Wales Millennium Centre
Encyclopedia
Wales Millennium Centre is an arts centre
located in the Cardiff Bay
area of Cardiff
, Wales
. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert. The centre has hosted performances of opera
, ballet
, dance
, comedy
and musicals.
Locally nicknamed "the Armadillo", the Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts organisations in residence.
The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,897 seats, the BBC Hoddinott Hall 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre 250.
In 2001 Lord Rowe-Beddoe
was appointed chairman of Wales Millennium Centre, a company limited by guarantee
. Board members include Sir Michael Checkland
.
to construct a permanent home for the Welsh National Opera
. The project failed to win financial support from the Millennium Commission
, the body which distributed funds from the UK National Lottery
.
An international design competition attracted 268 international applicants, and was won by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid
. Her avant-garde
design was so radical that she and a selection of other applicants were asked to submit revised designs for a second round of competition—which she again won with "a sleek and dazzling complex of sharp lines and surfaces that she compared to an 'inverted necklace'".
In December 1995, the Millennium Commission decided against lottery-money
funding for the project. It was suggested that the bid failed because of "the unpopular Conservative government's fear of controversy", favouring the funding of projects perceived as more populist
, such as the Millennium Stadium
.
property division) threatened to built a retail centre there due to the delays. Further boosts were given by large donations from South African businessman Donald Gordon and a loan from the international bank, HSBC
. The GB£20 million donation from Donald Gordon was split evenly between the Royal Opera House and Wales Millennium Centre and was spread over five years. This is believed to be the largest single private donation ever made to the arts in the UK.
In addition to the two main theatres of the Donald Gordon Theatre and Weston Studio Theatre, the 37000 square metres (44,251.6 sq yd) phase 1 of the Wales Millennium Centre also has six function rooms: the Victor Salvi Room, the David Morgan Room, the Sony Room, the Seligman Room, the Japan Room and Function Room 6. The Urdd Gobaith Cymru
has a hostel to accommodation 153 people overnight in en-suite bedrooms, called the Urdd City Sleepover.
It also has performance and teaching space in the Urdd Hall/Theatre, with 153 retractable seats.
The building also includes rehearsal rooms, orchestral facilities for the Welsh National Opera, dance studios for Diversions, called The Dance House, and the Blue Room, with seating for up to 100. pies are blue
The foyer
has three bars; the Penderyn Awen Foyer Bar on level 2, the Horizons Foyer Bar on level 4, and the Stones Foyer Bar on level 5. Gilby's @ the Bay, which is a restaurant, is also situated in the foyer, along Crema, which is a coffee shop, Hufen, which is an Ice cream parlour and One, which is a wine bar. Free performances also take place during the day in the foyer on the Glanfa Stage.
(taken over by Capita Group
in 2004), with Arup Acoustics
providing the acoustic design and Arup as building engineer. His first concept drawings were made in the early 1998, by 1999 his design was starting to look more like the building it is today.
Construction began on 25 February 2002, the main contractor being Sir Robert McAlpine
Ltd and Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd being the roofing contractor. Carr and Angier were the theatre consultants. Other contractors included Stent (foundations), Swansea Institute (glass), GH James Cyf (stonemasonry
), Rimex (stainless steel
), Alfred McAlpine
(slate), Coed Cymru (wood), Ann Catrin Evans (door furniture
), Amber Hiscott (etching
s on glass walls).
The architect's concept of the building was to design a building that expressed "Welshness" and that was instantly recognisable. The building was designed to reflect the many different parts of Wales with local Welsh materials that dominate its history; slate, metal, wood and glass. All the materials used come from Wales
and was built from 1,350 tonnes of Welsh slate, 300,000 concrete
blocks, a million metres of electric cable.
Slate
The exterior of the building is clad in multi-coloured slate
collected from Welsh slate quarries. Narrow windows are built into the layers of slate to give the impression of rock strata
they depict the different stone layers in sea cliffs. The purple slate came from the Penrhyn Quarry
, the blue from Cwt y Bugail Quarry
, the green from the Nantlle Valley
, the grey from Llechwedd quarry
, and the black from the Corris Quarry
.
Metal
The Centre's main feature, the bronze coloured dome, which covers the Donald Gordon Theatre, is clad in steel that was treated with copper oxide
. It was designed to withstand the weather conditions on the Cardiff Bay waterfront and will look better with age. The architect, Jonathan Adams, decided not to use copper and aluminium as they would both change colour with age and weather conditions.
Wood
Both inside and outside the building, including the main Donald Gordon
theatre, the balconies and the rear of the building, is dominated by bands of hardwood lining the walls.
Glass
Glass
was used to incorporate into the bands of slate. The glass is 15 centimetres (5.9 in) thick and was cut and installed by the Architectural Glass Department at Swansea Institute. Glass is used not in the contemporary British architectural style of the glass curtain.
Jonathan Adams said, "The glass veins in the external walls of the Wales Millennium Centre make use of conventional glass in a unique way: the sheets of glass are stacked together and fused in a kiln to form solid blocks."
Calligraphy
Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance, are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis
. The Welsh
version is Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen
, which means "Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration". The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing. The lettering is formed by windows in the upstairs bar areas and are internally illuminated at night.
.jpg)
Gwyneth Lewis
said of the inscription
:
"In These Stones Horizons Sing
" is also an orchestra
l work, which was composed by Karl Jenkins
, and commissioned by the Wales Millennium Centre for the opening of the Centre on 29 November 2004.
, the creative director of the whole opening weekend.
Day 1 – 26 November 2004
The day started with a speech from Lord Rowe-Beddoe, chairman of Wales Millennium Centre, who declared to the crowd that the proceedings were under way. This was followed by a speech from Rhodri Morgan
, the First Minister
, who stressed that the new arts centre belonged to the whole nation, that it was for all of the people of Wales and not just for the elite.
The building was opened by Janet Thickpenny, a young mother from Barry, who was chosen because her 40th birthday coincided with that of the opening day. A human chain delivered the symbolic key, designed and cast by Ann Catrin Evans, to Janet with a fanfare from the National Youth Brass Band of Wales to a Karl Jenkins
specially commissioned work In These Stones Horizons Sing
and the Centre was open.
The evening celebrations began with Cymru for the World, which celebrated the achievements of five leading Welsh artists; Gwyneth Jones, Shirley Bassey
, Siân Phillips
and the late Alun Hoddinott
and Richard Burton
, represented by his daughter Kate Burton
. This included tributes from Robert Hardy
, Jonathan Pryce
, Derek Jacobi
, Nana Mouskouri
, Catrin Finch
, Ruth Madoc
and Ian McKellen
.
Bryn Terfel started off with a short speech and introduced the Wales Millennium Centre singers and dancers, who in hard hats and donkey jackets sang and danced the story of the construction of the building. They were later joined by all 322 participants in a chorus, including Gwyn Hughes Jones, Bryn Terfel and Dennis O'Neill
sang a duet from Pearl Fishers
. Diversions
performed a new ballet based on one of Alun Hoddinott
’s works. The Welsh National Opera performed La Traviata
, in their new home. The evening ranged across all musical types from popular to classical.
Day 2 – 27 November 2004
The second day was an open door for the public to explore the Centre with a continuous stream of hundreds of people filling through the building from early morning until the fireworks display out in the Roald Dahl Plass
.
Day 3 – 28 November 2004
The final day of the opening weekend began with the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II
, Prince Philip
, and the Prince of Wales
who met First Minister
Rhodri Morgan
and Lord Rowe-Beddoe, and marked the event by unveiling a plaque. Philip Madoc
, Siân Phillips, Gaby Roslin
, Michael Ball
, Charlotte Church
, Catrin Finch
and Only Men Aloud!
were among the artists that entertained the audience during the first act. The second act was opened by the Welsh National Opera and later the Kirov Ballet
and Cirque Éloize
entertained the audience. Bryn Terfel ended the celebrations.
Phase 2 of the Centre is home to the BBC National Orchestra of Wales
(BBC NOW) and the BBC National Chorus of Wales. BBC NOW moved from Studio 1 at Broadcasting House
in Llandaff
, which the orchestra had outgrown since the late 1960s. Phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert performed by the BBC NOW and conducted by Thierry Fischer
. Phase 2 includes the 350 seater BBC Hoddinott Hall , also known simply as Hoddinott Hall, which is named after the late Welsh classical composer Alun Hoddinott
CBE
(August 11, 1929 – March 12, 2008), and the Grace Williams Studio, which is named after another Welsh composer, Grace Williams
(February 19, 1906 – February 10, 1977), and is used as a centre for education and outreach work. Phase 2 also has space for practice rooms, a music library, backstage facilities, it also provides a four-storey office space for Wales Millennium Centre and the Arts Council of Wales
.
Phase 2 of the Centre was designed by the then newly qualified Tim Green and Keith Vince of Capita Architecture, formerly called Capita Percy Thomas and now part of Capita Symonds
, with Arup Acoustics again providing the acoustic design. The main contractor was again Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, with MJN Colston Ltd responsible for the design and installation of all the mechanical, electrical and public health services in the building. Other subcontractor
s on the project included URS Corporation
, Davis Langdon
and Hulley & Kirkwood.
Tim Green said of the building that the exterior of the building was designed to be in keeping with the existing Wales Millennium Centre, while the interior had a theme all of its own. "The concept behind the design of the interior of Hoddinott Hall was that of a traditional Welsh chapel." "The timber treatment at low level is very reminiscent of Victorian chapels and the masonry above. The stonework you would normally get in a stone chapel has been replaced by concrete."
During the design and construction period, the project name for phase 2 was C Bay. Construction of phase 2 began in April 2007, and ended when the keys to the building were handed over at an official ceremony in September 2008, and the beginning of the fitting out of the BBC Hoddinott Hall by BBC Wales
.
. The concert included the world premiere
of St Vitus in the Kettle by Simon Holt
, the orchestra’s composer in association, who took over from Michael Berkeley
. The BBC Hoddinott Hall was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 31 January 2009, where he unveiled a plaque.
The Wales Millennium Centre is home to nine arts organisations:
Millennium Fund provided £31.7 million, a further £37 million came from The National Assembly for Wales
and £10.4 million was donated by the Arts Council of Wales
. In addition a private investor, South African businessman Donald Gordon donated £20 million to be shared equally between the Royal Opera House
and the Wales Millennium Centre. The Centre also received a £13.5 million loan from HSBC. The remaining funds for the project came from a major sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society
. Today the Centre has many corporations and public bodies who provide sponsorship to the Centre.
The National Assembly for Wales announced on 6 November 2007 that it was to pay off the outstanding loan of £13.5 million from HSBC and also increase the annual funding. From April 2008, the National Assembly for Wales have given a grant to the Wales Millennium Centre with £3.5 million per annum for 3 years. This would only repay the capital debt and not any ongoing operating loss as the Centre remains profitable. The money used to pay the debt came from unallocated funds from the Assembly's previous budget and it was said by the Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas
, that the new money allocation would not come at the expense of other art projects from other parts of Wales.
The cost of phase 2 of the project was approximately £18 million, however the BBC does not own the building, they have leased it for 25 years from the Lime Property Fund, which is a subsidiary of Aviva Investors. The building was built by Concert Bay Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises Ltd who co-funded the scheme along with Lime Property Fund.
In November 2006, Wales Millennium Centre announced that they would begin a two phase rebranding project. The project was won by a local Cardiff company, Sweet. The first phase of the project involved a new corporate logo, the second phase included the complete redesign of other marketing tools, such as brochures and advertisements.
The Centre has made numerous appearances in film and television including Doctor Who
, whose modern era is produced locally by BBC Wales
. It has appeared seven times to date: as itself from outside in the episode "Boom Town
", its marquee
momentarily at the end of the episode "Bad Wolf
", its lobby as a hospital lobby in the far future in the episode "New Earth
", and again in "The Girl Who Waited
",. It also appeared briefly in the episodes "Utopia
" and "The Stolen Earth
", and also in the final episode of series 3, "Last of the Time Lords
".
The spin-off series Torchwood
, has its headquarters, known as "The Hub", set underneath the Water Tower, Roald Dahl Plass
, with the Wales Millennium Centre's frontage featuring heavily through the show.
Jones Jones Jones
On 3 November 2006, a record breaking attempt to gather the most people with the same surname, Jones
, took place in the Centre under the show banner Jones Jones Jones, filmed for television by S4C
. The record was broken with 1,224 Joneses filling the Donald Gordon Theatre. The previous record was set in Sweden
in 2004 when 583 people gathered who had the same surname of Norberg.
Gavin & Stacey
Episode 1 of the second series of BBC TV show Gavin & Stacey
was filmed in the Wales Millennium Centre. The centre was supposed to be an airport
.
Arts centre
An art centre or arts center is distinct from an art gallery or art museum. An arts centre is a functional community centre with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theatre space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational...
located in the Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Bay is the area created by the Cardiff Barrage in South Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The regeneration of Cardiff Bay is now widely regarded as one of the most successful regeneration projects in the United Kingdom. The Bay is supplied by two rivers to form a freshwater lake round the...
area of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. The site covers a total area of 4.7 acres (1.9 ha). Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert. The centre has hosted performances of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and musicals.
Locally nicknamed "the Armadillo", the Centre comprises one large theatre and two smaller halls with shops, bars and restaurants. It houses the national orchestra and opera, dance, theatre and literature companies, a total of eight arts organisations in residence.
The main theatre, the Donald Gordon Theatre, has 1,897 seats, the BBC Hoddinott Hall 350 and the Weston Studio Theatre 250.
In 2001 Lord Rowe-Beddoe
David Rowe-Beddoe, Baron Rowe-Beddoe
David Sydney Rowe-Beddoe, Baron Rowe-Beddoe is a British politician, a life peer and a crossbench member of the House of Lords.-Early life:David Rowe-Beddoe is the son of Sydney Rowe-Beddoe and Dolan Evans....
was appointed chairman of Wales Millennium Centre, a company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
. Board members include Sir Michael Checkland
Michael Checkland
Sir Michael Checkland was Director-General of the BBC from 1987 to 1992, having been appointed after the forced resignation of Alasdair Milne.- Early life :...
.
Failed Cardiff Bay Opera House project
The Centre replaced an earlier project for the site, the Cardiff Bay Opera House, a plan supported by the Cardiff Bay Development CorporationCardiff Bay Development Corporation
The Cardiff Bay Development Corporation was set up by the United Kingdom Government on 3 April 1987 to redevelop of one sixth of the area of Cardiff to create Cardiff Bay.-Objectives:...
to construct a permanent home for the Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera
Welsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
. The project failed to win financial support from the Millennium Commission
Millennium Commission
The Millennium Commission in the United Kingdom was set up to aid communities at the end of the 2nd millennium and the start of the 3rd millennium. It used funding raised through the UK National Lottery....
, the body which distributed funds from the UK National Lottery
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
.
An international design competition attracted 268 international applicants, and was won by Iraq-born architect Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
. Her avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
design was so radical that she and a selection of other applicants were asked to submit revised designs for a second round of competition—which she again won with "a sleek and dazzling complex of sharp lines and surfaces that she compared to an 'inverted necklace'".
In December 1995, the Millennium Commission decided against lottery-money
National Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
funding for the project. It was suggested that the bid failed because of "the unpopular Conservative government's fear of controversy", favouring the funding of projects perceived as more populist
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, such as the Millennium Stadium
Millennium Stadium
The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...
.
Origins of Wales Millennium Centre
After the Cardiff Bay Opera House project was rejected, a new project was conceived that included more than opera and was felt to be a better reflection of Welsh culture. The change of name symbolised this, but the project still had to overcome many hurdles. Funding from the Welsh Assembly and Millennium Commission took years to obtain. Cardiff Council had to buy the land after the previous owners, Grosvenor Waterside (Associated British PortsAssociated British Ports Holdings
Associated British Ports Holdings Ltd owns and operates 21 ports in the United Kingdom, managing around 25 per cent of the UK's sea-borne trade...
property division) threatened to built a retail centre there due to the delays. Further boosts were given by large donations from South African businessman Donald Gordon and a loan from the international bank, HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
. The GB£20 million donation from Donald Gordon was split evenly between the Royal Opera House and Wales Millennium Centre and was spread over five years. This is believed to be the largest single private donation ever made to the arts in the UK.
Phase 1 – Donald Gordon Theatre and Weston Studio Theatre
Urdd Gobaith Cymru
dde|200px|thumb|The Urdd logoUrdd Gobaith Cymru, literally, the Welsh League of Hope, but normally translated as the Welsh League of Youth, or merely referred to as the Urdd, is a Welsh-medium youth movement with over 1,500 branches and over 50,000 members...
has a hostel to accommodation 153 people overnight in en-suite bedrooms, called the Urdd City Sleepover.
It also has performance and teaching space in the Urdd Hall/Theatre, with 153 retractable seats.
The building also includes rehearsal rooms, orchestral facilities for the Welsh National Opera, dance studios for Diversions, called The Dance House, and the Blue Room, with seating for up to 100. pies are blue
The foyer
Foyer
A foyer or lobby is a large, vast room or complex of rooms adjacent to the auditorium...
has three bars; the Penderyn Awen Foyer Bar on level 2, the Horizons Foyer Bar on level 4, and the Stones Foyer Bar on level 5. Gilby's @ the Bay, which is a restaurant, is also situated in the foyer, along Crema, which is a coffee shop, Hufen, which is an Ice cream parlour and One, which is a wine bar. Free performances also take place during the day in the foyer on the Glanfa Stage.
Design and construction
The Centre was designed by Jonathan Adams, of local practice Percy Thomas ArchitectsPercy Thomas Partnership
Percy Thomas Partnership was a trading name of the award-winning British architectural practice originally set up by Percy Thomas in Cardiff, Wales in 1911/12. Percy Thomas and his practice put their name to a number of landmark buildings in the United Kingdom including the Wales Millennium...
(taken over by Capita Group
Capita Group
The Capita Group Plc , commonly known as Capita Group or Capita, is a business process outsourcing and recruitment company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the largest business process outsourcing company in the UK, with an overall market share of 27% in 2009, and has clients in...
in 2004), with Arup Acoustics
Arup
Arup is a global professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom which provides engineering, design, planning, project management and consulting services for all aspects of the built environment. The firm is present in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, East Asia, Europe and the...
providing the acoustic design and Arup as building engineer. His first concept drawings were made in the early 1998, by 1999 his design was starting to look more like the building it is today.
Sir Robert McAlpine
Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd. is a private British company headquartered in London. It carries out engineering and construction for the oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, pharmaceutical, defence, chemical, water and mining industries.-History:...
Ltd and Kelsey Roofing Industries Ltd being the roofing contractor. Carr and Angier were the theatre consultants. Other contractors included Stent (foundations), Swansea Institute (glass), GH James Cyf (stonemasonry
Stonemasonry
The craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
), Rimex (stainless steel
Stainless steel
In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox from French "inoxydable", is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5 or 11% chromium content by mass....
), Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine
Alfred McAlpine plc was a British construction firm headquartered in London. It was a major road builder, and constructed over 10% of Britain's motorways, including the M6 Toll...
(slate), Coed Cymru (wood), Ann Catrin Evans (door furniture
Door furniture
Door furniture or Door hardware refers to any of the items that are attached to a door or a drawer to enhance its functionality or appearance....
), Amber Hiscott (etching
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
s on glass walls).
The architect's concept of the building was to design a building that expressed "Welshness" and that was instantly recognisable. The building was designed to reflect the many different parts of Wales with local Welsh materials that dominate its history; slate, metal, wood and glass. All the materials used come from Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
and was built from 1,350 tonnes of Welsh slate, 300,000 concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
blocks, a million metres of electric cable.
Slate
Slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
collected from Welsh slate quarries. Narrow windows are built into the layers of slate to give the impression of rock strata
Stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum is a layer of sedimentary rock or soil with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it from other layers...
they depict the different stone layers in sea cliffs. The purple slate came from the Penrhyn Quarry
Penrhyn Quarry
The Penrhyn Slate Quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda in north Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries...
, the blue from Cwt y Bugail Quarry
Cwt y Bugail Quarry
The Cwt y Bugail Quarry was a slate quarry located east of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales. It was first worked as a trial pit around 1840. Continuous production began in 1863 and continued until closure in 1961...
, the green from the Nantlle Valley
Nantlle Valley
The Nantlle Valley is an area in Gwynedd, north Wales, characterised by its large number of small settlements.Around 80% of the population of the Nantlle Valley speak Welsh as their first language. Some of the communities came into being as a result of slate quarrying in the late eighteenth or...
, the grey from Llechwedd quarry
Llechwedd quarry
Llechwedd quarry is a major slate quarry in the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, north Wales. At its peak in 1884 it produced 23,788 tons of finished slate per year and had 513 employees. It continues to produce slate on a limited scale and is the location of the Llechwedd Slate Caverns tourist...
, and the black from the Corris Quarry
Braichgoch Slate Mine
Braichgoch Slate Mine was a large slate mine located in Corris Uchaf, north Wales. It was worked continuously from 1787 until closure in 1970, apart from a hiatus in the 1900s...
.
I always loved going to OgmoreOgmore-by-SeaOgmore-by-Sea is a seaside village in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It lies on the western limit of the Glamorgan Heritage Coastline of south Wales....
and SoutherndownSoutherndownSoutherndown is a village in South Wales to the southwest of Bridgend, close to St Brides Major, Llantwit Major and Ogmore-by-Sea. It is mostly known for its beach , which is a popular tourist destination during the summer months and since 1972 has been designated a Heritage Coast and is part of...
. I thought the cliffs there looked like a building anyway. A building capable of withstanding the roughest weather for hundreds of years. The older they get, the better they look. I wondered if it would be possible to make a building which had the same qualities as these magnificent cliffs. To do that I needed a lot of stone. Normal stone for buildings has to be specially cut into blocks; it takes a long time to make and costs a fortune. But in north WalesNorth WalesNorth Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
the historic slate industry has left behind whole mountains of waste stone that no-one wants. This was stone cut from the mountainside for nearly two hundred years but which wasn’t good enough to make roof slates. Over 90% was thrown away. But it was ideal for making walls like the one I had in mind... —architect Jonathan Adams
Metal
The Centre's main feature, the bronze coloured dome, which covers the Donald Gordon Theatre, is clad in steel that was treated with copper oxide
Copper(I) oxide
Copper oxide or cuprous oxide is the inorganic compound with the formula Cu2O. It is one of the principal oxides of copper. This red-coloured solid is a component of some antifouling paints. The compound can appear either yellow or red, depending on the size of the particles, but both forms...
. It was designed to withstand the weather conditions on the Cardiff Bay waterfront and will look better with age. The architect, Jonathan Adams, decided not to use copper and aluminium as they would both change colour with age and weather conditions.
We all know that steel making has been important to south WalesSouth WalesSouth Wales is an area of Wales bordered by England and the Bristol Channel to the east and south, and Mid Wales and West Wales to the north and west. The most densely populated region in the south-west of the United Kingdom, it is home to around 2.1 million people and includes the capital city of...
, just as slate making has changed the landscape of the north. We have to use a special type of steel that won’t go rusty near to the salt-laden, maritime air of Cardiff Bay. This stainless steel will be made near to PontypoolPontypoolPontypool is a town of approximately 36,000 people in the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales....
. For the Wales Millennium Centre I thought it was important that the materials should have a "natural" texture, and that they should be instantly recognisable to anyone seeing them, even from a distance. For this reason I felt it was important that the steel of the shell should have the rough grain and the riveted pattern that we think of as more typical of old industrial structures, such as those that used to be commonplace around the landscape of the industrial south. —architect Jonathan Adams
Wood
Donald Gordon
Sir Donald Gordon is a South African businessman and philanthropist.-Career:Educated at King Edward VII School in Johannesburg before doing his articles to be a Chartered Accountant at the firm Kessel Feinstein .He founded the Liberty Life Association of Africa in 1957 out of which he formed...
theatre, the balconies and the rear of the building, is dominated by bands of hardwood lining the walls.
Like the exterior of the building, the principal internal spaces are designed to make the best use of natural materials in their natural state. The structure and detail of the concourse galleries echo the form of the exterior, with the curving strata formed in native hardwoods. OakOakAn oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
, ashAsh treeFraxinus is a genus flowering plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae. It contains 45-65 species of usually medium to large trees, mostly deciduous though a few subtropical species are evergreen. The tree's common English name, ash, goes back to the Old English æsc, while the generic name...
, beechBeechBeech is a genus of ten species of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia and North America.-Habit:...
, sycamore, alderAlderAlder is the common name of a genus of flowering plants belonging to the birch family . The genus comprises about 30 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, few reaching large size, distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and in the Americas along the Andes southwards to...
, birchBirchBirch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, chestnutChestnutChestnut , some species called chinkapin or chinquapin, is a genus of eight or nine species of deciduous trees and shrubs in the beech family Fagaceae, native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The name also refers to the edible nuts they produce.-Species:The chestnut belongs to the...
and cherryCherryThe cherry is the fruit of many plants of the genus Prunus, and is a fleshy stone fruit. The cherry fruits of commerce are usually obtained from a limited number of species, including especially cultivars of the wild cherry, Prunus avium....
woods from renewable sources in mid-WalesMid WalesMid Wales is the name given to the central region of Wales. The Mid Wales Regional Committee of the National Assembly for Wales covered the counties of Ceredigion and Powys and the area of Gwynedd that had previously been the district of Meirionydd. A similar definition is used by the BBC...
will be used together in proportions that reflect their relative availability from the forest. The design of the concourseConcourseA concourse is a place where pathways or roads meet, such as in a hotel, a convention center, a railway station, an airport terminal, a hall, or other space.-Examples:Examples of concourses include:* Meeting halls* Universities* Railway stations...
galleries is intended to evoke the image of the edge of the forest, partly as a counterpoint to the coastal nature of the exterior, and partly because the edge of the forest in folklore and mythology represents a line between the real world and the magical world, a line which resembles the front edge of the theatre stage. The form of trees is created by the interweaving curvature of the gallery edges, and by the random positioning of the supporting columns. —architect Jonathan Adams
Glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
was used to incorporate into the bands of slate. The glass is 15 centimetres (5.9 in) thick and was cut and installed by the Architectural Glass Department at Swansea Institute. Glass is used not in the contemporary British architectural style of the glass curtain.
Jonathan Adams said, "The glass veins in the external walls of the Wales Millennium Centre make use of conventional glass in a unique way: the sheets of glass are stacked together and fused in a kiln to form solid blocks."
Calligraphy
Inscribed on the front of the dome, above the main entrance, are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis
Gwyneth Lewis
Gwyneth Lewis is a Welsh poet, and was the first National Poet for Wales.-Biography:Born into a Welsh speaking family, Lewis's father started teaching her English when her mother went into hospital to give birth to her sister....
. The Welsh
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
version is Creu Gwir fel gwydr o ffwrnais awen
Awen
Awen is a Welsh word for " inspiration".It is historically used to describe the divine inspiration of bards in the Welsh poetic tradition...
, which means "Creating truth like glass from the furnace of inspiration". The English is In These Stones Horizons Sing. The lettering is formed by windows in the upstairs bar areas and are internally illuminated at night.
The idea of this monumental inscription comes from Roman classical architectureRoman architectureAncient Roman architecture adopted certain aspects of Ancient Greek architecture, creating a new architectural style. The Romans were indebted to their Etruscan neighbors and forefathers who supplied them with a wealth of knowledge essential for future architectural solutions, such as hydraulics...
. The Romans brought ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to these islands, along with the custom of engraving stone. The form of the Celtic crossCeltic crossA Celtic cross is a symbol that combines a cross with a ring surrounding the intersection. In the Celtic Christian world it was combined with the Christian cross and this design was often used for high crosses – a free-standing cross made of stone and often richly decorated...
embodies the cross-fertilisation of indigenous and Roman cultures, from which the Welsh nation first emerged. The monumental inscription is a familiar feature of Roman architecture. The inscription over the entrance of the Wales Millennium Centre is a revival of this classical tradition, and also a recognition of the formative influence of Roman culture upon our nation. We’re lucky to have two languages; one that we share with half the world and one which belongs just to us. Words in songs, stories and poems have helped to make Wales the proud country that it is. —architect Jonathan Adams
Gwyneth Lewis
Gwyneth Lewis
Gwyneth Lewis is a Welsh poet, and was the first National Poet for Wales.-Biography:Born into a Welsh speaking family, Lewis's father started teaching her English when her mother went into hospital to give birth to her sister....
said of the inscription
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
:
I wanted the words to reflect the architecture of the building. Its copper dome reminded me of the furnaces from Wales's industrial heritage and also Ceridwen's cauldron, from which the early poet Taliesin received his inspiration ('awen'). AwenAwenAwen is a Welsh word for " inspiration".It is historically used to describe the divine inspiration of bards in the Welsh poetic tradition...
suggests both poetic inspiration and the general creative vision by which people and societies form their aspirations. [...] It was important to me that the English words on the building should not simply be a translation of the Welsh, that they should have their own message. The strata of the slate frontage of the Wales Millennium Centre reminded me of the horizons just beyond Penarth HeadPenarth HeadPenarth Head is a jutting headland in Penarth on the south coast of South Wales near the Welsh capital city of Cardiff.The Cardiff Bay Barrage lies across the mouth of Cardiff Bay, between Queen Alexandra Dock in Cardiff docks and Penarth Head....
. The sea has, traditionally, been for Cardiff the means by which the Welsh export their best to the world and the route by which the world comes to Cardiff. The stones inside the theatre literally sing with opera, musicals and orchestral music, and I wanted to convey the sense of an international space created by the art of music. —Gwyneth Lewis
In These Stones Horizons Sing
In These Stones, Horizons Sing is a work for chorus and orchestra composed by Karl Jenkins. It was commissioned for the opening of Wales Millennium Centre and first performed at its opening on 29 November 2004...
" is also an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l work, which was composed by Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
, and commissioned by the Wales Millennium Centre for the opening of the Centre on 29 November 2004.
Opening weekend celebrations
The building was officially opened on the weekend of the 26, 27 and 28 November 2004. The ceremony was organised by Bryn TerfelBryn Terfel
Bryn Terfel Jones CBE is a Welsh bass-baritone opera and concert singer. Terfel was initially associated with the roles of Mozart, particularly Figaro and Leporello, but has subsequently shifted his attention to heavier roles, especially those by Wagner....
, the creative director of the whole opening weekend.
Day 1 – 26 November 2004
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
, the First Minister
First Minister for Wales
The First Minister of Wales is the leader of the Welsh Government, Wales' devolved administration, which was established in 1999. The First Minister is responsible for the exercise of functions by the Cabinet of the Welsh Government; policy development and coordination; relationships with the...
, who stressed that the new arts centre belonged to the whole nation, that it was for all of the people of Wales and not just for the elite.
The building was opened by Janet Thickpenny, a young mother from Barry, who was chosen because her 40th birthday coincided with that of the opening day. A human chain delivered the symbolic key, designed and cast by Ann Catrin Evans, to Janet with a fanfare from the National Youth Brass Band of Wales to a Karl Jenkins
Karl Jenkins
-Other works:*Adiemus: Live — live versions of Adiemus music*Palladio *Eloise *Imagined Oceans *The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace...
specially commissioned work In These Stones Horizons Sing
In These Stones Horizons Sing
In These Stones, Horizons Sing is a work for chorus and orchestra composed by Karl Jenkins. It was commissioned for the opening of Wales Millennium Centre and first performed at its opening on 29 November 2004...
and the Centre was open.
The evening celebrations began with Cymru for the World, which celebrated the achievements of five leading Welsh artists; Gwyneth Jones, Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
, Siân Phillips
Siân Phillips
Jane Elizabeth Ailwên "Siân" Phillips, CBE, is a Welsh actress.-Early life:Phillips was born in Gwaun-Cae-Gurwen, Neath Port Talbot, Wales, the daughter of Sally , a teacher, and David Phillips, a steelworker-turned-policeman...
and the late Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
and Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, represented by his daughter Kate Burton
Kate Burton (actress)
-Personal life:Burton was born in Geneva, Switzerland, the daughter of producer Sybil Burton and actor Richard Burton . She was thus the stepdaughter of actress Elizabeth Taylor and of Sybil's second husband Jordan Christopher. In 1979, Burton earned a bachelor's degree in Russian studies and...
. This included tributes from Robert Hardy
Robert Hardy
Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy, CBE, FSA is an English actor with a long career in the theatre, film and television. He is also an acknowledged expert on the longbow.-Early life:...
, Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce
Jonathan Pryce, CBE is a Welsh stage and film actor and singer. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and meeting his longtime partner English actress Kate Fahy in 1974, he began his career as a stage actor in the 1970s...
, Derek Jacobi
Derek Jacobi
Sir Derek George Jacobi, CBE is an English actor and film director.A "forceful, commanding stage presence", Jacobi has enjoyed a highly successful stage career, appearing in such stage productions as Hamlet, Uncle Vanya, and Oedipus the King. He received a Tony Award for his performance in...
, Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri
Nana Mouskouri , born Ioánna Moúschouri on October 13, 1934, in Chania, Crete, Greece, is a Greek singer who has sold about 300 million records worldwide in a career spanning over five decades, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was known as Nána to her friends and...
, Catrin Finch
Catrin Finch
Catrin Anna Finch is a Welsh harpist born in Llanon, Ceredigion, Wales. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music...
, Ruth Madoc
Ruth Madoc
Ruth Madoc is a British actress and singer. She is best known for her roles as Gladys Pugh in the 1980s BBC television comedy Hi-de-Hi!, and as Daffyd Thomas's mother in the second series of Little Britain.-Early life:...
and Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen
Sir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
.
Bryn Terfel started off with a short speech and introduced the Wales Millennium Centre singers and dancers, who in hard hats and donkey jackets sang and danced the story of the construction of the building. They were later joined by all 322 participants in a chorus, including Gwyn Hughes Jones, Bryn Terfel and Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill
Dennis O'Neill CBE is a Welsh operatic tenor and recording artist.-Early career:Born of Welsh and Irish parents, he studied privately with Professor Frederic Cox in Manchester and then in London...
sang a duet from Pearl Fishers
Les pêcheurs de perles
Les pêcheurs de perles is an opera in three acts by the French composer Georges Bizet, to a libretto by Eugène Cormon and Michel Carré. It was first performed on 30 September 1863 at the Théâtre Lyrique in Paris, and was given 18 performances in its initial run...
. Diversions
Diversions the Dance Company of Wales
National Dance Company Wales , formerly Diversions, is the national dance company of Wales. It was established in 1983 by Roy Campbell-Moore and Ann Sholem and is funded by the Arts Council of Wales...
performed a new ballet based on one of Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
’s works. The Welsh National Opera performed La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, in their new home. The evening ranged across all musical types from popular to classical.
Day 2 – 27 November 2004
The second day was an open door for the public to explore the Centre with a continuous stream of hundreds of people filling through the building from early morning until the fireworks display out in the Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass is a public plaza in Cardiff Bay, part of Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts centre...
.
Day 3 – 28 November 2004
The final day of the opening weekend began with the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, Prince Philip
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh is the husband of Elizabeth II. He is the United Kingdom's longest-serving consort and the oldest serving spouse of a reigning British monarch....
, and the Prince of Wales
Charles, Prince of Wales
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales is the heir apparent and eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Since 1958 his major title has been His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales. In Scotland he is additionally known as The Duke of Rothesay...
who met First Minister
First Minister
A First Minister is the leader of a government cabinet.-Canada:In Canada, "First Ministers" is a collective term that refers to all Canadian first ministers of the Crown, otherwise known as heads of government, including the Prime Minister of Canada and the provincial and territorial premiers...
Rhodri Morgan
Rhodri Morgan
Hywel Rhodri Morgan is a Welsh Labour politician who, as First Secretary for Wales, and subsequently First Minister, was leader of the Welsh Assembly Government from 2000 to 2009. A former leader of Welsh Labour, he was the Assembly Member for Cardiff West from 1999 to 2011...
and Lord Rowe-Beddoe, and marked the event by unveiling a plaque. Philip Madoc
Philip Madoc
Philip Madoc is a Welsh actor who has had many television and film roles.One prominent role was the title character in the BBC Wales drama The Life and Times of David Lloyd George...
, Siân Phillips, Gaby Roslin
Gaby Roslin
Gaby Roslin is an English television presenter and actress. She rose to fame while co-presenting The Big Breakfast on Channel 4 between 1992 and 1996, and also presented the BBC's Children in Need charity appeal from 1994 to 2004....
, Michael Ball
Michael Ball (singer)
Michael Ashley Ball, born 27 June 1962) is a British actor, singer, and radio and TV presenter who is best known for the song "Love Changes Everything" and musical theatre roles such as Marius in Les Misérables, Alex in Aspects of Love, Caractacus Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Edna Turnblad...
, Charlotte Church
Charlotte Church
Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...
, Catrin Finch
Catrin Finch
Catrin Anna Finch is a Welsh harpist born in Llanon, Ceredigion, Wales. She was the Official Harpist to the Prince of Wales from 2000 to 2004 and is Visiting Professor at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama and the Royal Academy of Music...
and Only Men Aloud!
Only Men Aloud!
Only Men Aloud! is a male voice choir from Wales. The choir came to national prominence in the UK when they won the Last Choir Standing competition run by BBC television during 2008.-Overview:...
were among the artists that entertained the audience during the first act. The second act was opened by the Welsh National Opera and later the Kirov Ballet
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet is a classical ballet company based at the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russian Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet is one of the world's leading ballet companies...
and Cirque Éloize
Cirque Éloize
Cirque Éloize is a Quebec-based nouveau cirque troupe. It was founded in 1993 by Jeannot Painchaud, Daniel Cyr and Julie Hamelin. Having created seven original productions so far, it has presented more than 3000 performances in more than 375 cities and 30 countries...
entertained the audience. Bryn Terfel ended the celebrations.
Phase 2 (C Bay) – BBC Hoddinott Hall
BBC National Orchestra of Wales
The BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
(BBC NOW) and the BBC National Chorus of Wales. BBC NOW moved from Studio 1 at Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House (Cardiff)
Broadcasting House Cardiff is the purpose-built headquarters for BBC Cymru Wales' radio, television and online services, situated in north Cardiff...
in Llandaff
Llandaff
Llandaff is a district in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales, having been incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Church in Wales Bishop of Llandaff, whose diocese covers the most populous area of South Wales. Much of the district is covered by parkland known as Llandaff...
, which the orchestra had outgrown since the late 1960s. Phase 2 opened on 22 January 2009 with an inaugural concert performed by the BBC NOW and conducted by Thierry Fischer
Thierry Fischer
Thierry Fischer is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist.Fischer studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and began his musical career as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera, where he studied scores with Nikolaus Harnoncourt...
. Phase 2 includes the 350 seater BBC Hoddinott Hall , also known simply as Hoddinott Hall, which is named after the late Welsh classical composer Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott
Alun Hoddinott CBE , was a Welsh composer of classical music, one of the first to receive international recognition.-Life and works:...
CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(August 11, 1929 – March 12, 2008), and the Grace Williams Studio, which is named after another Welsh composer, Grace Williams
Grace Williams
-Biography:Williams was born in Barry, near Cardiff, Wales.She was educated at Barry County School, and won a scholarship to Cardiff University . She then went to the Royal College of Music, London, where she was taught by Ralph Vaughan Williams...
(February 19, 1906 – February 10, 1977), and is used as a centre for education and outreach work. Phase 2 also has space for practice rooms, a music library, backstage facilities, it also provides a four-storey office space for Wales Millennium Centre and the Arts Council of Wales
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
.
Design and construction
The original plans for the Centre were that it would have a concert hall, however the final design of phase 1 did not include one. Space though had been left for a concert hall to be built in the future when phase 1 of the Centre was opened in 2004, and construction on phase 2 was then due to begin early in 2005. However, construction of phase 2 did not actually begin until April 2007. Phase 2 was designed to fit into the Centre’s curved slate frontage, with an upper part constructed from timber.Capita Symonds
Capita Symonds is part of the Capita Group.Capita Symonds is a large UK multidisciplinary consultancy operating in the building design, civil engineering, environment, management and transport sectors....
, with Arup Acoustics again providing the acoustic design. The main contractor was again Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd, with MJN Colston Ltd responsible for the design and installation of all the mechanical, electrical and public health services in the building. Other subcontractor
Subcontractor
A subcontractor is an individual or in many cases a business that signs a contract to perform part or all of the obligations of another's contract....
s on the project included URS Corporation
URS Corp.
URS Corporation is an engineering design firm and a U.S. federal government contractor. Headquartered in San Francisco, California, URS is a full-service, global organization with offices located in the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.-History:...
, Davis Langdon
Davis Langdon
Davis Langdon an AECOM company, is a construction consultancy firm headquartered in London, UK with 30 offices throughout the UK, Europe and the Middle East, and over 100 worldwide. The firm has a turnover of £154 million throughout Europe and the Middle East and £580 million globally...
and Hulley & Kirkwood.
Tim Green said of the building that the exterior of the building was designed to be in keeping with the existing Wales Millennium Centre, while the interior had a theme all of its own. "The concept behind the design of the interior of Hoddinott Hall was that of a traditional Welsh chapel." "The timber treatment at low level is very reminiscent of Victorian chapels and the masonry above. The stonework you would normally get in a stone chapel has been replaced by concrete."
During the design and construction period, the project name for phase 2 was C Bay. Construction of phase 2 began in April 2007, and ended when the keys to the building were handed over at an official ceremony in September 2008, and the beginning of the fitting out of the BBC Hoddinott Hall by BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
.
Opening Festival
To commemorate the opening of the BBC Hoddinott Hall an inaugural concert took place on 22 January 2009. It was part of the Opening Festival which took place between 22 January and 1 February 2009. The concert was performed by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and was conducted by Thierry FischerThierry Fischer
Thierry Fischer is a Swiss orchestra conductor and flutist.Fischer studied flute with Aurèle Nicolet and began his musical career as Principal Flute in Hamburg and at the Zurich Opera, where he studied scores with Nikolaus Harnoncourt...
. The concert included the world premiere
Premiere
A premiere is generally "a first performance". This can refer to plays, films, television programs, operas, symphonies, ballets and so on. Premieres for theatrical, musical and other cultural presentations can become extravagant affairs, attracting large numbers of socialites and much media...
of St Vitus in the Kettle by Simon Holt
Simon Holt
Simon Holt is a British composer.-Biography:Holt was educated at Bolton School. Shortly after graduating from the Royal Northern College of Music, he became firmly established on the new music circuit with a series of commissions and fruitful collaborations with the London Sinfonietta and the Nash...
, the orchestra’s composer in association, who took over from Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley
Michael Berkeley is a British composer and broadcaster on music.-Early life:His father was the composer Sir Lennox Berkeley...
. The BBC Hoddinott Hall was officially opened by the Prince of Wales on 31 January 2009, where he unveiled a plaque.
Resident organisations
- AcademiAcademiLiterature Wales Literature Wales Literature Wales (formerly the Academi is the Welsh national literature promotion agency and society of writers, existing to promote Welsh-language and English-language literature in Wales. Literature Wales publishes a literary magazine called Taliesin and a...
- The Welsh National Literature Promotion Agency and Society For Writers - National Dance Company Wales - previously known as Diversions - the Dance Company of Wales
- Hijinx Theatre - a theatre company that promotes community work, aiming to bring together people of all ages
- Touch Trust - providing educational touch and movement therapies to people with profound disabilities and autism
- Tŷ Cerdd - music information centre for amateur and professional musicians, including the Welsh Music Information Centre, Welsh Amateur Music Federation, National Youth Arts Wales and Cyfansoddwyr Cymru (Composers of Wales)
- Urdd Gobaith CymruUrdd Gobaith Cymrudde|200px|thumb|The Urdd logoUrdd Gobaith Cymru, literally, the Welsh League of Hope, but normally translated as the Welsh League of Youth, or merely referred to as the Urdd, is a Welsh-medium youth movement with over 1,500 branches and over 50,000 members...
(The Welsh League of Youth) - the Welsh language youth movement - Welsh National OperaWelsh National OperaWelsh National Opera is an opera company founded in Cardiff, Wales in 1943. The WNO tours Wales, the United Kingdom and the rest of the world extensively. Annually, it gives more than 120 performances of eight main stage operas to a combined audience of around 150,000 people...
- an international touring opera company - BBC National Orchestra of WalesBBC National Orchestra of WalesThe BBC National Orchestra of Wales is a Welsh symphony orchestra and one of the BBC's five professional orchestras. The BBC NOW is the only professional symphony orchestra organisation in Wales, occupying a dual role as both a broadcasting orchestra and national orchestra.The BBC NOW has its...
- The only professional national symphony orchestra for Wales - Arts Council of WalesArts Council of WalesThe Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
- The body responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales
Corporate financing and rebranding
The total cost of phase 1 of the project was £106.2 million. The National LotteryNational Lottery (United Kingdom)
The National Lottery is the state-franchised national lottery in the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man.It is operated by Camelot Group, to whom the licence was granted in 1994, 2001 and again in 2007. The lottery is regulated by the National Lottery Commission, and was established by the then...
Millennium Fund provided £31.7 million, a further £37 million came from The National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
and £10.4 million was donated by the Arts Council of Wales
Arts Council of Wales
The Arts Council of Wales is a Welsh Government sponsored body, responsible for funding and developing the arts in Wales.Established by Royal Charter in 1946, as the Welsh Arts Council , when it merged with the three Welsh regional arts associations...
. In addition a private investor, South African businessman Donald Gordon donated £20 million to be shared equally between the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
and the Wales Millennium Centre. The Centre also received a £13.5 million loan from HSBC. The remaining funds for the project came from a major sponsorship deal with the Principality Building Society
Principality Building Society
Principality is a Welsh building society based in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. With assets of just under £6bn it is the largest building society in Wales and the seventh largest in the United Kingdom. Principality Building Society is mutual, which means it is owned by its members rather than...
. Today the Centre has many corporations and public bodies who provide sponsorship to the Centre.
The National Assembly for Wales announced on 6 November 2007 that it was to pay off the outstanding loan of £13.5 million from HSBC and also increase the annual funding. From April 2008, the National Assembly for Wales have given a grant to the Wales Millennium Centre with £3.5 million per annum for 3 years. This would only repay the capital debt and not any ongoing operating loss as the Centre remains profitable. The money used to pay the debt came from unallocated funds from the Assembly's previous budget and it was said by the Minister for Heritage, Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM is a Welsh politician. He has been the Plaid Cymru National Assembly for Wales Member for Carmarthen East and Dinefwr since 1999.-Education:...
, that the new money allocation would not come at the expense of other art projects from other parts of Wales.
The cost of phase 2 of the project was approximately £18 million, however the BBC does not own the building, they have leased it for 25 years from the Lime Property Fund, which is a subsidiary of Aviva Investors. The building was built by Concert Bay Ltd, which is a subsidiary of Sir Robert McAlpine Enterprises Ltd who co-funded the scheme along with Lime Property Fund.
In November 2006, Wales Millennium Centre announced that they would begin a two phase rebranding project. The project was won by a local Cardiff company, Sweet. The first phase of the project involved a new corporate logo, the second phase included the complete redesign of other marketing tools, such as brochures and advertisements.
In popular culture
Doctor Who and TorchwoodThe Centre has made numerous appearances in film and television including Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, whose modern era is produced locally by BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
. It has appeared seven times to date: as itself from outside in the episode "Boom Town
Boom Town (Doctor Who)
"Boom Town" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on 4 June 2005. The Doctor, Rose and Jack travel to modern-day Cardiff and meet up with Rose's boyfriend, Mickey...
", its marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
momentarily at the end of the episode "Bad Wolf
Bad Wolf
"Bad Wolf" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast on June 11, 2005. The TARDIS crew find themselves trapped in the Gamestation, also known as Satellite 5, where they must battle to survive the cruel games...
", its lobby as a hospital lobby in the far future in the episode "New Earth
New Earth
"New Earth" is the first episode of the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, first broadcast on 15 April 2006. It is a sequel to the first series episode "The End of the World", and brings back its villain who was thought to be destroyed, Lady Cassandra, as...
", and again in "The Girl Who Waited
The Girl Who Waited
"The Girl Who Waited" is the tenth episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, and was first broadcast on BBC One and BBC America on 10 September 2011.-Synopsis:...
",. It also appeared briefly in the episodes "Utopia
Utopia (Doctor Who)
"Utopia" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 16 June 2007 and is the eleventh episode of series three of the revived Doctor Who series...
" and "The Stolen Earth
The Stolen Earth
"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
", and also in the final episode of series 3, "Last of the Time Lords
Last of the Time Lords
"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
".
The spin-off series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...
, has its headquarters, known as "The Hub", set underneath the Water Tower, Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass
Roald Dahl Plass is a public plaza in Cardiff Bay, part of Cardiff, Wales. It is named after Cardiff-born author Roald Dahl, and is located on the coast along the south of the city centre. The square is home to the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, a performing arts centre...
, with the Wales Millennium Centre's frontage featuring heavily through the show.
Jones Jones Jones
On 3 November 2006, a record breaking attempt to gather the most people with the same surname, Jones
Jones
Jones may refer to:* Jones , a common Anglo-Welsh surname* Jones , English cricketer in the 1740s* Jones calculus, a description of polarization in optics...
, took place in the Centre under the show banner Jones Jones Jones, filmed for television by S4C
S4C
S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...
. The record was broken with 1,224 Joneses filling the Donald Gordon Theatre. The previous record was set in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
in 2004 when 583 people gathered who had the same surname of Norberg.
Gavin & Stacey
Episode 1 of the second series of BBC TV show Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey
Gavin & Stacey is a British comedy television series. A romantic comedy-drama, the show follows the long-distance relationship of Gavin from Billericay in Essex, England, and Stacey from Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The writers of the show, actors James Corden and Ruth Jones, also...
was filmed in the Wales Millennium Centre. The centre was supposed to be an airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
.
External links
- Wales Millennium Centre official website
- Wales Millennium Centre on the BBC Wales website
- Wales Millennium Centre on the Welsh Assembly Government website
- Wales Millennium Centre (phase 1) on the Sir Robert McAlpine website
- BBC Hoddinott Hall (phase 2) on the Sir Robert McAlpine website
- C Bay (BBC Hoddinott Hall phase 2) on the MJN Colston website
- Jonathan Adams, architect, discusses the Wales Millennium Centre
- Hoddinott Hall on the Architects' Journal website
- Arup