The world is blessed with many concert halls and opera houses designed with just as much creativity as the music and they present. They are the spaces that house our most important cultural rituals, and in these cases, are designed as works of art themselves. Be they Arthur Erickson’s Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto or The Copenhagen Concert Hall in Denmark, concerts halls are dream spaces whose designs tell us just as much about ourselves as we tell about them.
This list is not compiled based on acoustic, historical or architectural significance. It represents a visual tour through the world. Your mileage may vary… so let us know what we missed in the comments and be sure to vote for your favourite hall in our poll below.
1: Walt Disney Concert Hall – Los Angeles, California
Home to the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra and the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Walt Disney Concert Hall was designed by Toronto-born Frank Gehry and opened on October 24, 2003. Acoustics were designed by Yasuhisa Toyota, one of the best acousticians in the world. The hall represents Gehry’s highest achievement, surpassing his Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
2: National Centre for the Performing Arts – Beijing, China
Known as “The Giant Egg”, the building stands unparalleled in China. The “egg” is lined with titanium and glass, and is surrounded by its own lake. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu and houses 5,452 people across three different performance spaces.
3: Oslo Opera House – Oslo, Norway
The crown of Norway, Oslo Opera House is the largest arts building constructed in Norway since Nidarosdomen in 1300. Home to The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre, the massive structure contains 1,100 rooms with a total area of 414,000 sq ft. The angled walls are made with high-grade Italian marble and white granite, and designed to appear to rise from the water.
4: Royal Albert Hall – London, England
While the acoustics of London’s Royal Albert Hall have been complained about for ages (Edinburgh’s Usher Hall sounds much better), its atmosphere is unbeatable. The hall attracts some of the best performers in the world, with audiences to match. It is best known for holding the annual Proms concerts and has been renovated many times since it first opened in 1871.
5: Rudolfinum – Prague, Czech Republic
Designed by architect Josef Zítek and his student Josef Schulz, Prague’s Rudolfinum opened in 1885 and includes Dvořák Hall – one of the oldest concert halls in Europe. The venue has excellent acoustics, and Dvořák himself believed it to be one of the best in Europe.
6: Sydney Opera House – Sydney, Australia
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most iconic buildings in history and was designed by architect Jørn Utzon in 1973. It presents a wide range of productions and performing arts companies, including Opera Australia, The Australian Ballet, the Sydney Theatre Company and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site on June 28, 2007.
7: The Koncerthuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
Formally known as The Copenhagen Concert Hall, The Koncerthuset is located in the northern part of Ørestad in Copenhagen, Denmark and is home to the Danish National Symphony Orchestra. The building was build by Jean Nouvel and is inspired by a meteor covered by big blue screens resembling water.
8: Roy Thomson Hall – Toronto, Canada
Being from Toronto we’re naturally a tad biased, but we think Roy Thomson Hall deserves a place o the list. Opened in 1982 and designed by Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, it features a unique circular design which exhibits a sloping and curvilinear glass exterior. Besides being home to The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, it is a central venue for the Toronto International Film Festival.
9: Carnegie Hall – New York City, USA
One of the most prestigious venues in the world, Carnegie Hall is located in Midtown Manhattan. It was designed by William Burnet Tuthill in 1891, and built by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. It is one of the last large all-masonry buildings in New York, and is encased in Roman bricks with terracotta and brownstone detailing.
10: Auditorio de Tenerife – Canary Islands, Spain
Since it was erected in 2003, the majestic profile of Auditorio de Tenerife has been an architectural symbol of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Its unique design twists elements of late-modern architecture with the late 20th century. The main 1,616 capacity hall is crowned by a huge dome, which houses an organ with pipes emerging from both sides of the pit. Rather than project the sound forward, its acoustic design surrounds the listener from all angles.
11: National Theater and Concert Hall – Taipei, Taiwan
Taiwan’s twin National Theater and National Concert Hall represent the first major modern performing arts facilities built in Asia. The building cost was a whopping 2.3 billion dollars. International performers have included Plácido Domingo, José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Yo-Yo Ma, Fou Ts’ong Simon Rattle and Lorin Maazel.
12: Casa da Música – Porto, Portugal
Casa da Música (English: House of Music) was designed by Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. Finished in 2005, it has become an architectural icon in Porto, Portugal. New York Times’ Nicolai Ouroussoff called it the “most attractive project the architect Rem Koolhaas has ever built” and “a building whose intellectual ardor is matched by its sensual beauty”.
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