Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall kicks off open house this weekend

After four years of reconstruction, music will be heard once more at the Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall (VTCH) when it hosts its first official event tonight: A concert by the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO).

It will soon become a hive of activity, with performances under the Singapore International Festival Of Arts banner just next month. But before that, visitors can have a sneak peek at the venues with its open house event this weekend, which features guided tours and special performances by arts groups.

Undertaken by W Architects, which also helmed the revamp of the National Museum Of Singapore, the S$158 million refurbishment has resulted in a mix of the old and new. The 673-seater Victoria Concert Hall underwent minimal refurbishment and its in-house pipe organ remains the stage’s centerpiece. Erected in 1905 in honour of Queen Victoria, it was initially called the Victoria Memorial Hall (to honour Queen Victoria, who passed away in 1901) before being turned into a concert hall in the 1970s. It served as a makeshift hospital during World War II and was the site of the People’s Action Party’s inaugural meeting in 1954. Before its renovation, it has been the home of the SSO since 1979.

The adjacent Victoria Theatre underwent a more comprehensive revamp. Its previous sitting capacity of 900 people has been reduced to 614 to improve acoustics and visibility, said Sabrina Chin, the National Arts Councils Director Of Precinct Development.

To give it a more contemporary look, pieces of its old seats have been incorporated both inside the theatre — including the wooden walls — and at the foyer, as part of a “Rubik’s Cube” structure. The older of the two buildings, it was completed in 1862 and originally served as the Town Hall before it was converted and renamed Victoria Theatre in 1909.

The central passageway between the two buildings has been turned into an atrium, where the public can enter both from the front and from the back, where The Arts House is situated.

“It will bring the theatre and concert hall together and people can flow from one to the other,” said Chin.

There will be an F&B outlet so that you can grab a bite before a show, or just hang out with friends. There will also be two spaces that can be rented for music, theatre and dance rehearsals. Meanwhile, the clock tower fronting the buildings has also undergone a significant change: Its bells will now chime on a regular basis — the first time since it was installed in 1906.

The two venues will be managed by The Esplanade, which also manages the Drama Centre Theatre and Black Box.

“If the buildings could talk, they would tell us a lot of things,” said Chin.

Aside from the Open House event on the weekend, Singaporeans are also encouraged to share their memories of VTCH as part of the Singapore Memory Project. They can share photographs and memories via the irememberVictoria collection booth. They are also encouraged to hashtag their photos #irememberVictoria on social media.

The VTCH open house is on July 19 and 20, 10am to 7pm. Free admission. For more information, visit http://www.vtvch.com.