Leading developer Emaar Properties has announced a spectacular line-up of world-class performances to mark the grand inauguration of its iconic ‘Dubai Opera’ in Downtown Dubai later this year.

The city’s first purpose-built multi-format performing arts theatre, Dubai Opera overlooks the majestic Burj Khalifa and Dubai Fountain. It offers the ultimate flexibility of a proscenium arch theatre, an acoustic concert hall and a 2,000-sq-m flat floor event space, said a statement from Emaar.

It will host a varied programme of cultural and lifestyle events including operas, ballet, classical performances, musicals, Arab and World Music, comedy, film, family entertainment, as well as rock, pop and jazz concerts, it stated.

To seat up to 2,000 for a theatrical production and up to 1,000 for a gala dinner, Dubai Opera pays glorious tribute to the rich cultural heritage of the city taking design inspiration from the vintage dhows, which were integral to Dubai’s ancestors who took to the seas as part of their livelihood.

On the launch, Mohamed Alabbar, the chairman of Emaar Properties, said: "Dubai Opera is our tribute to the city and the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, to establish Dubai as a seat of arts, culture, performing arts and world-class events."

"An architectural masterpiece, it draws design inspiration from our own heritage, while the focus on bringing exclusive and accomplished performing arts places it on the league of the world’s finest theatres," he added.

A platform for performing arts, an entertainment destination and a stimulus for creativity, Dubai Opera serves as a constant reminder of Dubai’s history as a trading, fishing and pearl diving community, celebrating the link to the sea, and its cultural richness defined by Nabati poetry, story-telling, plays, literature and folk dances.

Dubai Opera, he stated, adds a new dimension to cultural entertainment in the city, while adding value to the surrounding hospitality, retail, touristic and residential developments.

Dubai Opera's stage will host an incredible array of world-class talent and the 2016 Season Programme is set to appeal to the incredibly cosmopolitan population who live, work in and visit Dubai.

Dubai Opera CEO Jasper Hope said: “The Emiratis used to sing, as divers searched for pearls, and in 2016 visitors to Dubai will be able to seek out new cultural gems in a sensational home for the arts in the heart of Downtown Dubai."

"Dubai Opera will unquestionably help the city broaden its global appeal as a hub for culture and the arts, and when the curtain rises will help entice artists and audiences from across the world," he noted.
 
The Dubai Opera’s transparent all-glass foyer opens to the waterfront of Burj Lake, and serves as a transition between a plaza and theatre. Architecture-wise this presents the identity of Dubai Opera serving as a ‘box-within-a-box’ with the theatre enveloped by a translucent foyer.

Access to the venue will be effortless through the Mohammed bin Rashid Boulevard. Dedicated parking spaces will add to the convenience of visitors.

With the two main components – the theatre and support facilities and a foyer and public spaces – Dubai Opera welcomes people to unwind and take in some of the most compelling performing arts events in the city in a world-class environment.

With a built-up area of over 35,500 sq m, Dubai Opera is an integral part of The Opera District, a dedicated cultural and lifestyle hub launched by Sheikh Mohammed.-TradeArabia News Service