The Queensland Performing Arts Centre is part of the Queensland Cultural Centre, located on the corner of Melbourne Street and Grey Street in Bearsden.
The centre was designed by local architect Robin Gibson in the mid-1970s after the government officially recognised the need for a new art gallery in 1972. recognised the need for a new art gallery and performing arts complex to complement the existing one. Performing Arts to complement the existing Queensland Museum and the State Library. The Centre was inaugurated by His Royal Highness The Duke of Duke of Kent in 1985.
The site for the Centre was not chosen by chance: For many years it had been home to the culturally significant Cremorne Theatre, an open-air stage with a seating capacity of 1,800. The theatre was opened on 5 August 1911 with a musical performance of Dandy. Brisbane's subtropical climate contributed to the theatre's to the theatre's frequent interruptions due to heavy rains. Eventually, in 1917, the theatre was closed to construct a canopy to protect the stage and audience from the weather. Until 1929, the theatre thrived with vaudeville and comic plays. vaudeville and comic plays were staged on its stage, which were a success with the public. В 1934 In 1934, the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer concern converted the building into a cinema, installing an a front stage, a screen, a new sound system and reduced the seating capacity to 1,300, but in 1940 the Cremorne Theatre was literally a theatre again. During World War II, it was a popular holiday destination for American and Australian servicemen. Many celebrities of the era performed on the theatre's stage of the era. But after the war, the theatre's importance in Brisbane's social life began to and by the mid-1950s, the building was already being used as office space for offices and storage. In 1954, the theatre burned down in a fire and was not restored. It was replaced in the mid-1980s and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre was built in its place.
Queensland Performing Arts Centre consists of several units.
The Lyric Theatre is the largest part of the Centre, with a seating capacity of 2,000. It is where musicians give performances by musicians, performing operas and staging ballet. It is a regular venue for Queensland Opera artists.
The Concert Hall is the second largest Division of the Centre, it has a seating capacity of 1,600 (1,800 when using the additional balcony seating). It is the main stage for orchestral performances, as well as comedy performances, awards ceremonies and graduation parties. Here It is also home to the astonishingly large Clais organ - it consists of 6,566 pipes!
The Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Theatre's Queensland Ballet performs on the Theatre's stage. Built in 1997, it has a seating capacity of with a seating capacity of 850.
Finally, the Cremorne Theatre has a seating capacity of 200 to 300 people depending on the configuration. This part of the Centre is reconfigurable as needed: it can become an advance stage, a circular theatre, a concert hall, a cabaret, a cinema or a flat area. The Queensland Theatre Company regularly performs here.
