Dubai Opera was developed by Emaar Properties, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced the plans in March 2012. Atkins built the venue, with Janus Rostock as principal architect. Construction ran from April 2013 to August 2016, and the house opened on August 31, 2016, with a performance by Plácido Domingo.
The building is designed to resemble a dhow, a traditional sailing vessel. The bow holds the main stage and seating, and the long hull holds waiting areas and parking. The article gives its size as 650,000 square feet (60,000 square meters) and lists 2,000 seats, though one passage says 1,901.
Hydraulic lifts and seating wagons move 900 seats, so the hall can become a theater, a music hall or a flat-floor event space that holds 1,000 people or more.
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