The Grand Opera House was the first building in Belfast to be given Grade A status and is the only remaining Victorian theatre in Northern Ireland. It was designed by Frank Matcham and opened on 23rd December 1895. (
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The building was originally called the New Grand Opera House and Cirque, in 1904 it was renamed the Palace of Varieties, and in 1909 its name was changed again to the Grand Opera House.
The Grand Opera House hosts an a wide variety of events including of drama, dance, opera, comedy, musicals, pantomime and family shows.
"Beautiful and of national importance, this Frank Matcham designed theater was used as a cinema for over 22 years, from 1949 to 1972, despite being almost totally unsuited to the task!
It opened December 23, 1895 and had a chequered career - sometimes very successful - sometimes in imminent danger of closure.
Then in 1949 Imperial Cinema and Cinematograph Theatres took a controlling interest on the Opera House and films became the order of the day - although amateurs and a panto sometimes took back the stage.
Taken over by Rank Organisation in 1960 and for a time it was under threat of becoming a bowling alley! However it was deemed unsuitable and films continued under Rank until they closed and boarded up the building in 1972.
A distinctly Indian theme is evident in the auditorium with elephants' heads and intricate plasterwork on the fronts of the two balconies. Delightful range of ‘onion domed’ boxes either side of the proscenium arch.
Aided by a Grade A Listed building status, awarded in 1974 (the first Belfast building to be so designated) the Opera House survived and in 1975 the long process of restoration began. Re-opening night took place on 15 September 1980.
Despite serious damage from a bomb in 1991 and again in May 1993, which was swiftly repaired, the Grand Opera House continues very successfully and is a symbol of a rejeuvenating city."
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"The Grand Opera House re-opened as a theatre in 1980 after undergoing a splendid scheme of renovation and restoration.
The magnificent auditorium is probably the best surviving example in the UK of the Oriental style applied to theatre architecture - largely Indian in character with intricate detail on the sinuously curved fronts of the two balconies and an elaborate composition of superimposed boxes surmounted by turban-domed canopies.
The ceiling, which is divided into several richly-framed painted panels that have been exquisitely recreated by artist Cherith McKinstry, is supported on arches above the gallery slips, with large elephant heads at springing level.
Proscenium 12m (39ft 8in), stage depth 13.71m (45ft), grid increased to 18.28m (60ft) from 15.84m (52ft). Large, new orchestra pit, the sharp single radius curve of the orchestra rail providing the only slightly jarring note in this superb auditorium.
The exterior, of brick and cast stone, is in a free mixture of Baroque, Flemish and Oriental styles - typical of Matcham’s earlier work. He made good use of the corner site by building up the composition of his design in stages, linked by strapwork scrolls, to the triangular-pedimented central gable which is flanked by domed minarets. The new projecting glass extension to the previously cramped first floor bar is quite in the spirit of Matcham’s architecture (cf Theatre Royal, Portsmouth). In 1982 it was made complete by the addition of the visually important column supports.
In 1991 and 1993 the theatre was damaged by terrorist bombs. This necessitated considerable rebuilding of the Glengall Street dressing room block, stage door and get in. Fortunately the auditorium suffered only superficial damage.
Now a touring theatre and Ulster’s only venue for major opera and dance companies." SOURCE: (
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