A beautiful round building in the center of London attracts attention with its unusual architecture. But his story is no less interesting and fascinating. The Royal Albert Hall is a whole era, and in the life of not only the UK, 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. The Crystal Palace was built for her in Hyde Park. But it was not intended to house exhibitions, and inspired by the success of the event, Prince Albert decided to build a special building that could accommodate a large number of people. Thus was born the idea of building the Hall of Arts and Science, which would later be named after the Prince - Albert Hall. A place was determined for him near Hyde Park, in the nearby area - Kensington, the prince began to create a city of art. Over time, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Art, and the Natural History Museum were located here. However, the prince did not have time to bring the idea to life, he died when the design of the hall was not even ready. Butthe 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 Fowke and Scott Henry. And in 1871, the grand opening took place, which was attended by Queen Victoria. She was so touched by the memories of her husband that she could not even make a speech, and Prince Edward said the words of greeting. This is how one of the most recognizable buildings in the world appeared in London - the Albert Hall concert hall.
Prince in brief
Albert, husband of Queen Victoria, was a sophisticated man. Throughout his life, he was mainly engaged in promoting cultural projects and supporting artists and scientists. He started the tradition of holding industrial exhibitions in London, as well as celebrating the New Year with tree decorations. He was the founder and progenitor of the idea of many London museums: manufactory, decorative arts (today Victoria and Albert) and colleges: arts, music, design.
He and Queen Victoria represented the rarest case of great love among crowned heads. They lived in a happy marriage for a little over 20 years, gave birth to 9 children, but the death of the prince cut off 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 building a concert hall, named after Prince Albert Hall.
Architectural features
Creating the design of the concert hall, the architects were inspired by ancient architecture. They conceived and realized the building in the form of an ellipse, with a diameter of 83 meters, reminiscent of an amphitheater, made of red brick and terracotta with arched windows. And the building is crowned with a glass dome, the height of which is 41 meters. The dome was made in Manchester and brought to London in separate 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 the Albert Hall and the composition Triumph of Art and Science. The frieze of the hall is decorated with an inscription in terracotta letters - quotes from the Bible and facts of the world historical chronicle. Also, the facade is 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 persons of princes-patrons.
Concert hall interior
At one time, the largest concert hall was the Albert Hall, with a capacity of 9,000 people. Later, fire safety regulations reduced this number to 5.5 thousand people. In size, of course, it is inferior to many halls in the world, but not many will be able to compete with it in terms of the beauty of the interior and celebrities. The interior of the concert hall was designed by Harry Scott based on sketches by Lucas Brothers. The room is decorated according to all the laws of the classics: gilding, scarlet velvet, many details, an abundance of light. The stage of the hall in the form of an amphitheater was decorated with an organ with 9,000 pipes. A special box with a room has been designed for the queen and her family.rest.
Notable Events
The 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, Ford motor shows, table tennis championships and boxing matches.
The most notable of the 150,000 events were: charity annual balls, which have been held since 1881, the first exhibition of watches in 1955, demonstration performances by Mohammed Ali, the Eurovision Song Contest in 1968, the premiere of the Cirque du Soleil performance, Frank's concert Sintars, The Beatles concert in 1963, and recitation of excerpts from the Harry Potter novel to 4,000 fans, sumo wrestling competition.
Modern life at the Albert Hall
Albert Hall is a neoclassical building protected by the state. It has undergone several renovations. In 1897, gas lighting was replaced by electric, from 1994 to 2006, the building underwent a global restoration and renovation, during which the acoustics were significantly improved, and otherwise the historical appearance was completely preserved. Today, the Albert Hall, whose photo is taken by tourists to all corners of the world, is an undoubted symbol of London, like the famous Big Ben. All artists and musicians dream of performing there, and all tourists from England dream of visiting it.
