After an interlude of approximately 4 years, the facility was reborn within the Osaka Nakanoshima Festival Tower. On April 10, 2013, the Festival Hall celebrated its inauguration with a gala concert by the La Fenice Theatre Foundation who came all the way from Italy. Playing to a full audience, the applause they received was a celebration of the first step in hall’s new history.
The Festival Hall originally opened in 1958 during Japan’s period of rapid economic growth. Until this time there were no suitable venues for artistic performances in Japan and so its opening was long-awaited event. After its opening it hosted performances by numerous famous orchestras from overseas in addition to a wide range of other events including opera, ballet, popular music and traditional Japanese performance arts. Until its rebuilding as part of the Nakanoshima redevelopment, it served as the cultural center of the city of Osaka for 50 years.
In order to retain the unique acoustics of the original hall, in which it was said ‘the music pours down from the ceiling’ the festival hall that was reborn in the Nakanoshima Festival Tower was built to the same scale as the old facility, seating 2,700 and demonstrating its adherence to tradition while steadily evolving.
View of the south facade of the Nakanoshima Festival Tower, showing the “Fauns Enjoying Music” relief, a symbol of the old Festival Hall, which was recreated for the new building.
The atrium of the 5th floor foyer reaches for 3 stories and contains chandeliers that produce an image of the night sky, creating a strong impression on the viewer. The interior walls are made of brick to better preserve the feeling of quiet dignity.
Total number of seats 2,000 (orchestra pit: 176, 1st floor: 1,544 [including 81 box seats], 2nd floor: 564, 3rd floor: 560, balcony box seats: 32). All the seats are products of Kotobuki Seating. All the seating has greater width and legroom than the old hall, providing a more comfortable experience.
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