Touted as “one of the world’s most acoustically perfect spaces,” the Steinmetz was envisioned as a place to witness and hear ballet, orchestra and opera performances in Orlando in all their glory.
Planning, wrangling and construction on the hall has been ongoing since 2005 (check out Live Active Cultures’ Seth Kubersky’s tour of the site back in 2018), and the opening of the Steinmetz’s doors has been postponed more than a few times — then, of course, there was/is the small matter of a pandemic.
But on Tuesday, Orlando Ballet held a press conference announcing that their production of Giselle will christen the Steinmetz Hall with Valentine’s Day weekend performances on Feb. 10-13, 2022.
Giselle will feature both the Ballet and the Orlando Philharmonic performing the romantic French ballet from 1841.
“A few months ago we were informed that the new acoustic hall, now named Steinmetz Hall, and named after the generous gift of Marjorie Pabst and Charles Steinmetz, would indeed be ready in February for a performance,” said Jonathan Ledden, the Ballet’s Board President, after acknowledging the seeming suddenness of the press conference being called.
“Our current season had been planned, contracts had been signed and tickets were on sale. Nevertheless, we were not going to miss the opportunity to be one of the first performing arts organizations to move into this shining venue.”
Tickets are available for Giselle now (!) through the Orlando Ballet website.
The Dr. Phillips Center proper has yet to announce the official opening date for Steinmetz Hall.
–
Stay on top of Central Florida news and views with our weekly newsletters, and consider supporting this free publication. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you Central Florida news, and every little bit helps.
Related Stories
This article appears in Oct 27 – Nov 2, 2021.