Hummingbird Centre
Encyclopedia
The Sony Centre for the Performing Arts is a major performing arts venue in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
.
The theatre, designated a heritage building by the City of Toronto, underwent renovations to restore its iconic features such as the marquee canopy and York Wilson
’s lobby mural, The Seven Lively Arts. Restoration of the wood, brass and marble that were hallmarks of the original facility was undertaken, along with audience seating, flooring upgrades, new washrooms, and reconfigured lobby spaces. Following two years of renovations and restoration work, the Sony Centre reopened its doors on 1 October 2010, fifty years to the date of the first opening night performance.
issued a challenge to Toronto industrialists to underwrite the cost of a multipurpose centre for theatre, music and dance. Response to Phillips' challenge was not immediate. E.P. Taylor, the racehorse-loving head of the O'Keefe Brewing Company and Argus Corporation, was already one of the city's most generous philanthropists, and in 1954, he offered to build a performing arts centre that would not only serve the needs of local institutions but to increase the diversity of entertainment options available in Toronto.
Taylor assigned one of his key executives, Hugh Walker, to oversee building what was to be known as The O'Keefe Centre in its first 36 years. The O'Keefe Centre opened on 1 October 1960 with a red-carpet gala. The first production was Alexander H. Cohen
's production of the pre-Broadway
premiere of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot
, starring Richard Burton
, Julie Andrews
and Robert Goulet
. Camelot would prove to be just the first in a long and continuing line of spectacular productions, featuring such artists as Ethel Merman
, Mickey Rooney
, Angela Lansbury
, Alfred Drake
, Yul Brynner
, Carol Channing
, Pearl Bailey
, and Katharine Hepburn
. Even Rudolf Nureyev
, more familiar to Centre audiences in his frequent role as a ballet superstar, tried his hand at musical theatre as the Siamese autocrat in The King and I.
Other great performing legends have graced the Sony Centre stage in a range of solo shows, revues and jazz spectaculars: Louis Armstrong
, Duke Ellington
, Marlene Dietrich
, Diana Ross
, Anne Murray
, Tom Jones
, Danny Kaye
, Judy Garland
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
, Bill Cosby
, Jack Benny
, Liza Minnelli
and Liberace
. Large-scale ballet and dance is another performing art well suited to the Centre's ample stage. Apart from regular seasons offered by The National Ballet of Canada
at the Sony Centre from 1964 to 2006 and frequent visits by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
, the theatre has welcomed a diverse range of international dance companies. One of the earliest, Les Ballets Africains, offered the unusual sight of topless women. Other visitors have included Britain's Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Folklorico of Mexico, and Kirov and the Bolshoi. It was during a 1974 Bolshoi visit that a young Mikhail Baryshnikov
, on loan from the Kirov, bolted from the Centre's stage door, down The Esplanade and into a waiting getaway car and freedom.
Like The National Ballet, The Canadian Opera Company
also made the Sony Centre its home stage, from as early as 1961 to 2006. Many of Canada's greatest singers as well as a host of international opera stars have performed for Centre audiences in COC productions. In addition, although touring opera is now rare, in earlier days the Sony Centre played host to The Met and to such towering voices as those of Birgit Nilsson, Placido Domingo and Renata Scotto.
In 1996, the building was renamed in recognition of a major gift from the Canadian software company, Hummingbird Communications Ltd. The $5-million donation allowed the Centre to undertake a number of capital improvements and repairs, among them the installation of an elevator and an acoustic reinforcement system for the auditorium. In September 2007, Sony bought the naming rights to the Centre and a 10-year partnership was born. When the Ballet and Opera moved to the Four Seasons Centre
in 2006, it meant a more open programming schedule which has allowed the Centre to place even greater emphasis on being an important community resource where people from all backgrounds can gather to share their distinct and vibrant cultures. Notable performances that reflect this mandate include the Last Empress with its dramatic, musical portrayal of an important figure in Korean history, the Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company, South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir, Shaolin Warriors, Ricky Cheng, David Rudder & Friends and Club Tropicana.
In 2006, the Sony Centre received approval from the City of Toronto for the development of a high-rise condominium building beside the Centre. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind
(who also designed the Crystal addition to the Royal Ontario Museum
), the L Tower
is currently under construction on the southwest corner of the property. The Sony Centre closed on 26 June 2008 to begin the theatre renovations which were unveiled on 1 October 2010.
, the Sony Centre is a distinctive building and an example of a mid-twentieth century Modern
performing arts venue. It is four stories high and is broken up into three main forms: the entrance block, auditorium and fly tower. The central form of the building is highly symmetrical with an open floor plan. Structurally, the Sony Centre is not overly complicated and uses steel trusses and concrete to hold the majority of the building together. In addition to the structure, the Sony Centre auditorium houses a very sophisticated acoustic system, which gives the audience the sense that the sound is surrounding them (Canadian Architect 18).
When it comes to materiality, the majority of the original materials are still in the building today. Materials used include: Alabama limestone, glazing, granite, copper, bronze, Carrara marble, carpet, cherry plywood panels and Brazilian Rosewood. The Sony Centre is very diverse with its range of materials and employs them in such a way that they are not overshadowed by the unique forms of the building. The interior also features a grand double-height foyer with coffered ceilings, a 30 metre wide mural by the famous Toronto-born artist R. York Wilson, cantilevering staircases that appear to be floating, bright bronze auditorium doors, and a fan-shaped auditorium with a huge curving balcony.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
About the Centre
The Sony Centre For The Performing Arts is Canada’s largest soft-seat theatre. The centre opened as the O’Keefe Centre on 1 October 1960, and has played host to a variety of international attractions and stars.The theatre, designated a heritage building by the City of Toronto, underwent renovations to restore its iconic features such as the marquee canopy and York Wilson
York Wilson
Ronald York Wilson was a Canadian painter and muralist.He is known for his murals at Toronto's O'Keefe Centre, the Salvation Army Headquarters, Imperial Oil Building, Bell Telephone Building, and Central Hospital. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.-External links:* * at The...
’s lobby mural, The Seven Lively Arts. Restoration of the wood, brass and marble that were hallmarks of the original facility was undertaken, along with audience seating, flooring upgrades, new washrooms, and reconfigured lobby spaces. Following two years of renovations and restoration work, the Sony Centre reopened its doors on 1 October 2010, fifty years to the date of the first opening night performance.
History
The idea for a performing arts centre that could serve the needs of an increasingly dynamic city predates the building's opening by almost 20 years. In the mid-1940s, Nathan PhillipsNathan Phillips (politician)
Nathan Phillips, KC was a Canadian politician and popular Mayor of Toronto, Ontario.-Early life:Born in Brockville, Ontario, the son of Jacob Phillips and Mary Rosenbloom, he was educated in public and high schools in Cornwall. In 1908, he articled with the Cornwall lawyer, Robert Smith, who later...
issued a challenge to Toronto industrialists to underwrite the cost of a multipurpose centre for theatre, music and dance. Response to Phillips' challenge was not immediate. E.P. Taylor, the racehorse-loving head of the O'Keefe Brewing Company and Argus Corporation, was already one of the city's most generous philanthropists, and in 1954, he offered to build a performing arts centre that would not only serve the needs of local institutions but to increase the diversity of entertainment options available in Toronto.
Taylor assigned one of his key executives, Hugh Walker, to oversee building what was to be known as The O'Keefe Centre in its first 36 years. The O'Keefe Centre opened on 1 October 1960 with a red-carpet gala. The first production was Alexander H. Cohen
Alexander H. Cohen
Alexander H. Cohen was a prolific American theatrical producer who mounted more than one hundred productions on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the only American producer to maintain offices in the West End as well as on Broadway.-Personal life:Cohen was born in New York City...
's production of the pre-Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
premiere of Lerner and Loewe's Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
, starring Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Julie Andrews
Julie Andrews
Dame Julia Elizabeth Andrews, DBE is an English film and stage actress, singer, and author. She is the recipient of Golden Globe, Emmy, Grammy, BAFTA, People's Choice Award, Theatre World Award, Screen Actors Guild and Academy Award honors...
and Robert Goulet
Robert Goulet
Robert Gerard Goulet was a Canadian American entertainer as a singer and actor. He played the role of Lancelot in the Broadway musical Camelot of 1960.-Early life:...
. Camelot would prove to be just the first in a long and continuing line of spectacular productions, featuring such artists as Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman
Ethel Merman was an American actress and singer. Known primarily for her powerful voice and roles in musical theatre, she has been called "the undisputed First Lady of the musical comedy stage." Among the many standards introduced by Merman in Broadway musicals are "I Got Rhythm", "Everything's...
, Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
, Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
, Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.-Biography:Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College...
, Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner
Yul Brynner was a Russian-born actor of stage and film. He was best known for his portrayal of Mongkut, king of Siam, in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the film version; he also played the role more than 4,500 times on...
, Carol Channing
Carol Channing
Carol Elaine Channing is an American singer, actress, and comedienne. She is the recipient of three Tony Awards , a Golden Globe and an Oscar nomination...
, Pearl Bailey
Pearl Bailey
Pearl Mae Bailey was an American actress and singer. After appearing in vaudeville, she made her Broadway debut in St. Louis Woman in 1946. She won a Tony Award for the title role in the all-black production of Hello, Dolly! in 1968...
, and Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Hepburn
Katharine Houghton Hepburn was an American actress of film, stage, and television. In a career that spanned 62 years as a leading lady, she was best known for playing strong-willed, sophisticated women in both dramas and comedies...
. Even Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Nureyev
Rudolf Khametovich Nureyev was a Russian dancer, considered one of the most celebrated ballet dancers of the 20th century. Nureyev's artistic skills explored expressive areas of the dance, providing a new role to the male ballet dancer who once served only as support to the women.In 1961 he...
, more familiar to Centre audiences in his frequent role as a ballet superstar, tried his hand at musical theatre as the Siamese autocrat in The King and I.
Other great performing legends have graced the Sony Centre stage in a range of solo shows, revues and jazz spectaculars: Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong , nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana....
, Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, Diana Ross
Diana Ross
Diana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, Anne Murray
Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray CC, ONS is a Canadian singer in pop, country and adult contemporary styles whose albums have sold over 54 million copies....
, Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
, Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...
, Sammy Davis, Jr.
Sammy Davis, Jr.
Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. was an American entertainer and was also known for his impersonations of actors and other celebrities....
, Bill Cosby
Bill Cosby
William Henry "Bill" Cosby, Jr. is an American comedian, actor, author, television producer, educator, musician and activist. A veteran stand-up performer, he got his start at various clubs, then landed a starring role in the 1960s action show, I Spy. He later starred in his own series, the...
, Jack Benny
Jack Benny
Jack Benny was an American comedian, vaudevillian, and actor for radio, television, and film...
, Liza Minnelli
Liza Minnelli
Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....
and Liberace
Liberace
Wladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
. Large-scale ballet and dance is another performing art well suited to the Centre's ample stage. Apart from regular seasons offered by The National Ballet of Canada
National Ballet of Canada
The National Ballet of Canada is Canada's largest ballet troupe. It was founded by Celia Franca in 1951 and is based in Toronto, Ontario. Based upon the unity of Canadian trained dancers in the tradition and style of England's Royal Ballet, The National is regarded as one of the premier classical...
at the Sony Centre from 1964 to 2006 and frequent visits by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Royal Winnipeg Ballet
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America....
and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal is a Canadian ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec.It was founded in 1957 by Ludmilla Chiriaeff. Conductor and composer Michel Perrault served as the organization's first music director. In 2000, Gradimir Pankov became Artistic Director...
, the theatre has welcomed a diverse range of international dance companies. One of the earliest, Les Ballets Africains, offered the unusual sight of topless women. Other visitors have included Britain's Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet, Dance Theater of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet, the National Ballet of Cuba, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Folklorico of Mexico, and Kirov and the Bolshoi. It was during a 1974 Bolshoi visit that a young Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov is a Soviet and American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974...
, on loan from the Kirov, bolted from the Centre's stage door, down The Esplanade and into a waiting getaway car and freedom.
Like The National Ballet, The Canadian Opera Company
Canadian Opera Company
The Canadian Opera Company is an opera company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest opera company in Canada and the third largest producer of opera in North America. The COC performs in its own opera house, the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.-History:For 40 years until...
also made the Sony Centre its home stage, from as early as 1961 to 2006. Many of Canada's greatest singers as well as a host of international opera stars have performed for Centre audiences in COC productions. In addition, although touring opera is now rare, in earlier days the Sony Centre played host to The Met and to such towering voices as those of Birgit Nilsson, Placido Domingo and Renata Scotto.
In 1996, the building was renamed in recognition of a major gift from the Canadian software company, Hummingbird Communications Ltd. The $5-million donation allowed the Centre to undertake a number of capital improvements and repairs, among them the installation of an elevator and an acoustic reinforcement system for the auditorium. In September 2007, Sony bought the naming rights to the Centre and a 10-year partnership was born. When the Ballet and Opera moved to the Four Seasons Centre
Four Seasons Centre
The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts is a 2,071-seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada which had its grand opening Wednesday, June 14, 2006. The first actual performance however, commenced in September 2006 with the first Canadian production of Richard Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen...
in 2006, it meant a more open programming schedule which has allowed the Centre to place even greater emphasis on being an important community resource where people from all backgrounds can gather to share their distinct and vibrant cultures. Notable performances that reflect this mandate include the Last Empress with its dramatic, musical portrayal of an important figure in Korean history, the Virsky Ukrainian Dance Company, South Africa's Soweto Gospel Choir, Shaolin Warriors, Ricky Cheng, David Rudder & Friends and Club Tropicana.
In 2006, the Sony Centre received approval from the City of Toronto for the development of a high-rise condominium building beside the Centre. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind
Daniel Libeskind, is an American architect, artist, and set designer of Polish-Jewish descent. Libeskind founded Studio Daniel Libeskind in 1989 with his wife, Nina, and is its principal design architect...
(who also designed the Crystal addition to the Royal Ontario Museum
Royal Ontario Museum
The Royal Ontario Museum is a museum of world culture and natural history in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. With its main entrance facing Bloor Street in Downtown Toronto, the museum is situated north of Queen's Park and east of Philosopher's Walk in the University of Toronto...
), the L Tower
L Tower
The L Tower is condominium development under construction in Toronto, Canada. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the structure will be located adjacent to the heritage-designated Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, itself a modernist icon of the city at the corner of Yonge and Front Streets....
is currently under construction on the southwest corner of the property. The Sony Centre closed on 26 June 2008 to begin the theatre renovations which were unveiled on 1 October 2010.
Architecture
Designed by Peter DickinsonPeter Dickinson (architect)
Peter Allgood Rastall Dickinson, , was a British-born architect responsible for many modernist buildings in Toronto....
, the Sony Centre is a distinctive building and an example of a mid-twentieth century Modern
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
performing arts venue. It is four stories high and is broken up into three main forms: the entrance block, auditorium and fly tower. The central form of the building is highly symmetrical with an open floor plan. Structurally, the Sony Centre is not overly complicated and uses steel trusses and concrete to hold the majority of the building together. In addition to the structure, the Sony Centre auditorium houses a very sophisticated acoustic system, which gives the audience the sense that the sound is surrounding them (Canadian Architect 18).
When it comes to materiality, the majority of the original materials are still in the building today. Materials used include: Alabama limestone, glazing, granite, copper, bronze, Carrara marble, carpet, cherry plywood panels and Brazilian Rosewood. The Sony Centre is very diverse with its range of materials and employs them in such a way that they are not overshadowed by the unique forms of the building. The interior also features a grand double-height foyer with coffered ceilings, a 30 metre wide mural by the famous Toronto-born artist R. York Wilson, cantilevering staircases that appear to be floating, bright bronze auditorium doors, and a fan-shaped auditorium with a huge curving balcony.