Top Qs
Timeline
Chat
Perspective
Meridian Hall (Toronto)
Performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Remove ads
Meridian Hall, originally opened as O'Keefe Centre on October 1, 1960, is a performing arts venue in Toronto, Ontario, also known as Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts (1996–2007),[2][3] and as the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts (2007–2019). It was re-branded as Meridian Hall on September 15, 2019. Located at 1 Front Street East, the facility was constructed for the City of Toronto municipal government, paid for by the O'Keefe Brewery, and houses the largest soft-seat theatre in Canada.[4] It is currently managed by TO Live, an arm's-length agency and registered charity created by the city.[5][6]
 | This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (August 2012) |
Over its history, the Centre, due to its size and acoustics, has catered primarily to large-scale spectacles, being the home of the Canadian Opera Company and the National Ballet of Canada until 2006. It has hosted touring productions of the Kirov Ballet and the Metropolitan Opera, numerous Broadway musicals, music concerts and legitimate theatre.[7]
In 2008, the City of Toronto designated the theatre a heritage building.[8] That year, it also underwent renovations to restore features such as the marquee canopy and York Wilson's lobby mural, The Seven Lively Arts. Restoration of the wood, brass and marble was undertaken, along with audience seating, flooring upgrades, new washrooms and reconfigured lobby spaces. Following two years of renovations and restoration work, the building reopened on October 1, 2010, fifty years to the date of the first opening night performance.
Remove ads
History
Summarize
Perspective
The Centre was built on land formerly occupied by a series of commercial buildings, including the Canadian Consolidated Rubber Company, and previously it was the site of the Great Western Railway Terminal (later the Toronto Wholesale Fruit Market).[9] The site, being on the south side of Front, was originally a water lot of Toronto Harbour prior to infilling for railways and warehouses.
The idea for a performing arts centre that could serve the needs of an increasingly dynamic city predates the building's opening by almost 20 years. In the mid-1940s, Nathan Phillips issued a challenge to Toronto industrialists to underwrite the cost of a multipurpose centre for theatre, music and dance. Response to Phillips' challenge was not immediate. E.P. Taylor, the racehorse-loving head of Canadian Breweries, which owned O'Keefe Brewing, offered in early 1955 to build a performing arts centre that would not only serve the needs of local institutions but increase the diversity of entertainment options available in Toronto. Toronto City Council immediately accepted the proposal in principle, but not until 1958 was the project finally approved to be built. Among others, United Church spokesmen opposed the idea that money from the sale of beer would be used for community development.[10] Taylor assigned one of his key executives, Hugh Walker, to oversee building what was to be known, during its first 36 years, as the O'Keefe Centre. The Centre became known affectionately as "the barn that beer built."[11]
The O'Keefe Centre opened on October 1, 1960, with a red-carpet gala.[1] The first production was Alexander H. Cohen's production of the pre-Broadway premiere of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot, starring Richard Burton, Julie Andrews and Robert Goulet.[1] Laurence Olivier brought his production of Becket in April 1961.[12]
The first season was concluded by performances by New York's Metropolitan Opera ("The Met") for productions of von Flotow's Martha starring Victoria de Los Angeles and Puccini's Turandot starring Birgit Nilsson in May 1961. [1] The Met would return in future seasons with such well-known performers as Plácido Domingo and Renata Scotto.
Beginning in 1961, The Canadian Opera Company (COC) made the Centre its home stage. Its first season of performances ran from September to October, with productions of Bizet's Carmen, Puccini's Tosca, Mascanis' Cavalleria Rusticana, Leoncavalo's I Pagliacci, and Smetana's The Bartered Bride.[13]
In 1964, the National Ballet of Canada moved to the O'Keefe. During its 42-year residency at the O'Keefe, Canadians Karen Kain, Veronica Tennant and Rex Harrington of the National Ballet become stars.[12]
In 1968, the O'Keefe was purchased for CA$2.7 million by the Metro Toronto government. This relieved the then-City of Toronto government of its upkeep.[11] Amalgamation in 1998 transferred it from Metro to the new City of Toronto.
In 1974, the Bolshoi Ballet performed at the O'Keefe. During the visit a young Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union by escaping the venue into a waiting getaway car, aided by later Jim Peterson PC and businessman Tim Stewart.[14]
In early February 1996, the facility was renamed the Hummingbird Centre in recognition of a major gift from a Canadian software company, Hummingbird Communications Ltd.[2] The CA$5 million donation allowed the Centre to undertake a number of capital improvements and repairs, including the installation of an elevator and an acoustic reinforcement system for the auditorium.[15] In October 2006, OpenText acquired Hummingbird and declined to renew its contract with the centre.[16] In September 2007, Sony bought the naming rights to the Centre for CA$10 million, and a ten-year partnership was born.[3]
When the National Ballet and Canadian Opera Company moved to the Four Seasons Centre in 2006, it left a hole in the theatre's schedule. At this point, programming shifted to a multicultural schedule by including more content to appeal to Toronto's many ethnic diasporas. Notable performances that reflect this mandate include The Last Empress (a Korean historical musical), the Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company, South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir, The Shaolin Warriors, Ricky Cheng, David Rudder & Friends and Club Tropicana.[citation needed]
In 2006, the performing arts venue received approval from the City of Toronto for the development of a high-rise condominium building beside the Centre. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind (who also designed the Crystal addition to the Royal Ontario Museum), the L Tower was built on the southwest corner of the property. The Sony Centre closed on June 26, 2008, to begin the theatre renovations, which were unveiled on October 1, 2010.[17]
In June 2012, the Sony Centre hosted the Canadian premiere of the Philip Glass and Robert Wilson opera Einstein on the Beach.[18]
On January 21, 2019, the City of Toronto announced a CA$30.75 million fifteen-year partnership with Meridian Credit Union, re-branding the Sony Centre into Meridian Hall, and the Toronto Centre for the Arts into the Meridian Arts Centre. The arts venues formally adopted their new names on September 15, 2019.[19][20][21]
Remove ads
Notable concerts and productions
Summarize
Perspective
Over its lifespan, the Centre has hosted many concerts. Popular music artists including Bob Dylan, Janet Jackson, Elton John, Steve Earle, Leonard Cohen, Elvis Costello (November 1978), David Bowie (June 1974), Lou Reed (June 2000), and bands such as The Grateful Dead,[22] The Who, Jefferson Airplane (August 1967), Led Zeppelin (November 1969), Radiohead (June 2006), The Carpenters, The Clash (September 1979) and Beastie Boys (September 2007) played concerts at the performing arts venue.[23] Other artists who have performed on the arts venue's stage in a range of solo shows, revues. and jazz spectaculars include Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Marlene Dietrich, Diana Ross, Anne Murray, Tom Jones, Danny Kaye, Judy Garland, Sammy Davis Jr., Bill Cosby, Jack Benny, Liza Minnelli and Liberace.[when?]
In October 1972, the National Ballet premiered Rudolf Nureyev's lavish and expensive production of The Sleeping Beauty.[12] The venue has also seen frequent visits by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens. The venue has also welcomed a wide range of international dance companies such as Les Ballets Africains, Britain's Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Folklorico of Mexico, as well as the Kirov and Bolshoi Ballet companies from the then-Soviet Union.
In 1963, Sir John Gielgud brought his production of The School for Scandal to the O'Keefe. It starred Gielgud as Charles Surface, Ralph Richardson, his wife Muriel Forbes, Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Richard Easton, and Laurence Naismith.[24] In February 1964, Richard Burton returned to star in Hamlet accompanied by Elizabeth Taylor.[12] Other stage productions have included Hello, Dolly! in April 1965 with Mary Martin, returning with Carol Channing and Pearl Bailey in later productions. In November 1966, Fiddler on the Roof made the first of eight visits. In March 1971, Katharine Hepburn broke box-office records starring as Coco Chanel in the musical Coco.[12]
In 1984, Toronto hosted the Toronto International Festival celebrating the city's 150th anniversary. The O'Keefe was selected for several productions with The Met producing Peter Grimes with Jon Vickers, Francesa da Rimini, Ernani with Leona Mitchell, Die Walkure and The Abduction. The National Ballet performed Onegin, and the COC performed Death in Venice.[25]
Remove ads
Architecture
Summarize
Perspective
Designed by Peter Dickinson and Earle C. Morgan, the performing arts venue is an example of a mid-twentieth century modern performing arts venue. It is four stories high and is broken up into three main forms: the entrance block, auditorium and fly tower. The central form of the building is highly symmetrical with an open floor plan. Structurally, the performing arts venue uses steel trusses and concrete to hold the majority of the building together. In addition to the structure, the performing arts venue's auditorium houses an acoustic system, which gives the audience the sense that the sound surrounds them.[26]
When it comes to materiality, most of the original materials are still in the building today and include Alabama limestone, glazing, granite, copper, bronze, Carrara marble, carpet, cherry plywood panels and Brazilian rosewood. The performing arts venue is very diverse in its range of materials and employs them in such a way that they are not overshadowed by the unique forms of the building.[citation needed]
The interior also features a grand double-height foyer with coffered ceilings, a 30 metres (98 ft) wide mural by the Toronto-born artist York Wilson, cantilevered stairs, polished bronze auditorium doors, and a fan-shaped auditorium with a curving balcony.[27]
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Wikiwand - on
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Remove ads