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His Majesty's Theatre is an Edwardian Baroque theatre in Perth, Western Australia. Constructed from 1902 to 1904 during a period of great growth for the town, the theatre is located on the corner of Hay Street and King Street in Perth's central business district. At the time the theatre was opened, it was the largest theatre in Australia, and had seating for over 2,500 people. It is also thought to be the first reinforced concrete building constructed in Perth. Over its life, the theatre has hosted large-scale musicals, ballet, opera, Shakespearean plays and many other events. It has been renovated numerous times, most notably in the late 1970s when the State Government purchased it and performed an ornamental restoration whilst modernising the facilities provided. Since that time, it has been the home of the West Australian Ballet and West Australian Opera companies, both of which perform regularly. The importance of His Majesty's Theatre to the cultural fabric of Western Australia has been recognised by its inclusion on the State Register of Heritage Places and the Register of the National Estate. It has also been named a "State Heritage Icon", and is believed to be the only remaining working Edwardian theatre in Australia. ==Construction== At the turn of the 20th century, Perth was experiencing a period of high growth as a result of the Western Australian gold rush.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=History )〕 The prosperity which resulted from this boom led to the construction of increasingly opulent baroque buildings.〔 Local politician Thomas Molloy had commissioned the Metropole Hotel in 1896 and adjoining 1200-seat Theatre Royal in 1897,〔Hough, p. 65〕 which included the first fully equipped theatre in the growing town.〔Gervas, p. 44〕 Soon after the completion of that complex, Molloy asked the same architect, William G. Wolf, to design an integrated theatre and hotel complex to be named ''His Majesty's Theatre and Hotel''〔〔Gervas, p. 45〕 in honour of the recently crowned King Edward VII.〔 The site selected for this new theatre was the corner of King Street and Hay Street, which in 1896 had been home to "Ye Olde Englishe Faire".〔 〕 In June 1902, Molloy applied to the Perth Licensing Court for planning permission to construct the theatre, and when he finally received permission, he promised completion within a year.〔Hough, p. 73〕 A call for tenders to construct the complex was put out, and the winning tender was by Friederich Wilhelm Gustav Liebe, an immigrant from Saxony who had previously constructed the Bulgarian Houses of Parliament in Sofia and worked on the Budapest Opera House.〔Gervas, pp. 15-16, 45〕 The tender price was £46,000,〔 of which £43,000 was the cost of the building alone. The construction contract between Molloy and Liebe was signed in November 1902,〔 and Heinrich Schmidt was appointed as foreman for Liebe.〔Hough, p. 63〕 Deep excavation of the site for the building's foundations and basement started almost immediately.〔〔Hough, p. 75〕 During construction, questions were publicly raised about the stability of the building's foundations in light of the water table on the site and the presence of a subterranean stream.〔 Liebe conferred with the architect and engineers before developing a revised design which featured drains to divert running water.〔 Liebe presented the modified plans to Molloy and proceeded with them, assuming that he had the consent of Molloy.〔Gervas, pp. 45-46〕 Construction progressed, and the building was completed on schedule.〔Gervas, p. 48〕 When the time finally came for Molloy to pay Liebe for the construction, a dispute arose as to who should be liable for the extra £17,000 incurred in remedying the structural defect.〔〔Gervas, pp. 49-54〕 Molloy was reputed to be one of the most litigious businessmen in Perth,〔 and refused to pay higher than the original agreed price,〔 on the basis that the contract required his written approval for extra work to be carried out.〔Hough, p. 76〕 Liebe pursued him through the courts all the way to the High Court and Privy Council.〔 The Privy Council eventually ruled in favour of Liebe, however the legal costs he had incurred were exorbitant.〔 After resolving some last-minute objections by the Central Board of Health to the building's fire safety,〔Hough, p. 62〕 the theatre was officially opened at 8pm on Christmas Eve in 1904 by Sylvia Forrest in the presence of her uncle, former Premier John Forrest. Opening night saw "Pollard's Adult Opera Company"〔 performing ''The Forty Thieves'',〔〔 however the choice of opening date was an unfortunate one and the opening night was not a sell-out.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「His Majesty's Theatre, Perth」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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