Vahdat Hall
| Roudaki Hall / Vahdat Hall | |
|---|---|
| تالار رودکی / تالار وحدت Tālār e Rudaki / Tālār e Vahdat |
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| General information | |
| Type | Opera House |
| Location | Ostad Shahriyar Street (former Dr. Arfa Avenue), Tehran, Iran |
| Construction started | 1957 |
| Completed | 1967 |
| Inaugurated | October 26, 1967 |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 9.200 sqm |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Eugene Aftandilian |
The Roudaki Hall (Persian: تالار رودکی – Tālār e Rudaki), officially the Vahdat Hall (تالار وحدت – Tālār e Vahdat), is a performing arts complex in Tehran, Iran. It is the legacy of a prosperous and developing period for Iranian music, dance, ballet, and related performing arts.
Named after Roudaki, a well-known blind Persian poet from the 9th century, the hall was among the best-equipped and modern opera houses in the world at the time of its inauguration. After the 1979 Revolution, it was renamed Vahdat Hall by the new government.
Around the 1950s and 1970s, the Iranian national stage had become the most famous performing scene for known international artists and troupes in West Asia, with the Roudaki Hall constructed in the capital of the country to function as the national stage for opera and ballet performances.
The complex was designed by architect Eugene Aftandilian, influenced by the Vienna State Opera, and was constructed during a period of ten years starting in 1957. It was equipped with the latest lighting and sound system technologies of the time, with revolving and moving stages. The main stage consists of three different levels (podiums). The auditorium seats 1200 and has two tiers of boxes and balconies. The venue was fully supplied by Siemens Electrics. The main curtain in proscenium has a motif of a phoenix rising from the ashes, with the style of Persian miniature.
Just before the completion of Tehran's new opera house, Nejad Ahmadzadeh, artistic director of the Iranian National Ballet Company, was sent by the Ministry of Culture and Arts to the United States to visit their opera houses and study administrative, organizational, and technical constructions of American opera establishments that were deemed to be the most modern in the West. At his return, he was appointed as manager of the upcoming opera house, and established the technical, administrative, and artistic sections of the Roudaki Hall. The constructions of the hall were eventually completed in 1967.
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