Opera House preps up for another act

With its last public event taking place in the early 1990s,the theatre has been lying unused for nearly two decades now.

The current owners,the erstwhile royal family of Gondal in Gujarat,appointed conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah for the restoration project in 2008 after which the structural stability was strengthened. Lambah,who calls this one of her favourite projects,said the current proposal of making a cultural hub within the theatre after restoration is awaiting nod from the Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee. “In a scenario where single-screen theatres are doing badly,the proposal is to restore the place into a cultural centre with scope for displaying performing arts by bringing back theatre,art gallery,cafes etc and create a lively arts space. Pumping funds into a privately owned property like this is difficult,but some external funding is always helpful,” she said.

Dwivedi,who has written an entire account on the Opera House’s history,said: “The Royal Opera House has played a major role in theatre and cinema domains. By the end of the 19th century,most of the early theatres were forced to close down,primarily due to financial constraints and Opera House was amongst the few that survived.”

The Opera House,a brainchild of renowned entertainer Maurice E Bandmann of Calcutta and Jehangir Framji Karaka,head of a firm of coal brokers who drew up its designs,was built in the then popular Baroque style.

A corner site was leased at the northern end of Queen’s Road near the Sandhurst and Kennedy Bridges and the foundation stone was laid in July 1909. The first performance took place on October16,1911,featuring the Great Raymond,a leading magician from America. Later,the visit by King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay caused the prefix ‘Royal’ to be added to its name. Although the work was completed in 1912,several additions were made until 1915,and the total construction cost added up to Rs 7.5 lakh.

Soon,several features like exhaust fans for better ventilation in the absence of air-conditioners and a long frontage,where carriages could drive up to the entrance,were incorporated. The original interiors had orchestra stalls with cane chairs,26 rows of boxes with couches behind the stalls and the Dress Circle for the elite that gave a clear view of the stage from any part of the Circle. “Special attention was paid to acoustics by constructing the ceiling in a way that it enabled even those seated in the gallery to hear every word clearly,” said Dwivedi.

With the growing popularity of cinema during the 1920s,Opera House was converted into a part cinema place and ceased to be a drama theatre in 1925. The Opera House was a popular venue for the exhibition of mainstream commercial Hindi cinema till the 1960s.

Lambah said the current restoration project includes major upgrade of services. “While restoring the lavish Baroque interiors and front seating boxes,it is also important to make some changes to accommodate modern day requirements,such as air conditioning.”

She said they are hoping for speedy approval of the restoration project by the MHCC so that work can be completed at the earliest.