A photo of the concert hall's exterior, from the opening gala on September 15, 2006. Photo courtesy the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
The open house was a brilliant idea for as an event. It allows everyone in the community a chance to share in the fun of the new hall without having to pay donor-level money to get in. And, as an extra treat, they gave a few free performances in the grand hall so that we plebeians could hear what all the fuss was about. (For the past few weeks, the only way to get in has been to pay up mucho bucks for the opening gala, or pay up mucho bucks to go to a regular concert).
It's a pretty hall. Not entirely done yet - in the upper tiers, an usher tells me, terrazo tiles have yet to be installed over the concrete floors, and there's still masking tape all over the place upstairs - but still pretty. From an aesthetic point of view, it was perfectly pleasing in every way. Soft, curvy lines and a light-filled lobby with a giant glass wall overlooking the Performing Arts Center's central plaza area.
And in the concert hall itself, the sound is just dandy, too. The Pacific Symphony performed in chamber mode (groups of maybe 4 or 5 musicians at a time), and from my seat in the hall's second level boxes, the sound was resonant and clear. The most impressive moment was when the percussionists, using only xylophones, played a version of Pachabel's Canon in D. The sound was haunting, and it was thrilling the way notes reverberated and hung in the air throughout the hall: even upstairs, it was as though the sound was sitting next to you, wrapping itself around your ear. It is going to be interesting to hear how a full orchestra sounds in here, but it's promising when there's that much depth of sound from 'softer' instruments.
All that loveliness being said - I'm not sure how much I like the seating arrangements. The seats up in the tiers are hard and somewhat uncomfortable. The rows are unforgiving, lined with metal rails and hard seat backs. True it's not all done yet, but still, it didn't feel as inviting to be up there. It's also a very vertical hall, arranged as a long, tall rectanglar box. The orchestra seats are laid out along the bottom, then at one end, shallow tiers are stacked up on top of each other with steep rakes. The way it is all set up, things just aren't as inviting as, well, Walt Disney Concert Hall. Yes, that the giant silver elephant in the room - Walt Disney Concert Hall. Comparisons are inevitable, since they are both major new concert halls for Southern California, and they are both opening within 4 years of each other.
I prefer Disney Hall, frankly. It is architecturally more interesting from the outside, and in the hall itself, Disney Hall is just so much more communal. The seating tiers flow up from the stage, hanging in elegant rows like vines in the garden of Babylon (I stole this idea - the architects call the auditorium a 'vineyard style' hall). But it really has the wonderful effect of feeling like you're in the same space as the artists on stage, and truly sharing space with the entire audience around you. Even in cheap seats, the lines and elegant slopes in the auditorium draw you towards the stage. And that sound - oh that beautiful sound when they play classical music: that of course draws you in, too. It all comes down to the experience of being able to see everyone in the auditorium, no matter where you're sitting: a community gathering to hear the music.
The very vertical interior of Segerstrom Hall. Photo courtesty of the Orange County Performing Arts Center.
It's an itty, bitty picture from the LA Phil web site, but it gives you some idea of the Walt Disney Concert Hall's interior, by comparison.
Segerstrom Hall is built in the style of a more traditional theatre. There are a few seats that wrap around behind the stage with box tiers along the walls. But most of the seats face the stage. And those boxes have truly awful views. It hurts your neck to crane your head over the wall and pier down at the stage, and even then you usually have an obstructed view. With the tiers stacked up all on top of each other, you can't see people above or below you, and that general hierarchy of expensive to cheap seats is firmly established.
It is a lovely theatre though. Its not much different from other theatres and concert halls, really. I just love the idea that in Walt Disney Concert Hall, things are so much different.
Here is a link to the Orange County Register's coverage of the new concert hall. It includes a snazzy virtual tour and lots of photos: Click here.
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