Dubai Opera is a 2,000-seat, multi-format, performing arts centre located within The Opera District in

Downtown Dubai Downtown Dubai or The Dubai Downtown is a large-scale, mixed-use complex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It was developed by the Emaar Properties, Emaar real estate development company. Before 2000, this area was called ''Umm Al Tarif''. It is h ...

. It was developed by

Emaar Properties Emaar Properties (or simply Emaar) is an Emirati real estate development company located in the United Arab Emirates. The two largest shareholders are Dubai ruler Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and the UAE's sovereign wealth fund Investment Corpor ...

to host a variety of performances and events including theatre, opera, ballet, concerts, conferences and exhibitions. Its plans were announced by Sheikh

Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum (; born 15 July 1949) is an Emirati politician and royal who is the current ruler of Dubai, and serves as the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates, vice president and Prime Minister of the United Arab ...

in March 2012 and it was completed in 2016. It opened on 31 August 2016 with a performance by

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

. The first season featured Bizet's

The Pearl Fishers ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

opera and tenor

José Carreras Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Catalan operatic tenor from Spain who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini. Born in Barcelona, ...

. Dubai Opera has flat floor capacity of . This floor can be hired for weddings, gala dinners, fashion shows and exhibitions. The building is created by Atkins and principal architect Janus Rostock, allows it to transform into three modes: a theatre, a music hall, and a banquet or event hall in a 'flat floor' mode.

History

In January 2015, Emaar named Jasper Hope as the Chief Executive of Dubai Opera. Hope was the COO of

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. Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) was the main contractor for the development, having worked with Emaar in building the

Dubai Mall Dubai Mall () is the largest shopping mall in Dubai. The mall is part of Downtown Dubai and is located adjacent to the Burj Khalifa. It includes over 1,200 shops. History Dubai Mall was inaugurated on 4 November 2008, with about 1000 reta ...

. An earlier proposal to build a cultural centre on an island in the Dubai Creek designed by architect

Zaha Hadid Dame Zaha Mohammad Hadid ( ''Zahā Ḥadīd''; 31 October 1950 – 31 March 2016) was an Iraqi-born British architect, artist, and designer. She is recognised as a key figure in the architecture of the late-20th and early-21st centuries. Born ...

was announced in 2008 and shelved during the property crash in Dubai. This venue, located in The Lagoons, would have accommodated an opera house with a 2,500 seating capacity, an 800-seat playhouse, a arts gallery, a performing arts school, and a '6-star' themed hotel. The first Emirati singer to appear at Dubai Opera was

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on 10 October 2016. Shortly after that, the award-winning hit musical ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'' ran for three weeks. In 2017 the venue staged the inaugural

BBC Proms The BBC Proms is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in central London. Robert Newman founded The Proms in 1895. Since 1927, the ...

Dubai - just the second time ever that the United Kingdom's premier classical music series hosted events abroad in its 112-year history. Dubai Opera's longest running show was the ''

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'' in late 2019. In just under 4 years of operation, Dubai Opera has won a number of awards including 'Best Theatrical Performance' at the Timeout Dubai Nightlife Awards 2017 for Les Misérables, 'Favorite Show' at the 2017 What's On Awards Dubai for Les Misérables, and 'Best Theatrical Performance' at the Timeout Dubai Music and Nightlife Awards 2019 for

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. As per 2023, the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

cultural manager

Paolo Petrocelli EMMA for Peace, or the Euro Mediterranean Music Academy, is an international Nonprofit organization for the promotion of peace through music diplomacy and education in Europe, Middle East and the Mediterranean region. History EMMA for Peace wa ...

serves as the Head of Dubai Opera. For his contributions to the development of the organization, Paolo Petrocelli has been nominated in 2024 by

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among the most creative people in business in the Middle East. The 2023-24 season of Dubai Opera featured a record-breaking 250,000 audience members, the highest number since its opening in 2016.

Building

Dubai Opera is part of The Opera District within

. The 1901-seat performing arts centre was designed by Janus Rostock of Atkins. The theatre was conceived and briefed by Theatre Projects Consultants, it can be converted into a traditional theatre, concert hall, banquet hall or exhibition space. Using hydraulic lifts and seating wagons to relocate 900 of the 2,000 seats, the space can be used for other events while the extra seating is stored in garages beneath the theatre. It has 1,800-square-metre flat floor space which can hold up to 1,000 or more people for weddings, gala dinners, fashion shows, product launches, exhibitions and more. Dubai Opera is designed to resemble a

dhow Dhow (; ) is the generic name of a number of traditional sailing vessels with one or more masts with settee or sometimes lateen sails, used in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean region. Typically sporting long thin hulls, dhows are trading vessels ...

, a traditional sailing vessel, in which the 'bow' of the structure houses the opera's main stage, orchestra and seating, while the elongated 'hull' has waiting areas, a taxi "rank" or drop-off and pick-up areas, and parking. It also boasts a rooftop restaurant with views of the Burj Khalifa.

The Opera District

The Opera District was launched by Emaar Properties in Downtown Dubai in 2013. Aside from Dubai Opera, the district, which faces

Burj Khalifa The Burj Khalifa (known as the Burj Dubai prior to its inauguration) is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 m (2,722 ft, or just over half a mile) and a roof height (excluding the antenna, but inc ...

and

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, includes art galleries, museums, design studios, and other cultural venues. The area includes several hotels, a retail plaza, recreational spaces and residential towers. Dubai has more than 50 art galleries and hosts cultural events such as

Dubai Design Week Dubai Design Week is an annual event held to celebrate and promote design and creativity in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The first Dubai Design Week took place in 2015, and is held annually at venues across the city, with Dubai Design District be ...

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, and the

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References

{{authority control Opera houses in the United Arab Emirates Architecture in Dubai Performing arts centres Buildings and structures completed in 2016 2016 establishments in the United Arab Emirates Theatres completed in 2016

History

Building

The Opera District

See also

References