A beautiful circular building in central London attracts attention with its unusual architecture. But his story is no less interesting and fascinating. Royal Albert Hall is a whole era, and in the life of not only Great Britain, but the whole world of music.
History of construction
Prince Albert was a great lover and patron of the arts. In 1851, the Great Exhibition was held in London, which was a worldwide success. Crystal Palace was built for her in Hyde Park. But it was not intended to accommodate exhibits, and, inspired by the success of the event, Prince Albert decided to build a special building that can accommodate a large number of people. Thus was born the idea of building the Hall of Arts and Sciences, which will subsequently be named in honor of the prince - Albert Hall. For him, a place was determined near Hyde Park, in the nearby area - Kensington, the prince began to create an art city. Over time, it housed the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Art, the Museum of Natural History. However, the prince did not manage to translate the plan into reality, he died when the project of the hall was not even ready. But the inconsolable widow, Queen Victoria, decided to complete the work of her beloved husband, and in 1867 the first brick was laid. The project was developed by architects Francis Fowk and Scott Henry. And in 1871, a grand opening took place, which was attended by Queen Victoria. She was so moved by the memories of her husband that she could not even make a speech, and Prince Edward said the words of greeting. So in London appeared one of the most recognizable buildings in the world - the Albert Hall Concert Hall.
Briefly about the prince
Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, was a refined man. All his life he was mainly engaged in the promotion of cultural projects and the support of artists and scientists. He laid the tradition of holding industrial exhibitions in London, as well as celebrating the New Year with Christmas tree decorations. He was the founder and progenitor of the idea of many London museums: manufactory, arts and crafts (today Victoria and Albert) and colleges: art, music, design.
She and Queen Victoria represented the rarest case of great love among the crowned persons. They lived in a happy marriage for just over 20 years, gave birth to 9 children, but the death of the prince cut short the idyll.
When Albert died in 1861, Victoria was inconsolable. She stated that “her husband’s views on the world will become her law,” and tried to realize all his plans and ideas, including the construction of a concert hall named after Prince Albert Hall.
Architectural features
Creating the project of the concert hall, the architects were inspired by ancient architecture. They conceived and embodied the structure in the form of an ellipse, with a diameter of 83 meters, resembling an amphitheater of red brick and terracotta with arched windows. And the building is crowned by a glass dome, whose height is 41 meters. The dome was made in Manchester and was brought to London as individual parts. Its lifting and fastening became a technical innovation of its time. The facade of the building is surrounded by a magnificent fresco depicting a panorama of the city with Albert Hall and a composition of the Triumph of Art and Science. The frieze of the hall is decorated with terracotta letters - quotes from the Bible and facts of the world historical chronicle. The facade is also decorated with numerous architectural details and 16 sculptural groups created by several British artists. They personify crafts, arts, sciences, countries of the world, as well as the person of the prince-patrons.
Concert Hall Interior
At one time, the largest concert hall was Albert Hall, whose capacity is 9 thousand people. Later, fire safety rules reduced this number to 5.5 thousand people. In size, of course, it is inferior to many halls of the world, but not many will be able to compete with it in the beauty of the interior and celebrity. Harry Scott worked on the design of the concert hall based on sketches by Lucas Brothers. The room is decorated according to all the laws of the classics: gilding, scarlet velvet, many details, plenty of light. An amphitheater-shaped stage was decorated with an organ with 9,000 pipes. For the queen and her family, a special box with a rest room is framed.
Outstanding events
Albert Hall is one of the most prestigious concert venues in the world. It hosts about 350 events annually. All the stars of the world performed here: The Beatles, ABBA, Pink Floyd, Adele and many others. The hall hosts concerts of classical and organ music, various award ceremonies, even sports broadcasts, a Ford motor show, table tennis championships and boxing fights.
The most notable of the 150 thousand events were: charity annual balls, which have been held since 1881, the first watch exhibition in 1955, demonstrations by Mohammed Ali, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968, the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil, Frank Sintara's concert, The Beatles concert in 1963, and reading fragments of a Harry Potter novel for 4,000 fans, a sumo wrestling competition.
Modern life of Albert Hall
Albert Hall is a neoclassical building, protected by the state. It underwent several reconstructions. In 1897, gas lighting was replaced by electric lighting, from 1994 to 2006 there was a global restoration and renovation of the building, during which the acoustics were significantly improved, and the rest of the historical appearance was completely preserved. Today, Albert Hall, a photo of which tourists are taking to all corners of the world, is an undoubted symbol of London, like the famous Big Ben. All artists and musicians dream of performing in it, and all tourists of England visit.