Tokyo Opera City

Tokyo Opera City Review

Completed in 1997, this is certain to be the last major cultural project in Tokyo for the foreseeable future. The west side of the complex is the New National Theater (Shin Kokuritsu Gekijo), consisting of the 1,810-seat Opera house, the 1,038-seat Playhouse, and an intimate performance space called the Pit, with seating for 468. Architect Helmut Jacoby's design for this building, with its reflecting pools, galleries, and granite planes of wall, deserves real plaudits.

The east side of the complex consists of a 54-story office tower flanked by a sunken garden and art museum on one side and a concert hall on the other. The museum focuses rather narrowly on post-World War II Japanese abstract painting. The 1632-seat concert hall is arguably the most impressive classical-music venue in Tokyo, with tiers of polished-oak panels, and excellent acoustics despite the venue's daring vertical design.