|
The Palais Theatre is a former cinema, now functioning exclusively as a concert venue, located in St Kilda, Victoria, Australia. With a capacity of 2,896 people, it is the largest seated theatre in Australia. The building, which retains many of its original features, is considered one of the finest examples of Art deco architecture in the country and is included on the Victorian Heritage Register. ==History== There have been several theatres named "Palais" in St Kilda, the first of which opened in 1914. At the end of World War I, the ''Palais de Danse'', already on the current site, became the Palais Pictures. In 1919, a steel-framed and arched truss structure was built over the old dance-hall which was relocated next door, to the north. The current Palais is situated by Port Phillip Bay, facing the Lower Esplanade, and is part of a turn-of-the-century entertainment district. The theatre was originally owned by the Phillips brothers (Leon, Herman and Harold), three American showmen from Washington. Arriving in Australia prior to the First World War, Leon Phillips joined forces with fellow American James Dixon Williams. After establishing a chain of upmarket and highly successful cinemas in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and New Zealand, together with a major film exchange business, the pair moved into the area of outdoor amusements with the construction of Luna Park in St Kilda in 1912. Williams eventually returned to the United States where he became a key figure in the movie industry as co-founder of First National Pictures, as a distribution and production company which was later acquired by Warner Bros. The Phillips also had a significant business interest in the Capitol Theatre, another former picture palace, which still stands in Swanston Street, Melbourne. In 1922, the architect Walter Burley Griffin began designing a remodelled Palais Pictures. Construction of Griffin's plans began in 1925, but a fire engulfed the stage in February of the following year, just before completion, bringing work to a halt. When Griffin moved on to Sydney, the developers commissioned a new architect, Henry E. White, to build a larger, more grand theatre. When the last of the Phillips died in 1957, the Palais, the Palais de Danse and Luna Park were sold to local entrepreneurs in Melbourne. A brass plaque, still in place on the second level of the Palais, bears a tribute to Leon Phillips from members of the American community of Victoria. The theatre, which had operated primarily as a cinema until the 1950s, became increasingly popular as a live performance venue for top overseas stars such as Johnnie Ray, Bob Hope, the Rolling Stones, Tom Jones and many others. In the 1970s, the theatre regularly presented ballets, including The Bolshoi, The Kirov, Stars of World Ballet and The Australian Ballet.〔(History & Archives ), ''Palais Theatre Official Site'' - accessed 3 May 2009〕 The Australian Ballet also had some of their ballets premiered there including Anne Woolliams' production of ''Swan Lake'' on 19 October 1977,〔(Swan Lake ), ''AustraliaDancing.org'' - accessed 3 May 2009〕 and its first commissioned ''Nutcracker'' choreographed by Leonid Kozlov and Valentina Kozlova on 8 October 1982.〔(Nutcracker ), AustraliaDancing.org - accessed 3 May 2009〕 Since 2007 the venue has been run by Palais Theatre Management Pty Ltd. The theatre now hosts around one hundred performances per year and is in the top 20 theatre concert venues in the world. 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「Palais Theatre」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|