London's Royal Albert Hall Hall

A beautiful circular building in central London attracts attention with its unusual architecture. But its history is no less interesting and fascinating. Royal Albert Hall - this is a whole era, and in the life not only of Britain, but of the whole world of music.

History of construction

Prince Albert was a great lover and patron of the arts. In 1851, London hosted the Great Exhibition, which was a worldwide success. For her, the Crystal Palace was built in Hyde Park. But it was not designed to accommodate expositions, and, inspired by the success of the event, Prince Albert decided to build a special building capable of accommodating a large number of people. So the idea of building the Hall of Arts and Science was born , which later will be named after the prince - Albert Hall. For him it was determined a place near Hyde Park, in the nearby area - Kensington, the prince began to create an art city. Over time, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the Royal College of Art, the Museum of Natural History are located here. However, the prince did not have time to realize the plan, he died when the hall project was not even ready. But the inconsolable widow, Queen Victoria, decided to finish the work of her beloved husband, and in 1867 the first brick was laid. The project was developed by architects Francis Fouque and Scott Henry. And in 1871 a grand opening was held, at which Queen Victoria was present. She was so moved by the memories of her husband that she could not even make a speech, and the words of greeting were said by Prince Edward. So in London appeared one of the most recognizable buildings in the world - the Albert Hall concert hall.

Briefly about the prince

Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria, was a refined man. Throughout his life, he has mainly been involved in the promotion of cultural projects and the support of artists and science. He laid the tradition of holding industrial exhibitions in London, as well as celebrating the New Year with the decoration of the Christmas trees. He was the founder and ancestor of the idea of many London museums: manufactory, arts and crafts (today Victoria and Albert) and colleges: arts, music, design.

They with Queen Victoria represented the rarest case of great love among the crowned persons. They lived in a happy marriage for just over 20 years, gave birth to 9 children, but the idyll cut short the death of the prince.

When in 1861 Albert died, Victoria was inconsolable. She said that "her husband's views on the world will be her law", and tried to implement all his plans and plans, including, he built a concert hall, named after Prince Albert Hall.

Architectural features

Creating the project of a concert hall, the architects were inspired by the ancient architecture. They conceived and embodied a structure in the shape of an ellipse, 83 meters in diameter, resembling an amphitheater, made of red brick and terracotta with arched windows. And the building is crowned with a glass dome, whose height is 41 meters. The dome was made in Manchester and in the form of individual parts was brought to London. His rise and fastening became a technical innovation of his time. The facade of the building is surrounded by a magnificent fresco depicting the panorama of the city with Albert Hall and the composition Triumph of Art and Science. Friez hall decorates the inscription with 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 embody the crafts, arts, science, the country of the world, as well as the persona of the princes-patrons.

The interior of the concert hall

At one time, the largest concert hall was Albert Hall, which has a capacity of 9 thousand people. Later, fire safety rules reduced this number to 5,500 people. In size, of course, it is inferior to many halls of the world, but in terms of the beauty of the interior and celebrity with it, not many can compete. Harry Scott was working on the interior of the concert hall on the sketches of Lucas Brothers. The room is decorated according to all the laws of the classics: gilding, scarlet velvet, lots of details, plenty of light. Scene of the hall in the form of an amphitheater was decorated with an organ with 9000 pipes. For the queen and her family a special box with a rest room is arranged.

Outstanding Events

The Albert Hall is one of the most prestigious concert venues in the world. About 350 events are held annually. All the stars of the world performed here: The Beatles, ABBA, Pink Floyd, Adele and many others. In the hall there are concerts of classical and organ music, various awards ceremonies, even sports broadcasts, Ford Motor Show, 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 the hours of 1955, the show performances of Mohammed Ali, the Eurovision Song Contest of 1968, the premiere of Cirque du Soleil, the Frank Sintara concert, The Beatles In 1963, and reading fragments of the novel about Harry Potter for 4 thousand fans, a contest of wrestlers sumo.

Modern life of Albert Hall

Albert Hall - a building in neoclassical style, protected by the state. It suffered several reconstructions. In 1897, gas lighting was replaced by electric lighting, from 1994 to 2006, a global restoration and renovation of the building took place, during which the acoustics were significantly improved, and the rest of the historical appearance was completely preserved. Today, Albert Hall, a photo taken by tourists to all corners of the world, is the undoubted symbol of London, like the famous Big Ben. In it, all artists and musicians dream to perform, and to visit - all tourists of England.