'Chinese fan' by Huangpu River: Shanghai Grand Opera House to open in October

(ECNS) -- The Shanghai Grand Opera House will officially open on Oct. 17, positioning itself as "a global home for opera, a premier stage for original Chinese productions and a cultural living room for the public," the venue announced Monday.

Designed to resemble a Chinese folding fan, the opera house took six years to build and was completed in June. Located along the Huangpu River beside Expo Culture Park, the complex covers 5.3 hectares with a total floor area of 146,000 square meters (1.57 million square feet).

The venue features three main performance spaces with a total of 4,200 seats. Its signature design is centered on a spiraling double-helix staircase that forms the "fan ribs," creating the visual effect of a giant folding fan opening above the riverfront.

The opera house features three main performance halls: the 2,000-seat Red Hall, the 1,200-seat Shen Hall, and the 1,000-seat Mirror Hall, along with the Yue Hall for arts education.

The Red Hall primarily hosts operas, ballets, symphony concerts and other comprehensive art forms. It features a stage of about 3,500 square meters (37,700 square feet), making it the largest theater stage in Asia. It is also the first theater in Asia equipped with a two-way wagon system on a "six-grid" stage, enabling rapid scene changes.

The Mirror Hall, where Monday's announcement was held, is designed for immersive theater, chamber music and experimental productions. A nearly 13-meter-high glass curtain wall opens the performance space to views of Expo Culture Park, while a system of 21 movable seating platforms allows the hall to be reconfigured for multiple stage layouts.

The opening has drawn attention from leading performing arts institutions worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House in the UK, and the Sydney Opera House in Australia, which sent congratulatory messages.

\Alexander Neef, general director of the Paris Opera, said he looks forward to "the beginning of an artistic journey — where artists, audiences and communities connect through music".

World-class opera productions will also converge here. Teatro La Fenice will present a new production of Tosca, the Mariinsky Theatre will stage a new production of Aida, and the Staatsoper Berlin will bring Der Rosenkavalier as part of the Shanghai Grand Opera House's opening season.

(By Tang Yuxian)