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The Star: Canadian to design Russian opera house

khris

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Canadian to design Russian opera house
Jack Diamond replaces French architect

Dec 13, 2008 04:30 AM
Martin Knelman
Arts Columnist


Toronto architect Jack Diamond and his partner, Donald Schmitt, have been chosen to design what has been called Russia's most important building project in 70 years.

The building, St. Petersburg's second opera house, known as Mariinsky 2, will go along with the renowned Mariinsky Theatre, which was built in the 19th century.

Diamond – who was drafted because of his work on Toronto's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts – is set to replace the prominent French architect Dominique Perrault, whose proposal will be shelved after being selected by a jury in 2003 over 10 other candidates. Perrault designed the French National Library in Paris.

More than $20 million has already been invested in Perrault's scheme, which featured a dome of black marble and golden glass. But there were problems with practical issues like maintenance in a severe climate.

No official announcement has been made, but the Russian business daily Kommersant reported the change yesterday. And the Star has learned that Diamond is in St. Petersburg negotiating details.

The commission would be a huge vindication for Diamond, who was criticized in some quarters because the Toronto opera house, built on a tight budget, is not an iconic monument when seen from the outside.

But it's the marvels inside that wowed Valery Gergiev, artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, when he was given a tour of the Four Seasons Centre in 2007 by Richard Bradshaw, the late Canadian Opera Company leader.

The new Mariinsky theatre, which could open in 2011 or 2012, will have about 2,000 seats – making it the same size as Toronto's intimate opera house.

Source
 
The building, St. Petersburg's second opera house, known as Mariinsky 2, will go along with the renowned Mariinsky Theatre, which was built in the 19th century.

Here's photos of the original Mariinsky that I googled...

the_mariinsky_theatre.jpg


MariinskyTheater.jpg


Nothing D+S designs will ever compare to something like this.
 
Nothing D+S designs will ever compare to something like this.

Why? Is it possible that modern architecture can't possibly be better than classic?
Is it that D+S are not good enough?
Why discredit something before it's even presented?
 
For that matter, why bother even comparing?

Then again, there's the matter of the Opera de la Bastille, also by a Toronto architect...

397940.JPG
 
Why? Is it possible that modern architecture can't possibly be better than classic?

Is that what he said? Because it sounded more like he was suggesting that, specifically, Diamond and Schmidt wouldn't be able to create a better looking building. And, since D+S have recently completed an Opera House that quite clearly proves that...why are you disagreeing?

That green and white wedding cake isn't my favourite building by a long shot, but I'd still prefer it over 4SC. Having said that though, I much prefer 4SC over Opera de la Bastille; that thing looks like a Cineplex!


Why discredit something before it's even presented?

Track record counts for something.
 
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Is that what he said? Because it sounded more like he was suggesting that, specifically, Diamond and Schmidt wouldn't be able to create a better looking building. And, since D+S have recently completed an Opera House that quite clearly proves that...why are you disagreeing?

That green and white wedding cake isn't my favourite building by a long shot, but I'd still prefer it over 4SC. Having said that though, I much prefer 4SC over Opera de la Bastille; that thing looks like a Cineplex!




Track record counts for something.

Who said I was disagreeing? I was just asking questions to understand his response more.
 
Why? Is it possible that modern architecture can't possibly be better than classic?
Is it that D+S are not good enough?
Why discredit something before it's even presented?

I'm not discrediting D+S. One thing I'm almost certain is that the old theatre pays more attention to detail than anything D+S, or most major architects, are able to produce these days.

Although I am wowed some of Toronto's modern spaces (Calatrava's Galleria, the AGO's Galleria Italia, to name a few), classical spaces combine the vastness of the space with detail which make people doubly amazed. In that, the classical is better than the modern.
 
What's wrong with that, adma? It's neoclassical that looks like it was done exceptionally well without cutting corners or using cheap materials. Do you have something against it because it opened in 2006?
 
If they get a building even half as good as Diamond's beautiful and acoustically perfect Four Seasons Centre, the Russians will be blessed indeed. Toronto appears to have set the gold standard for excellence in opera house design, as three sold-out seasons at the FSCPA attest.
 

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