Canadian Destinations: Toronto’s Four Seasons Centre

BY GLADYS POLLACK

Milan has La Scala, New York its Lincoln Center, and now Toronto boasts its own world-class opera venue, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts. Built at a cost of $102 million, the centre opened with great fanfare last September as Wagner aficionados from all over headed to Toronto to hear Der Ring Des Nibelungen in its entirety: four long operas that fuse ancient myths and folk tales revolving around a magic ring. The full Ring cycle had never been produced by a Canadian opera company, so this event generated unprecedented buzz among Wagner lovers.

The Centre, located on 1.7 acres at the southeast corner of Queen Street and University Avenue, features a glittering five-storey transparent City Room, a three-level glass staircase, ample parking and easy access to the Osgoode subway station via the lower lobby. The centre was designed by the award-winning Toronto firm, Diamond and Schmitt Architects Incorporated, and included Fisher Dachs Associates of New York (theatre planning) and Sound Space Design of London, England (acoustics). The 2,000-seat, four-tiered, horseshoe-shaped auditorium provides intimacy between the audience and the stage—the last seat in the orchestra level is only 130 feet from the stage—and all seats have been tested for optimal sightlines to ensure a full view of the stage.

Jack Diamond, the architect of the opera house, began work on its design in 1998. He describes the structure as an "egg in a very tough nest"—an egg resting on rubber pads—to protect the interior from noise. The outside of the building is composed of rectangular blocks of black iron brick and glass that follow the city's street line. The interior of the building is curvilinear, "mauve mud in colour and almost furlike," says Diamond. The centre is actually composed of two structures separated by rubber gaskets. The building has been carefully designed to prevent any noise from entering the building and has been awarded the quietest sound rating that can be given: No sound can be heard from the city's sirens or subway or from the building's air conditioning and ductwork. "It’s like a castle whose walls protect the inside from the invasion of noise from the outside,” says Diamond. "It has been named one of the two best acoustic centres in the world," he says proudly

"The City Room is intended to make the opera house visible to the outside and make the city visible from the inside," Diamond adds. The glass is iron-free, so there's no colour, and there are external shades, triggered by heat, that come down when the sun gets hot. This saves on air conditioning. The glass staircase is self-supporting, with glass risers and treads. "One staircase is like an amphitheatre suspended from the ceiling. This will accommodate brown-baggers at lunch time, who can enjoy the 93 free concerts that will be offered during the year."

While the Canadian Opera Company (COC) owns the new building and will occupy the theatre for approximately 24 weeks of the year, the National Ballet of Canada will also use this venue for some 17 weeks.

Like many other Canadians, I got caught up in the ballyhoo generated by the opening of the opera house and dutifully listened to the CBC broadcasts of the Ring from the Four Seasons Centre. I may be slightly more appreciative of leitmotifs and Wagner’s powerful music, but I’m still not a Wagner convert I must confess. I’m told that Wagner’s Der Ring is a “towering achievement telling the epic tale of gods and mortals, life and death, innocence and evil.” But I’ll have to pass on the antics of Brunnhilde, et al. Frankly, I’m not into Freudian interpretations of incest, and the meaning of life topics tax my feeble brain. I’d rather opt for old-fashioned and easily understood themes such as consumption, betrayal, murder and, of course, love and lust.

Be it ballet or opera, start saving your loonies and make Toronto and the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts your destination. The 2006-07 opera season includes performances of Cosi fan tutte, Faust, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, Elektra and La Traviata—a mix that’s sure to please.

For more information on the new centre, consult:

www.fourseasonscentre.ca