WINNER of the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize People's Vote!
Nevill Holt Opera Market Harborough, United Kingdom
Nevill Holt Opera
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Winner of the RIBA Stirling Prize People’s Vote, Nevill Holt Opera was one of the shortlisted projects for the 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize.
Please see here for the RIBA Judges’ citation and more info.
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The current owner of this 13th-17th-century estate in Leicestershire has renovated the house and populated the beautifully restored gardens with a renowned collection of contemporary British sculpture. From 2005, a two-week summer season of opera has been performed annually in the grounds. Later, a provisional tented structure was constructed annually within the shell of the estate’s Grade II listed stable block.
In 2016, the decision was made to replace the tent with a permanent opera house in yard of the stable block. This new opera house would seat 400 and include an orchestra pit for up to 50 musicians. This new house would allow the Nevill Holt Opera company to continue nurturing the finest young and emerging opera talent in the UK, and afford the hosting of community and charity events throughout the year. Sound Space Vision, in collaboration with architects Witherford Watson Mann, had an overarching consulting role on the project designing acoustics, technical systems, and theatre planning.
With respect for the heritage, natural materials and colour palette of the stable block, the WWM design complements the existing stonework with bespoke sustainable timber elements to shape the acoustic of the new opera house. Nevill Holt Opera’s commitment to the casting of talented early-career singers and giving them the essential opportunity to take on solo main stage roles, informed the brief. Therefore the acoustics and performance infrastructure supports a wide repertoire and both engages and enhances the voices of these young artists. The atmosphere of the space and place is complemented by the sustainability of both materials and operations, with outgoing ventilation air passing through openings in the wall that have been carefully sized and attenuated for maximum support of the music, and resistance to noise intrusion.
England’s newest and perhaps most uniquely intimate opera house in the country opened in June 2018.
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© Richard Davies Garsington Opera Pavilion Wormsley, United Kingdom
Garsington Opera Pavilion
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© Dennis Gilbert Menuhin Hall Stoke D'Abernon, United Kingdom
Menuhin Hall
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Opera on the Lake Surrey, United Kingdom
Opera on the Lake
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Sir David Chipperfield at the opening of the RA's transformation in the Benjamin West Lecture Theatre, May 14, 2018 ©Benedict Johnson Royal Academy of Arts London, United Kingdom
Royal Academy of Arts
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Nevill Holt Opera Shortlisted for 2019 Stirling Prize
RIBA Judges’ Citation, June 27, 2019 Nevill Holt Opera by Witherford Watson Mann Architects Client Nevill Holt Opera Awards RIBA East Midlands Award 2019, RIBA East Midlands Conservation Award 2019, RIBA East Midlands Building of the Year 2019, RIBA National Award 2019 and Shortlisted for the 2019 Stirling Prize Nevill Holt Opera Building is, at first interaction, … Continued
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The theatre, a reworked stable block in a country estate, is beautiful, contextual, environmentally and acoustically brilliant and community minded
“The theatre’s acoustics have been designed to support young voices particularly. Working closely with Bob Essert, founding director of theatre acoustic specialist Sound Space Vision, Witherford Watson Mann applied a number of techniques to the space.” Read the article and watch the video here:
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Nevill Holt – A New Opera House
Anne Minors, Director of Sound Space Vision summarises the project as follows: “The dramatic setting of Nevill Holt and beautiful gardens form the first act of the opera-going experience, the stable building itself closes down and opens up again to nature with a skylight above and doors back and front. Within the auditorium, constraints of … Continued
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SSV on Nevill Holt Opera’s theatre and acoustics design
Designed by award-winning architects Witherford Watson Mann, this inspiring space is enhanced by the beautifully crafted theatre planning and acoustics of Sound Space Vision. Watch this video, courtesy of the David Ross Foundation, to hear Anne Minors and Bob Essert talk about the new hall.
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Nevill Holt Opera House reviews, 2019
Seating is comfortable, sightlines clear and the acoustics are superb, every scintillating note from the relatively large pit fired into the auditorium with pinpoint accuracy. (Bachtrack) It opened last summer to universal acclaim from both the public and the architectural press [and] offers an ideal environment for more intimately scaled works. (Daily Telegraph) A cast of young … Continued
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Scandalously good insertion befits Nevill Holt Opera
The views from both seat and stage get equal consideration with Witherford Watson Mann’s characteristically skilful and sympathetic fusing of old and new at Nevill Holt Opera. Read the entire article here.
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Stable Block Aria: Nevill Holt Opera by Witherford Watson Mann
This transformation of a historic stable block into a permanent opera venue in rural Leicestershire confirms the practice’s reputation as master of the art of architectural reuse, writes Ellis Woodman. Photography Hélène Binet Dating back to the 13th century, the Grade I-listed Nevill Holt Hall stands on a hill five miles outside Market Harborough from which it commands views of a vast … Continued
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Sound Space Vision’s Nevill Holt Opera wins Building of the Year at 2019 RIBA East Midlands Awards
With its design recognised for its exceptional ‘modesty, craftsmanship, care and attention’, Sound Space Vision (SSV) is very proud to have been part of the team which won three RIBA East Midlands awards for Nevill Holt Opera, including the Conservation Award and the coveted Building of the Year Award. Over the last seven years, Nevill Holt … Continued
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Anne Minors on Making Theatres Sound Good
Anne Minors gives an interview to Canada’s New Classical 96.3 radio on how to make theatres sound good, in Toronto, December 2017. Interview: You started out as an architect; what lead you to consulting with performing arts organizations? Well I started out wanting to be a musician, but I soon realised that I wasn’t going … Continued
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Opera Room Acoustic Measurement System
Bob Essert and Eckhard Kahle, while both at Artec in 1996, shared a paper on acoustics measurement and analysis tools. Paper presented at the 3rd joint meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the Acoustical Society of Japan in Honolulu, 4-6 December, 1996. Toward an Opera Room Acoustic Measurement System “We are convinced that … Continued