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A Marriage of convenience
Sarah Freeman When Leeds Grand Theatre announced it was to close its doors for 18 months, no one doubted it was the right decision.
While many have a soft spot for the venue, anyone who had been inside during the last few years couldn't help but notice that it was in desperate need of some tender-loving care, and that comes at a
price.
The works will cost in the region of 31m, but the project has also meant major upheaval for Opera North, and when the builders moved in last May, the company moved out.
While leaving their home for the last 27 years was a necessity, those who run Opera North were determined not to let the time go to waste, and have spent the last few months making the most of their new- found freedom, taking their not-insubstantial troupe of singers and musicians to venues across the North of England.
"We've been homeless for almost a year now," laughs general director Richard Mantle taking a break from rehearsals of the Marriage of Figaro.
"But you know what, it's been quite fun and I think it has been very beneficial for the company because it has presented us all with a
new challenge and kept us fresh."
After numerous one-off performances by the orchestra, the company will this week launch a season of opera at Bradford's Alhambra before taking the productions out on tour later in the year.
"It's 15 or so years since we last performed in the city," says Richard. "I suppose because Leeds is so close to Bradford there was never felt to be any need to tour here, and maybe that was wrong.
"We were all used to the idiosyncrasies of the Grand - and believe me there were many - and coming somewhere new arguably makes you sharper as a company and it is great to have the chance to work in a different space.
"Obviously we are used to going out on tour, but we never normally stay anywhere for this long."
During the Alhambra season, Opera North will perform Kurt Weill's satirical operetta The Arms and the Cow, along with old favourites The Marriage of Figaro and La Rondine.
"It's the longest season of opera I think Bradford has had for a long time and that has to be a good thing," adds Richard, who is currently splitting his time between rehearsals at the Alhambra and the Opera North admin offices next to the Grand and now at the centre of what is little more than a building site.
"It's odd, it changes so quickly," he says. "One day there's a pile of rubble and the next you can really see things taking shape."
Once complete, the project will mark the end of more than a decade's worth of wranglings, blueprints and discussions concerning the building's renovation and hopefully the start of a new chapter in the theatre's 126-year history.
On a practical level, for Opera North it will also mean two new rehearsal rooms and in the theatre itself, the benefit of technical upgrades, new seating and flooring and brand new fly tower.
"The roof has now gone on and it looks like we should be back in by September," says Richard. "I'm sure it will be a good feeling to be home, but for the moment we are just enjoying being out on the road."
With the finishing touches being put to the first production, The Marriage of Figaro, Richard, who inevitably has one eye on the box office, is confident it can revitalise a previously neglected opera scene in Bradford.
"It's seven years since we last performed Figaro," he says. "And what better way to mark the 250th anniversary of Mozart's death than by
staging one of his best-loved works.
"The hope is that we will attract some of our core
Leeds audience to Bradford
as well as getting some fresh faces through the door, and that has to be good for everyone."
Grand designs
Designed by James Robinson Watson, the Leeds Grand Theatre opened on November 18, 1878. The exterior is in a mixture of Romanesque and Scottish baronial styles, while the interior has such Gothic motifs as fan-vaulting and clustered columns.
When the theatre does finally reopen, both backstage and front of house facilities should be drastically improved.
The jewel in the redevelopment should be the reopening of the Assembly Rooms, a forgotten performance space on the first floor of the theatre. Having first opened in 1879, between 1912 and 1978 the building was used as the Plaza Cinema.
For the past quarter of a century the Assembly Rooms have been out of the public gaze, used solely as rehearsal space, but should now finally be brought back into full use.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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