Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
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THE PERFORMING ARTS
Ballet & Opera
Theatre Royal
This is the home theater for the ambitious, well-respected
Scottish Opera,
as well as the recently ascendant
Scottish Ballet.
The Royal also
hosts visiting companies from around the world. Called only slightly exaggeratedly
by the
Daily Telegraph,
“the most beautiful opera theatre in the kingdom,” the audi-
torium does offer splendid Victorian plasterwork and some glittering chandeliers.
However, it's not the decor but the repertoire—Wagner's
Ring
cycle,
La Bohème,
or
Don Giovanni
—that traditionally has attracted operagoers.
282 Hope St.
&
0870/060-
6647.
www.theatreroyalglasgow.com. Ballet tickets £3.50 (standby) to £55; opera tickets £28-£180;
touring company tickets £10-£25. Underground: Cowcaddens.
Concert Halls
City Halls & Old Fruitmarket
This set of smaller halls, which date to the
1840s, is perhaps the most acoustically perfect in Glasgow. Home to the
BBC's
Scottish Symphony Orchestra
and the
Scottish Chamber Orchestra,
the
Merchant City venue is now a key venue in the annual Celtic Connections Festival
and the International Jazz Festival, as well.
Candleriggs and Albion streets, Merchant City.
&
0141/353-8000.
www.glasgowcityhalls.com. Underground: Buchanan St.
Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
Situated at the top of Buchanan Street, there is
very little that's subtle about this modern music hall, which houses the largest
bespoke performance space in the city and is home to the
Royal Scottish National
Orchestra,
which plays its yearly Winter-Spring series and Pops seasons in the main
auditorium. The hall also produces the city's annual Celtic Connections Festival
every January.
2 Sauchiehall St.
&
0141/353-8000.
www.grch.com. Underground: Buchanan St.
Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama
This mouthful is usually short-
ened to its acronym: The RSAMD. A fine auditorium in this clunky brick structure
compensates for any sins of the external architecture.
100 Renfrew St.
&
0141/332-4101.
www.rsamd.ac.uk. Underground: Cowcaddens.
Theater
Although hardly competition for a drama giant such as London, Glasgow's theater
scene is equal to, if not a step ahead of, Edinburgh's. Young Scottish playwrights
often make their debuts here, and from the established dramatic repertoire you're
likely to see anything from Steinbeck's
The Grapes of Wrath
to Beckett's
Crapp's Last
Tape
.
The Arches
Located within the vaulted brick arches beneath the railway lines
in and out of Central Station, the Arches offers a range of inexpensive drama and
performances. However, it also offers a fairly full schedule of live music of all
descriptions, regular dance clubs, and visual art exhibits. Although it receives grants
from government arts bodies, it is an independent, not-for-profit entity. The cafe/bar
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