THE ELLIE - it's the only theater in Denver's Performing Arts Complex designed specifically for unamplified sound. And it took a lot of doing.

Because, as acoustics consultant Robert Mahoney says,

"An opera house is the most difficult of all designs."

"In this instance, we had an existing building. So, the starting point was to really understand what the boundaries of the dimensions could be - no greater than the existing building obviously. And as big as that is, that was quite a limitation. Especially in terms of the height.

"I'd say the first order of business was to get some sense of the necessary seat capacity - was it a 1200-or a 2400-seat house? The second was the commitment that it would be for unamplified sound. And the third was recognizing that because it was for unamplified sound, we could not have any deep balconies. We needed balconies to meet the seat count yet still keep the house intimate. We quickly saw that the balconies would have to be shallow and stacked vertically but not directly above one another."

That these discussions took place even before the architects drew anything underscores the fact that The Ellie was indeed designed for the acoustics of opera. And in the case of an opera house, according to Mahoney, "literally half the house is out of your control because you have to accomodate the set design." Which made designing The Ellie a most difficult challenge.

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HORSESHOE, SHOEBOX, OR LYRE?

The architects compared their initial design concepts with the world's finest opera houses. Should the space, for example, be configured as a horseshoe like La Scala's, or should it be in the shape of a shoebox or a lyre instead? Such comparisons informed the final design of The Ellie. Thus, the house is lyre-shaped like Covent Garden, providing superior sightlines and sound. And much like the Vienna Staatsoper, the farthest seat from the stage is only 112 feet away, giving the hall a sense of intimacy, making it feel smaller than it actually is, and yet again enhancing sightlines and sound.

Indeed, everything about the hall - the three shallow balconies that slope toward the stage, the richly colored panels of cherry wood, the tilts of the seats, the plumbness of the walls, the dimensions of the stage, the orchestra pit - was designed to enhance the audience's acoustical and theatrical experience. Click HERE for FanFaire's interview with Robert Mahoney on the acoustics of The Ellie.

The FIGARO SEAT-BACK TITLING SYSTEM - one of only three in the country

Individual screens at the back of each seat that have the capability of translating the dialogue on stage in up to seven languages make The Ellie only the third house in the US to have a full system installation. The other two are the Metropolitan Opera and Santa Fe Opera. (Seattle Opera has only a partial installation.) At the Gala Concert celebration and the season opening performances of Carmen, translation was offered in both English and Spanish, which will be repeated for the remaining operas of the season - Norma and the Abduction from the Seraglio.

An ORCHESTRA PIT like no other

Its movable walls adjust to the size of the orchestra and serve as sound reflectors, the amount of reflection controlled by how snugly the movable walls fit together. Thus, one could have a pit like Bayreuth's, in which according to Mahoney, "a conductor if he so wanted could put the low brass and percussion way under the stage," achieving what Wagner termed the "mystic gulf," and then as easily adjust the pit for the operas of Mozart or Rossini.

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The ELIZABETH ESTEY CHANDELIER - "a little like a tiara with the diamonds slowly coming out to a necklace"

Designed in-house at Semple Brown, the chandelier is the hall's centerpiece. It was donated by Donald Estey in memory of his late wife who was serving on the Board of Opera Colorado at the time of her passing. Before the show the chandelier drops down and opens up and then goes up again as the house lights fade just before curtain - "a very elegant way to say that the show is beginning," says Peter Lucking.

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