The
David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and opera, part of the
Lincoln Center for the Performing ArtsLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City.-Tenant organizations:Lincoln Center serves as home for 12 arts organizations:*Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center...
located at
Columbus AvenueColumbus Avenue may refer to:* Columbus Avenue * Columbus Avenue...
& 63rd Street in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. Originally named the
New York State Theater, the house is home to both the
New York City BalletNew York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein with musical director Leon Barzin and with founding choreographers Balanchine and Jerome Robbins...
and
New York City OperaThe New York City Opera is an American opera company and the second largest opera company, after the Metropolitan Opera, in New York City. The company was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
. The theater opened in 1964 and occupies the south side of the main plaza of Lincoln Center, which it shares with the
Metropolitan Opera HouseThe Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center is the current home of the famed Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The house contains approximately 3,800 seats and is located at Lincoln Center at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side. It was designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison...
and
Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall in New York City, and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
.
The New York State Theater was built with funds from the State of New York as part of New York State's cultural participation in the 1964-1965 World's Fair.
The
David H. Koch Theater is a theater for ballet and opera, part of the
Lincoln Center for the Performing ArtsLincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City.-Tenant organizations:Lincoln Center serves as home for 12 arts organizations:*Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center...
located at
Columbus AvenueColumbus Avenue may refer to:* Columbus Avenue * Columbus Avenue...
& 63rd Street in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
. Originally named the
New York State Theater, the house is home to both the
New York City BalletNew York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein with musical director Leon Barzin and with founding choreographers Balanchine and Jerome Robbins...
and
New York City OperaThe New York City Opera is an American opera company and the second largest opera company, after the Metropolitan Opera, in New York City. The company was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
. The theater opened in 1964 and occupies the south side of the main plaza of Lincoln Center, which it shares with the
Metropolitan Opera HouseThe Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center is the current home of the famed Metropolitan Opera of New York City. The house contains approximately 3,800 seats and is located at Lincoln Center at Lincoln Square in the Upper West Side. It was designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison...
and
Avery Fisher HallAvery Fisher Hall is a concert hall in New York City, and is part of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts complex. It is the home of the New York Philharmonic, with a capacity of 2,738 seats.-History:...
.
History
The New York State Theater was built with funds from the State of New York as part of New York State's cultural participation in the 1964-1965 World's Fair. The theater was designed by architect
Philip JohnsonPhilip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect. With his thick, round-framed glasses, Johnson was the most recognizable figure in American architecture for decades....
and opened on April 23, 1964. After the Fair, the State transferred ownership of the theater to the City of New York.
Richard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
was named President of the Music Theater of Lincoln Center, and during his tenure, many classic Broadway musicals were revived there, among them
The King and IThe King and I is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II based on the book Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon. The plot comes from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who became school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s...
,
CarouselCarousel is a musical by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II that was adapted from Ferenc Molnar's 1909 play Liliom, transplanting the Budapest setting of Molnar's play to a New England fishing village. The show includes the hit musical numbers If I Loved You, June Is Bustin' Out All Over,...
(with its original star,
John Raitt-Biography:John Emmett Raitt was an American actor and singer best known for his performances in musical theater....
),
Annie Get Your GunAnnie Get Your Gun is a musical with lyrics and music written by Irving Berlin and a book by Herbert Fields and his sister Dorothy Fields...
(with its original star,
Ethel MermanEthel Merman was an American actress and singer of the musical theatre. Known for her powerful voice, she was often referred to as "The Grande Dame of the Broadway stage".-Early life:...
),
Show BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. One notable exception is the song Bill, which was originally written by Kern and author-lyricist P. G. Wodehouse in 1917 but reworked by Hammerstein for Show Boat...
, and
South PacificSouth Pacific is a 1949 musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and book by Hammerstein and Joshua Logan. The story draws from James A. Michener's Pulitzer Prize-winning, 1948 novel, Tales of the South Pacific, weaving together characters and elements from several of...
.
The City leases the theater to Lincoln Center, Inc., which then has a sublease with City Center of Music and Drama, Inc. (CCMD). The present corporation of CCMD (separate and apart from
New York City CenterNew York City Center, originally known as City Center of Music and Drama, and also known as New York City Center 55th Street Theater, is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival concert hall located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of...
on 55th Street) continues to manage the theater today.
In July 2008, billionaire philanthropist
David H. KochDavid Hamilton Koch is an American engineer, billionaire and businessman. He is one of the co-owners and an executive vice president of Koch Industries, a conglomerate with major petroleum and natural gas holdings that is the second largest privately held company in the United States...
pledged to provide $100 million over the next 10 years for the purpose of renovating the theater and providing for an operating and maintenance endowment. It was renamed the David H. Koch Theater at the 2008 New York City Ballet Winter gala. The theater will bear his name for at least fifty years, after which it may be renamed; the Koch family retains the right of first refusal for any renaming.
Building features and Renovation
The theater seats 2,755 and features continental style seating on the orchestra level, four main “Rings” (balconies) and a small Fifth Ring, faced with jewel-like lights and a large spherical chandelier in the center of the gold paneled ceiling. On March 18, 2009 it was announced that as part of the $80 million dollar renovation project the orchestra will be reconfigured to include two new aisles, allowing for easier access to the orchestra level and reducing the capacity to 2575.
Also during the renovation, slated to finish in the fall of 2009, all the seats and carpeting will be replaced, and the stage lighting system will be completely updated. The orchestra pit will be expanded, which will have the theater lose the first two rows of seats. The pit floor will be put on top of mechanical lifts so that it can be brought up to stage level for music concerts. The renovations are being designed by JCJ Architecture of New York City.
The lobby areas of the theater feature many examples of modern art, including works by
Jasper JohnsJasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking. He is represented by the Matthew Marks Gallery.-Life:...
,
Lee BontecouLee Bontecou is an American artist who was born 15 January 1931 in Providence, Rhode Island. She attended the Art Students League of New York from 1952 to 1955 where she studied with the sculptor William Zorach. She received a Fulbright scholarship to study in Rome in 1957-1958 and the Louis...
and
Reuben NakianReuben Nakian was an American sculptor and teacher.Nakian's recurring themes are from Greek and Roman mythology. Noted works include Leda and the Swan,...
.
The renovation is taking place in several stages coordinated around both rehearsals and performances. The two year project is on schedule for completion in late fall of 2010.
External links