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The Arts Centre Melbourne, originally known as the Victorian Arts Centre and briefly officially called The Arts Centre, is a performing arts centre consisting of a complex of theatres and concert halls in the Melbourne Arts Precinct, located in the central Melbourne suburb of Southbank in Victoria, Australia. It was designed by architect Sir Roy Grounds, the masterplan for the complex (along with the National Gallery of Victoria) was approved in 1960 and construction began in 1973 following some delays. The complex opened in stages, with Hamer Hall opening in 1982 and the Theatres Building opening in 1984. The Arts Centre is located by the Yarra River and along St Kilda Road, one of the city's main thoroughfares, and extends into the Melbourne Arts Precinct. Major companies regularly performing in the theatres include Opera Australia and the Australian Ballet, the Melbourne Theatre Company and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The Arts Centre also hosts a large number of Australian and international performances and production companies. The Arts Centre is listed on the Victorian Heritage Register. ==History== The Arts Centre site has long been associated with arts and entertainment and has previously been home to circus, theatre, roller and ice skating, cinema and dance. After World War II it was decided that Melbourne needed a cultural centre. After many years of discussion, a master plan was approved in 1960, with Sir Roy Grounds as the chosen architect. During the ensuing years, and to accommodate difficulties associated with the geology of the site, changes to the original plans were made and eventually the Arts Centre emerged as two buildings – now known as the Theatres Building and Hamer Hall. Responsibility for the project lay with the Building Committee, established in 1956 and chaired by Kenneth Myer from 1965 to 1989. For twenty five years the committee was a consistent force in the completion of the complex. Actor and film director George Fairfax, having joined the project in 1972, was appointed the first General Manager of the Building Committee and then the Trust, a position he held until 1989. As a result, Fairfax played an influential role in administration of the Arts Centre’s development. Work had begun on the theatre site in 1973, with excavation work not completed until 1977/8, two years later than expected, and on the concert hall site in 1976. During the first phase of the project from 1972–1979 responsibility was with Rupert Hamer as Minister for the Arts (and Premier) and during the main construction phase from 1979–1982 with Norman Lacy as Minister for the Arts (and Minister of Educational Services). An Academy Award-winning expatriate set designer, John Truscott, was employed to decorate the interiors. His work was constrained only by a requirement to leave elements already constructed, such as Ground's faceted cave concert hall interior, to which he applied jewelled finishes, and his steel mesh draped ceiling in the State Theatre, to which he added perforated brass balls. During his tenure, Norman Lacy was constantly called on to defend the Victorian Arts Centre Trust and its construction program during some highly charged public debates in the Parliament. He had to defend the acoustics, the design of the spire, the rejection of the proposed changes to the Concert Hall interiors, the BASS ticketing system of the project, as well as its delays and cost over runs.〔Fairfax, Vicki. A Place Across the River. They Aspired to Create the Victorian Arts Centre. Macmillan Australia, 2002, p.147〕 The Victorian Arts Centre’s management and administration was set up under the Victorian Arts Centre Act 1979 introduced into the Victorian Parliament by Norman Lacy. The trustees were appointed by the Governor in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister. The Trust was given responsibility for the operation and programming of the publicly owned performing arts spaces that make up the Victorian Arts Centre – the Theatres Building beneath the Spire, Hamer Hall and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl.〔Victorian Arts Centre Bill Explanatory Second Reading Speech by the Hon. Norman Lacy MP Minister of the Arts in the Legislative Assembly on 21 November 1979〕 Soon after the legisation to establish the Trust was passed, Norman Lacy and George Fairfax undertook a study trip to North America and Europe to assess administrative arrangements, educational programs and community initiatives at major performing arts centres in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Washington, Toronto, Ottawa, London and Paris. The result was the development of the Arts Centre management structure during 1981 and a suite of opening and on-going initiatives.〔Victorian Arts Report 1979/1980 7th Annual Report Victorian Council of the Arts and Victorian Ministry of the Arts, Government Printer, p. 3〕 The Concert Hall opened in November 1982, while substantial work remained to be done on the Theatres site. The rest of the Arts Centre was opened progressively in 1984, with the Theatres building officially opened in October that year. This signified the completion of one of the largest public works projects in Victorian history, which had been undertaken over a period of almost twenty five years. The Arts Centre is unusual in that its theatres and concert hall are built largely underground. Hamer Hall, situated closest to the river, was initially planned to be almost entirely underground, thus providing a huge open vista between the theatre spire, the river and Flinders Street Station. However, construction problems with the foundations, including water seepage, meant the structure had to be raised to three storeys above ground. Similarly, budget constraints meant that Grounds' design for the Theatres Building, which included a copper-clad spire, were shelved, and a shortened un-clad design was substituted. This was eventually replaced with the current 'full-height' un-clad spire.〔Fairfax, Vicki. op. cit. p. 212–213.〕 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「Arts Centre Melbourne」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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