The Esplanade, Singapore’s new performing arts center, is due to open October 12, 2002.

Courtesy Contact Singapore

The Christy Smith Band performs during a pre-opening acoustics check.

Photo Paul Douglass

The Esplanade holds one of five concert halls in the world with state-of-the-art, clarity-maximizing acoustics.

Photo Paul Douglass

In a national effort to become a world capital of the arts, Singapore is about to celebrate the grand opening of its own Lincoln Center. October 12, 2002 will mark the debut of this magnificent new international venue for the performing arts - the Esplanade, Theatres on the Bay. Over 1,300 performers from 22 countries will be on hand for the three-week Opening Festival 2002. According to the center’s chief executive officer, Benson Puah, the Esplanade promises to be “an arts center for everyone.”

While centers of the Esplanade’s scale and grandeur typically opt to test the waters with one or two headliners, leaving ample time for adjustments before hosting their grand opening, the Esplanade has boldly decided to dive in with a splash. The opening gala (October 12 – November 3) will feature more than 70 productions and 600 (free!) community-gathering dance, performing arts, and musical events.

Thirty years of planning, six years of construction, and three months of testing and tuning in the making, the Esplanade hopes to “entertain, engage, educate, and inspire.”

Only five concert halls in the world possess the state-of-the-art acoustic features available here. The Esplanade is already attracting quite a buzz among top-notch performers eager to display their talents in such high-quality surroundings. The schedule of events over the coming months includes a wide variety of performers from all corners of the earth.

Big draws during the opening festival include the New York and London Philharmonic orchestras, American soprano Jessye Norman, and Zhang Yimou’s Raise the Red Lantern, performed by the National Ballet of China. Worldwide hits like Singing in the Rain (November 13-24) will also be a part of the repertoire.

The Esplanade’s opening world premier will be Reminiscing the Moon performed by the Singapore Dance Theatre and staged by highly-esteemed Indonesian choreographer Boi Sakti.

“Cultures do not stand still,” says Puah, and neither does the concert hall. With clarity-maximizing acoustics specially designed by Russell Johnson, the Esplanade’s main hall has the ability to accommodate everything from informal jazz to cathedral-style organ to pop rock concerts for audiences of 1,600-1,800 people. The adjustable, adaptable concert hall is “1,000 halls in one.”

The second main facility, a regal horseshoe-shaped theatre seats 2,000 in traditional Italian opera house style. Its design allows the presentation of classical, traditional, and contemporary performances, all in intimate settings.

Two additional spaces, a recital studio with 250 seats, and a theatre studio seating 220, share the structure’s interior.

The Esplanade’s two outer shells resemble durians, a prickly fruit much beloved by Singaporeans. In the evening, these two “lanterns of light” will sparkle upon Singapore’s marina, not only drawing curious looks from every direction imaginable, but also eventually welcoming boat taxis of concert and theatre-goers to its shores.

The Esplanade will also house two unique offerings: the nation’s first performing arts library and an arts-centric shopping center. In the library’s video archives, visitors will be able to review highest-quality digital recordings and multi-media footage of favorite performers. The shopping arcade is designed to compliment the array of visual and musical delights found inside. Visitors will enjoy sculpting, dining, and impromptu music and dancing.

Heralding the entrance of a cultural renaissance, the Esplanade is just one element of a growing movement to inspire creativity and innovation among Singapore’s populace. Its arrival is greatly anticipated. Chi Hea Cho, managing supervisor for a major public relations firm in Singapore, and former Washingtonian, says “Even my six year-old son is excited.”

More information on upcoming performances is available at www.esplanade.com.