Academy of Music (Philadelphia)

Academy of Music
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Academy of Music ca. 1870
Location	Philadelphia, PA
Built	1855
Architect	Lebrun & Runge
Architectural style	Renaissance
NRHP reference No.	66000674
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1966

The Academy of Music in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the oldest opera house in the United States that is still used for its original purpose. Known as the "Grand Old Lady of Broad Street," the venue is the home of the Pennsylvania Ballet and the Opera Company of Philadelphia. The Academy was home to the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years. In December, 2001, the Orchestra moved to the newly complete Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. It hosted the 1872 Republican National Convention.

Design

An architectural competition for the Academy's design was announced in October 1854 and was won by the Philadelphia firm of Napoleon LeBrun and Gustavus Runge. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on June 18, 1855, with President Franklin Pierce in attendance and the venue opened with a grand ball on January 26, 1857. The first opera performed there was the western hemisphere premiere of Verdi's Il Trovatore, on February 25 of the same year.

The Academy has been in continuous use since, hosting many world-famous performers, conductors and composers, and a significant number of American premieres of works in the standard operatic and classical repertoire. Other noted operas that had their American premieres here include Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos, Gounod's Faust, and Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. The list of renowned artists who have performed at the Academy reads like a "who's who" of the past century of performing arts history, with such greats as Marian Anderson, Maria Callas, Enrico Caruso, Aaron Copland, Vladimir Horowitz, Gustav Mahler, Anna Pavlova, Luciano Pavarotti, Itzhak Perlman, Leontyne Price, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Artur Rubinstein, Isaac Stern, Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Joan Sutherland, and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, among many others.

Le Brun and Runge's design features an "open horseshoe" shape which offers greater visibility than most opera houses to the audience seated on both sides of the balconies. The auditorium is enclosed by a solid three-foot brick wall, the inner sides of which are lined with studding and pine boards to absorb sounds and prevent echoes. Supported by 14 Corinthian columns, the balconies are recessed upward in a tiered fashion and the front of the first balcony is adorned with medallions of stylized design.

Interior furnishings

The luxurious interior of the hall is further enriched by the magnificent crystal chandelier, which hangs 50 feet in circumference, 16 feet in diameter, and 5,000 pounds in weight. Originally the chandelier had 240 gas burners, but it was electrified in 1900. It was rewired in 1957 and, at that time, was fitted with an electric-powered winch, allowing it to be lowered in five minutes rather than requiring four hours and 12 people to lower it by hand. A bust of Mozart executed in bas-relief crowns the proscenium arch. Above and to the left is the seated figure of Poetry, and to the right, that of Music. Charles Busher and Adolph Bailey designed and executed the exquisite carved and gilded wood sculpture decorations throughout the hall. Karl Hermann Schmolze painted the ceiling murals of allegorical figures.

While the name sometimes causes visitors to expect a conservatory, the Academy has never had a faculty or offered classes of any kind. Various voice and instrumental competitions have taken place there, including the Pavarotti competition.

Acoustics

Although the Academy's press releases have always spoken of the excellent acoustics, performers have generally found them problematic. The cavernous spaces that allow for rapid set changes during an operatic performance do not make for good resonance. It is generally accepted that the so-called Philadelphia Sound was at least in part devised to compensate for this weakness. Extensive renovations beginning in 1994 have maintained the building's beautiful architecture and made acoustic improvements.

External link

• Academy of Music website