halls: a foyer, an oval ballroom and a rectangular concert hall. The aim of Ghent's civic authorities was to build not just an opera house but a complete cultural infrastructure for the city, where concerts and festivities could also be held.
The U-shaped auditorium is surrounded by five galleries with balconies. Here Roelandt opted for a spatial design which was popular at the time. It is not only the interior decoration which gives the building a French feeling, but also the fact that the galleries are not divided into boxes, as in the so-called Italian style. For the interior, Roelandt called upon the French interior designers who had worked on the Bourla theatre. The rich polychrome decoration, with its abundance of gold leaf and stucco work, and the monumental chandelier, make this one of Europe's most beautiful auditoriums.
As was the case with the Bourla theatre, the authorities neglected for many years to modernise the technical infrastructure. The totally antiquated equipment of the Ghent Opera became more and more of a handicap. When, at the beginning of 1989, the civic authorities decided to close the Opera for safety reasons, the Flemish Opera Foundation (
vlos - Vlaamse Opera Stichting) was confronted with an acute renovation problem. The task of the
vlos, established in 1988, is to draw up a new common policy for the opera houses of Ghent and Antwerp; a policy concerning both the infrastructure and the organisation of events. Thanks to the efforts of many people, and of the manager Marc Clémeur in particular, the auditorium and technical equipment of the Ghent Opera have been completely renovated, and Flanders now possesses two full-scale
The Royal Dutch Theatre, Ghent (Photo by Luk Monsaert).
opera complexes. The organisation of cultural events is being approached with a new dynamism which has already earned international praise.
The reopening of the Ghent Opera was officially celebrated on 2 September 1993 with a performance of Mahler's Second Symphony, the Auferstehung. It is to be hoped that the vlos will be able to find the resources for the second phase of restoration, namely that of the neighbouring reception halls and the facade. The target date is 1998, three hundred years after the first performance of Thésêe.
The Royal Dutch Theatre of Ghent was modernised at about the same time as the Opera House. This complex, built in 1897-1898 and designed by the architect Edmond de Vigne, lies between the Cathedral of St Bavo and the Belfry. This, like the Opera House, is not a freestanding entity within the fabric of the city. Its only public aspect is the beautiful neo-renaissance facade bearing a large mosaic by Constant Montald, which has been restored to its former splendour. As with the Bourla theatre the covered entrance, originally intended for horse-drawn carriages, has been incorporated into the vestibule. The restoration has greatly improved standards of comfort and safety in the theatre, as well as its technical capabilities; and this thorough-going treatment also involved a completely new layout for the square in front of the theatre.
marc dubois
Translated by Yvette Mead.