Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

's Corum is a building that houses both a conference centre and an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

house (Opéra Berlioz), and is located in the centre of the city in southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It was designed by

Claude Vasconi Claude Vasconi (24 June 1940 – 8 December 2009) was a French architect. Vasconi was born in Rosheim, and was educated at the ''Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts et de l'Industrie'' in Strasbourg. In 1964, he set up office in Paris. After de ...

and opened to the public in 1988. The building forms the visual closing of the Esplanade seen from the

Place de la Comédie The Place de la Comédie (; ) is square in Montpellier, Hérault in Southern France. It is at the southeast point of the city centre, at , where the fortifications of the city were formerly located. History The ''Place'' became the focal point o ...

. It is covered in slabs of pink

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

. The high costs of the building were subject of political debate in the 1980s, mostly directed against then-mayor

Georges Frêche Georges Frêche (; July 9, 1938 – October 24, 2010) was a French politician. He served as President of the Languedoc-Roussillon Region from 2004 until his death: prior to that, he had been mayor of Montpellier for 27 years, and was also a f ...

. The Conference Center has 6000 m² of exhibition space. The Opéra Berlioz, named after

Hector Berlioz Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...

, seats 2000 persons, and since 1990 has been one of the performance venues for the

Opéra National de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon () is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the Minister ...

.Opéra et Orchestre National de Montpellier
on company website

References

External links

Enjoy Montpellier, the management company of the Corum
Buildings and structures in Montpellier Hector Berlioz Tourist attractions in Montpellier {{Montpellier-stub