使用者:Corpproject/墨爾本公主劇院
| Princess Theatre | |
|---|---|
 Spring Street facade | |
| 地址 | 澳大利亞 墨爾本 163 Spring Street |
| 所有者 | Marriner Theatres |
| 紀念 | Victorian Heritage Register |
| 座位數 | 1488 seats |
| 現用途 | musicals, opera |
| 建造 | |
| 啟用 | 1857 |
| 活躍年代 | 1857- |
| 建築師 | William Pitt |
| 網站 | |
| www.marrinertheatres.com.au/hireprincess.htm | |
墨爾本公主劇院Princess Theatre是一座位於澳大利亞墨爾本，擁有1488個座位的劇院
It is listed by the National Trust of Australia and is on the Victorian Heritage Register.
歷史
編輯It was first erected in 1854 by actor-manager George Coppin, who would create Melbourne's theatre land. He already owned the Olympic (known as the 'Iron Pot') on the corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale Streets, installed gas lights in November 1855 into Astley's, and then he would go on to take over the Theatre Royal in Bourke Street.
The Princess Theatre is the second building on the present site - the first being Astley's Amphitheatre which opened in 1854 containing a central ring for equestrian entertainment and a stage at one end for dramatic performances. It was named in honour of the Astley Royal Amphitheatre, also known as Astley's Amphitheatre, near Westminster Bridge, 倫敦.
In 1857, the amphitheatre was renovated and the facade extended, then re-opening as the Princess Theatre and Opera House.
By 1885, the partnership of J. C. Williamson, George Musgrove and Arthur Garner, had been formed and they became known as 'The Triumvirate', the business becoming known as J. C. Williamson's. The Triumvirate resolved to build a new theatre.
Completed in 1886 to the design of architect William Pitt; George Gordon to design the interior; and Cockram and Comely as the builders; re-development of the Theatre took place at a cost of £50,000. The design is in the exuberant Second Empire style, and the theatre forms part of the Victorian streetscape of Spring Street.
When completed, it featured the world's first sliding or retractable roof and ceiling. It also featured state-of-the-art electrical stage lighting.
The theatre re-opened, again, on 18 December 1886, with a performance of 吉爾伯特與薩利文's The Mikado. The marble staircase and foyer was hailed as equal to that of the Paris Opera, the 美因河畔法蘭克福 Stadt and the Grand in 波爾多.
On 26 December 1922, new owners Ben Fuller and Hugh J. Ward renovated and reopened the theatre, with a performance of The O'Brien Girl.
In 1987, David Marriner purchased the Princess Theatre; he renovated and had the 1922 origins documented, then 9 December 1989, the theatre re-opened with the musical Les Misérables, followed by The Phantom of the Opera, establishing a new record for the longest running show ever staged in Victoria.
Ghost sightings
編輯
The theatre has experienced several reported 鬼 sightings.[1]
On the evening of 3 March 1888, the baritone Frederick Baker, known under the stage name "Frederick Federici", was performing the role of Mephistopheles in 夏爾·古諾's opera 浮士德. This production ended with Mephistopheles sinking dramatically through a trapdoor returning to the fires of hell with his prize, the unfortunate Dr Faustus. The audience was spellbound. As the audience held its collective breath as Federici was lowered down through the stage into this basement, he had a heart attack and died immediately.[2] They laid him on the floor, lifeless, in his crimson vestments. He never came back onstage, never took the bows. When the company was gathered together to be told that Federici had died, they asked, "When?". Being told of what had happened at the end of the opera, they said, "He's just been onstage and taken the bows with us." Since then, many people who have never heard of the Federici story have claimed to see a ghostly figure in evening dress at the theatre. For many years, the third-row seat in the dress circle was kept vacant in his honour.[3]
When a documentary was made nearly 80 years later, by Kennedy Miller in the early 1970s, a photograph of the film set revealed an ashen-faced, partly transparent observer. No-one on the set saw the figure on that day; only the photograph revealed 'the ghost'.
Use
編輯Restored in 1989, the theatre is regarded as Melbourne's home for international musical productions, including:
- 《發電廠樂團》 (1981)
- 《悲慘世界》 (1989 & 1998)
- 《歌劇魅影》 (1990)
- 《貓》 (1993)
- 《西城故事》 (1994)
- 《Disney's Beauty and the Beast》
- 《Chess》
- 《The Boy from Oz》
- 《不可兒戲》
- 《音樂之聲》 (2000)
- 《The Witches of Eastwick 2002
- 《媽媽咪呀！》 (2002)
- 《The Producers》 (2004)
- 《Swan Lake on Ice》 (2006)
- 《Dirty Dancing》 (2006)
- 《Kiss Me, Kate》 (2006)
- 《The Phantom of the Opera》 (2007)
- 《Guys and Dolls》 (2008)
- 《Jersey Boys》 (2009)
- 《Hairspray》 (October 2010)
It has also been used as a venue for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, including the stage show Puppet Up! in 2007.
參考
編輯- ^ The theatre ghost from the ABC
- ^ Stone, David. Frederick Federici at Who Was Who in the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, 27 August 2001, accessed 4 September 2011
- ^ Graeme Blundell, Marvellous Meelbourne article in The Age, 27-28 August 2005