A giant dome of glass and titanium looms in the fog. It is enveloped by a lake, steam rising from the water. Nearby is a red staircase leading down. These stairs are the entrance to the domed building, the National Centre for the Performing Arts or the Grand National Opera. The size of the building is impressive: its total area is 200,000 square meters, the three main halls can accommodate up to 6,500 spectators. The center was built from 2001 to 2007, on the occasion of the 29th Summer Olympic Games held in China’s capital in 2008. The building in the historic center of Beijing (Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are just ten minutes by foot away) was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. The center is located in the middle of an artificial lake Zhongnanhai.
A theater can be entered freely; a curious one can wander its corridors. However, there is a security check at the entrance. A smoker has say goodbye to the cigarette lighter – it will be taken away, just as they do at many other public places in Beijing. The opera halls contain many sculptures – odd shapes of metal and wire. Modern artists have tried to convey the shapes of different melodies – waltz, jazz, and others. Children joyfully pose for a photo near the statues of Soviet partisans, constructed for the performances on the 70th anniversary of the World War Two.
The repertoire of the theater is diverse. There are famous and complex performances, such as The Magic Flute by Mozart and Lohengrin by Wagner; there are also modern Chinese shows such as The Rickshaw opera, dance drama Marco Polo, the traditional Chinese opera You and I; there are dramatic plays such as Jane Eyre.
Opera is full of sounds: the artists are busy rehearsing somewhere, a young pianist plays classic tunes on a piano right in the hall on one of the floors. Next to her are several dozen seats for spectators. People listen, applaud, and take pictures. A little further stands out a giant ship, decorated with huge golden bull’s head. It is a part of the scenery for the Aida opera by Giuseppe Verdi. One can go inside the ship. Inside, there is an exhibition dedicated to the play: on display is the jewelry of the opera’s characters – Amneris, Pharaoh’s daughter, and Aida, the slave, and also the scores and archive photos.
Apart from that, the theater is also a major educational center. It houses a 1,400-square-meter-large library with books and magazines about art. The center also regularly holds lectures. A miniature exhibition in one part of the complex reminds of childhood (who didn’t dream of a dollhouse then?). The students of China University of Communications teamed up with decorators to create 20 miniatures of old Beijing. The accuracy of models is impressive: houses have bars on the windows, dishes, fire extinguishers. Some fine details are smaller than a fingernail in size. The exhibition also shows a table with working tools, paints, pieces of cardboard – a working place of a decorator.
Some residents show a tongue-in-cheek attitude to the futuristic building of the National Centre for the Performing Arts: it is popularly referred to as “an egg.” But, anyway, the theater’s appearance is impressive. If you are in Beijing – it is surely a place to visit. It is even better not only to browse its halls, but also to come to its shows.
