardiff Bay.

There is also an English inscription: "IN THESE STONES HORIZONS SING." The strata of the

slate walls reminded Gwyneth Lewis, the author of the inscriptions, of the horizons seen just

beyond Penarth Head in South Wales. She also felt that the stones would "literally be singing"

once the building opened.

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WNO interior
The main entrance to the WNO is directly beneath the inscription. The foyer contains a

reception counter, which is approximately 30m in length. It is a large open space, very

contemporary in form. The west and south main entrances lead in to the concourse (ground

floor - level 0) and ticket counter, which provides access to the foyers and bars, the auditorium

and function rooms, the gallery, the Ty Cerdd and Touch Trust spaces as well as the retail

units and restaurants that surround it. Access for audiences to levels 1-5 can be found from

the foyer.

There are nine function rooms located on levels 2 and 3, for corporate hospitality, seminars

and meetings.

The majority of space within the WNO is 'back-of-house' with access denied to the general

public, e.g. production and rehearsal rooms. The auditorium can be accessed at five main

levels. These floors are connected by wide, suspended flights of stairs that join with oriel

balconies faced with bands of variegated hardwood lining the outer walls, which were provided

by Coed Cymru, an organisation that promotes sustainable husbandry of native hardwoods.

The WNO is one of the first 'new generation' theatres that has its long longitudinal walls

articulated with audience 'boxes', providing a sense of proximity between performers and the

audience.

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WNO acoustics

Arup Acoustics, tasked with creating acoustic excellence for the WNO, adopted a flexible

solution that catered for a range of performing genres. This was achieved through moveable

surfaces that can be sound reflecting, sound absorbing or acoustically transparent, to enable

the desired orchestral balance and playing conditions.

The auditorium is also acoustically protected on all sides, preventing the transmission of noise

from within the venue, as well as disturbance from air and ground-borne noise.

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WNO construction

Phase one of WNO involved the construction of a 1,900-seat Donald Gordon theatre, 250-seat

Western Studio theatre, six function rooms, a hostel, performance and teaching space,

restaurants and coffee shops. The construction began in February 2002 and the building was

officially inaugurated with opening ceremonies on 26-28 November 2004.

Phase two included a 350-seat BBC Hoddinott Hall, the interior of which resembles a Welsh

chapel while its exterior continues the theme of phase one. A concert hall was supposed to be

included as part of the second phrase, however this was scrapped.

Page 41 of 46
Opera Building Hall

The Welsh National Opera in Cardiff combines a classical opera building with a new music
theatre and experimental music workspace, not required in the original competition programme.
New music theatres have usually great difficulty to survive alone. Combining the two helps
development of new music theatre and makes the creation of a new theatrical instrument
possible. The two stages align and can be opened to form a long, linear stage leading through
large doors into the outside square, turning this into urban theatre space. The building stimulates
innovative cultural planning for the harbour area, and invites new art forms.

The main building is a triangular striated mass layered vertically with spaces decreasing in size
towards the thin skin of the façade that faces the square. Within this base a large perambulatory
rock seems to have set -- the auditorium. Carved into the top layer is a large, translucent and
pneumatic roof, which has shifted slightly, offering expanded roof parts to cover entrances. The
stage tower becomes, above the roof, a cube, which is joined, by three other cubes, the orchestra
rehearsal rooms. The façade, the cut separating mass from the public square, is a mediating
threshold between theatre and urban space. The façade becomes the proscenium plane. The
architecture is an instrument for cultural production and for innovation in the field of urban
cultural planning and management.

Page 42 of 46
Appendix 1

WNO MAX Strategy 2011/12 to 2014/15

The Max Promise

 WNO MAX creates innovative and inclusive work of high quality, which engages participants with
WNO, opera and creativity;
 WNO MAX delivers memorable and powerful experiences, which impact lives, change
perceptions of the company and create a sense of ownership of WNO as a whole;
 WNO MAX will broaden and deepen these relationships and develop new ones by continuing to
push creative boundaries;
 WNO MAX will invest in and engage the company and the wider community to create greater
understanding of our work.

Strategic Objectives for 2011 – 2015

WNO MAX helps to deliver the wider strategic principles[1] of the company, especially:

SP1 We will provide a wide programme of opera experiences for the widest possible public;
SP2 We will be accessible to our audiences in terms of attitude, price, geography and participation;
SP5 We will extend the range and reach of the company by responding creatively and flexibly to the
diverse communities we serve, often challenging established perceptions of opera;
SP7 We recognise the responsibility we have, as a large organisation, to support professional
development and share resources. We will bring a collaborative spirit to our relationships with
other arts organisations in Wales and beyond;
SP10 WNO is proud of its Welsh roots, and seeks to be a cultural ambassador for Wales, both in the
UK and overseas.

Alongside these, the following strategic objectives have been identified for the period 2011 – 2015:

 To engage with participants in north Wales and create a sense of ownership of the company;

 To work through formal education networks to engage pupils with opera through projects and
performances linked to the curriculum;
 To create and develop relationships between the company and young people as participants,
mentors, audience members and performers;
 To further develop WNO EXTRA linking it firmly with the seasonal themes of the mainscale
programme;

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  To lead the ArtWorks Wales project and contribute to the development of the participative arts
sector;

WNO MAX will deliver these objectives through four strands[2] of work:

WNO Community
Young WNO
WNO Extra
WNO Academy

WNO Community

WNO Community connects the company and community through a series of participatory projects.

The following project objectives have been identified:

 To take opera into the heart of communities and use it as a tool to aid community cohesion and
address social exclusion;
 To bring community narrative back to the community through opera;
 To work with the harder to reach and less enabled communities;
 To locate performances and workshops within communities;
 To explore how WNO can create legacy for the participants;
 To create a series of community singing opportunities for participants.

The main geographical focus of this work from 2011 – 2014 will be north Wales and the West Midlands,
but this strand will also address communities in south Wales and the Valleys.

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Young WNO

Young WNO aims to use opera to inspire children and young people.

It will do this by fulfilling the following objectives:

 To run Singing Club (10 – 14 year olds) and Youth Opera (14 – 25 year olds), enabling young people
to have an ongoing singing relationship with the company, and to tour the work of these groups
more widely across Wales and England;
 To create a portfolio of projects that engages young people in formal primary and secondary
educational contexts with opera, both as participants and audience members, linking in to the
curriculum and music education structures in England and Wales;
 To research and implement ways for young people to be embedded into the fabric of WNO and
influence the company e.g. by running a Young Board;
 To bring young people into contact with the company as often as possible and provide them with
an opera experience which will stay with them for life.

WNO Extra

WNO Extra enables our existing audience members to deepen their experience of the art form with events
which utilise the intrinsic artistic and external motivations of each audience segment. By doing this, WNO
Extra seeks to increase the frequency, risk-taking and retention of our existing audience. Some WNO Extra
events are aimed at first time attendees.

The programme for WNO Extra will be inspired by and enlarge upon the seasonal themes of the mainscale
programme.

The strand has the following underlying objectives:

 To engage people with the company in a way that they have not done before, by offering specific
events which are tailor-made to enhance the operas in the repertoire;
 To help first time opera attenders by offering accessible and interactive events, which allow
attenders to fully engage with the experience;
 To help bring people to performances, with a mixed level of opera experience, by running a
variety of events which are specifically targeted to identified segments of the audience;

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  To encourage audience members to book for something with which they are less familiar, by
breaking down boundaries and generating interest through the Extra events on offer.

WNO Academy

WNO Academy will provide a range of opportunities for people to engage with the arts as an industry and
potential career, and explore and consolidate relationships with key training and further education
institutions.

Over the next five years Academy will encompass:

 Consolidating the links with RWCMD through young players project, youth opera and the links
with the Opera Course;

 Continue the relationships with the National Opera Studio, giving singers on the verge of a career
an experience of working with WNO;
 Leading ArtWorks Wales and exploring training in the participatory arts sector;

 Expanding work experience and work placement opportunities;

 An investigation into possible further creative apprenticeships within the company;

 A joint opera conference with Cardiff University, with access for general public.

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