The St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts is a performing arts theatre complex located in downtown

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, Canada. Situated on Front Street one block east of

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, it was the

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's official centennial project, commemorating the 1967

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins ...

.About the St. Lawrence Centre
/ref> It houses two auditoriums, the 868-seat Bluma Appel Theatre and the 499-seat Jane Mallett Theatre.

Facility

The centre is municipally owned and was operated from 1983 to 1987 by CentreStage Company (named Toronto Arts Foundation 1964-73, then Toronto Arts Productions 1973-83). General managers of the St. Lawrence Centre have included

Mavor Moore James Mavor Moore (March 8, 1919 – December 18, 2006) was a Canadian writer, producer, actor, public servant, critic, and educator. He notably appeared as Nero Wolfe in the CBC radio production in 1982. Life and work Moore was born in Tor ...

1966-70, Leon Major 1970-80, Victor C. Polley 1980-1, Bruce Swerdfager 1981-5, Michael Noon circa 1985-94, David Wallett circa 1996-2007, and James Roe in 2007. The -million St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts was designed by Gordon S. Adamson and Associates. It opened on 2 February 1970 after eight years of planning and construction. The building originally housed the 863-seat "Theatre" and the 483-seat "Town Hall".

Bluma Appel Theatre

The "Theatre" was initially adaptable for

thrust stage In theatre, a thrust stage (also known as a platform stage or open stage) is one that extends into the audience on three sides and is connected to the backstage area by its upstage end. A thrust has the benefit of greater intimacy between perform ...

, proscenium, and caliper formations, and was used for dramatic presentations until 1982, when it was redesigned by The Thom Partnership (Toronto) and the Theatre Projects Consultants. During the -million renovation, the thrust stage was removed, a balcony and boxes helped increase seating, and an optional orchestra pit was provided. It reopened on 19 March 1983 as the Bluma Appel Theatre, in honour of a major donor, Bluma Appel. Additional restorations to the Centre's theatres and exterior were completed in 2007 by 3rd Uncle Design Inc (Toronto); the -million construction cost was shared by the city and the Centre's patrons. The Bluma Appel Theatre has been the Canadian Stage Company’s main stage for over 25 years.

Jane Mallett Theatre

The "Town Hall" was renamed the Jane Mallett Theatre in November 1984, in memory of Canadian actress

Jane Mallett Jane Mallett (April 17, 1899 – April 14, 1984) was a Canadian actress. She was born as Jean Dawson Keenleyside in London, Ontario, Canada. Career Her films included ''Love at First Sight'' with Dan Aykroyd, ''The Sweet and the Bitter'', ''T ...

. It is used mainly for recitals, chamber concerts, public debates, stage and film presentations.

History

Louis Applebaum was music consultant 1968-71. Franz Kraemer was music director 1971-9, succeeded by a team: Costa Pilavachi, music administrator, and Paul Robinson, director of music programming. Robinson resigned in 1980 and Pilavachi continued in sole charge of music until Jane Forner replaced him in 1982. In the 1970s and 1980s, music presentations at the St Lawrence Centre for the Arts included several annual series and a broad spectrum of chamber music performances, in addition to special series and events. Canadian Sound, a festival of music by Canadian composers and performers, was presented in 1976. The

Orford String Quartet The Orford String Quartet was a Canadian string quartet active from 1965 through 1991. They came to be the leading string quartet in Canada, and were well-known internationally. Founding In 1951, Gilles Lefebvre launched a summer music camp for L ...

presented a Beethoven series during the 1982-3 season. In addition to its regular chamber series in 1984-5, CentreStage Music (the concert arm of CentreStage) presented its 17-day Bach 300 festival at the St Lawrence Centre and various venues throughout the city. Among others who used the Centre's facilities, COMUS Music Theatre presented the staged premiere of John Beckwith's The Shivaree in the Town Hall in April 1982, and the Canadian Opera Company Ensemble mounted

Cosi fan tutte Cosi, COSI or CoSi may refer to: * '' Così'', a 1992 play by Louis Nowra ** ''Cosi'' (film), 1996, based on the play * Così (restaurant), an American fast-casual restaurant chain * Compton Spectrometer and Imager, or COSI, a NASA telescope to ...

in the Bluma Appel Theatre in 1985. CentreStage Music ceased its operations on 1 July 1987, and the St. Lawrence Centre became, for musical events, a rental house. The Centre has since hosted a wide variety of performers, including the

Gryphon Trio The Gryphon Trio is a Canadian classical music ensemble that has been nominated for several and has won three Juno Awards for its classical recordings released by the Analekta label. Its members are Annalee Patipatanakoon (violin), Roman Borys (cel ...

; the St Lawrence and Tokyo string quartets;

Marc-André Hamelin Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...

;

Jon Kimura Parker Jon Kimura Parker (born 25 December 1959) is a Canadian pianist. Early life and education Jon Kimura Parker was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, the son of Keiko Parker and John Parker. He began his studies with his uncle, Edward P ...

; the Chamber Players of Toronto; MegaCity Chorus; Nexus; the ORIANA Women's Choir; Youth and Music Canada; and the

Elmer Iseler Singers The Elmer Iseler Singers is a professional chamber choir based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The twenty-voice choir, conducted by Artistic Director ''Lydia Adams'', founded by Dr. Elmer Iseler in 1979, is one of Canada’s leading choral ensemb ...

, who premiered Pimooteewin: The Journey (Melissa Hui, composer; Tomson Highway, librettist) at the Centre in February 2008. Festivals held at the Centre have included the New Wave Composers Festival and the

Luminato Luminato Festival, Toronto's International Festival of Arts and Ideas, is an annual celebration of the arts in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, launched in 2007. In its first decade, Luminato presented over 3,000 performances featuring 11,000 artists fr ...

arts festival.

References

External links

St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts website
{{Authority control Buildings and structures completed in 1967 Theatres in Toronto 1967 in Canada Canadian Centennial Performing arts centres in Canada