The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía is the opera house of Valencia and the last major building of the City of Arts and Sciences designed by Santiago Calatrava. Queen Sofía opened it on 8 October 2005; its first opera staging was Beethoven's Fidelio in October 2006. Beneath a curved metal roof 230 metres long, the building rises 75 metres. It contains four auditoriums: the 1,470-seat Main Hall for opera; the 1,420-seat Auditorium above it; and the Aula Magistral and Martí i Soler Theatre, each seating 400. The resident orchestra is the Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana. Plácido Domingo has been associated with the house since its founding and established a training programme for young singers here; Zubin Mehta conducted the complete Ring cycle at the 2008 to 2009 Festival del Mediterrani.
The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia opened in 2005 according to designs by Santiago Calatrava — the spectacular helmet-shaped building is part of Calatrava's City of Arts and Sciences.
At a glance
- Type
- Opera house
- Location
- Valencia, Spain
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