| Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía | |
| Building Type: | Arts complex |
| Location: | Valencia, Spain |
| Opened: | 8 October 2005 |
| Main Contractors: | Dragados and Necso |
| Architect: | Santiago Calatrava Valls |
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (paˈlaw ðe lez ˈaɾdz ˈrejna soˈfi.a/; Spanish; Castilian: Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía; anglicised as "Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts") is an opera house, performing arts centre, and urban landmark designed by Santiago Calatrava to anchor the northwest end of the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia, Spain.[1] It opened on 8 October 2005; its first opera staging was of Beethoven's Fidelio on 25 October 2006. Tenor and conductor Plácido Domingo has maintained a special relationship with the Palau since its founding and has established a young singers training program there.[2]
Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts is the last major structure built of a grand City of Arts and Sciences concept designed by the Valencia-born and internationally known architect Santiago Calatrava, which began in 1995. The building was constructed by a joint venture of Dragados and Necso.[3] It was opened officially on 8 October 2005 by Queen Sofía of Spain.[4]
The building rises 14 stories above ground and includes three stories below ground. Its height is 75m (246feet), being the tallest opera house in the world.[5] Under the metallic, expansive curved-roof structure, 2300NaN0 in length, the 40000-3NaN-3 building contains four auditoriums:
The building suffered a number of incidents after its opening, which hampered initial productions. The first of these was the collapse of the main stage platform while it was bearing the complete set of Jonathan Miller's production of Don Giovanni in December 2006. That forced the Palau to cancel the last performance of La Bohème and all of La Belle et la Bête, and meant that the management had to reschedule the remainder of the inaugural opera season. In November 2007, the entire cultural complex suffered a series of floods. The recently re-built stage platform was paralysed once again because almost 20NaN0 of water entered the lower floors of the building and wrecked the electronics and the motors of the complex stage equipment, forcing the management to reschedule the season again, delaying the premiere of Carmen and canceling the opera 1984.
From its inception in 2005 until early 2015, administration of the company was under the General Directorship of Helga Schmidt, formerly of London's Royal Opera House from 1973 to 1981. Schmidt attracted some major artists to be involved with the Palau. Among them is Zubin Mehta, who leads an annual music and opera festival, the Festival del Mediterráneo, which began in 2007; the late Lorin Maazel, who became music director of the company before his death; and Plácido Domingo, who brought his Operalia competition to the Palau in October 2007,[7] and performs there regularly (Cyrano de Bergerac in 2007, Iphigénie en Tauride in 2008, Die Walküre in 2009, etc.). He has appeared with the company every season since its creation.
The resident orchestra at the Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts is the Valencian Community Orchestra. The theatre's first season was dated, 2006–2007. During the first and second seasons the theatre staged seven or eight operas per season, as well as an operetta, a zarzuela, and vocal recitals. During the 2008–2009 season theatre staged seven operas and one zarzuela, in performances that mainly conducted by Lorin Maazel. Soloists included Plácido Domingo, Christopher Ventris, Vittorio Grigolo, Maria Guleghina, and Cristina Gallardo-Domâs. The 2008-2009 Festival del Mediterrani included the complete Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle conducted by Zubin Mehta, again with Plácido Domingo.
The Queen Sofía company promotes symphonic concerts, opera galas, and vocal recitals.[8] The company also hosts the Centre de Perfeccionament Plácido Domingo, an advanced training program of international draw for young opera artists, named in honor of Plácido Domingo.[9] The program is run under the famous tenor's aegis.[10]
On 21 January 2015, Spanish police arrested the company's general director, Helga Schmidt, for alleged financial irregularities at the house. She was relieved of her duties with the company on the same day.[11] Davide Livermore has since assumed Schmidt role as general director.[12] In March 2015, the company appointed Roberto Abbado and Fabio Biondi as joint music directors.[13]