Shanghai Grand Opera House, the world's largest opera house, opens on October 17 after nearly seven years of construction, featuring a white roof shaped like an open Chinese fan, infohub.kz reports.
The building was designed by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta in collaboration with the Chinese Institute of Architectural Design. The opera house covers nearly 147,000 square meters. By comparison, Kazakhstan's largest venue, Astana Opera, occupies about 90,000 square meters including its surrounding grounds.
Inside are three halls seating 2,000, 1,200 and 1,000 spectators. The structure's main feature is its white roof, which resembles an open Chinese fan. Its spiral form also evokes a dancer's movements and creates a staircase that visitors can climb to the top.
The roof connects the building to the surrounding park and the Huangpu River embankment, and the upper terrace offers views of the city.
"The Shanghai Grand Opera House project is based on three ideas: movement, a sense of community and the visitor experience. Movement links the different parts of the building and helps people navigate inside. The open space makes the theater accessible to all, and its architecture shapes guests' impressions. Together, these ideas create a building not only for performances but also for urban life," Snøhetta said.
The opera house is located in Expo Culture Park on the east bank of the Huangpu. Construction was completed in June 2026.
The Shanghai Grand Opera House project was selected through an international architectural competition in 2016. The team of architects was officially appointed in 2019. At the time, the theater was planned to open in 2023, but the large-scale project was delayed.
On October 17, the venue will welcome its first audiences. The grand opening will begin with a performance of "Ode to the Red Flag" by Chinese composer Lü Qiming.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle showed what the National Theater in the capital of Tajikistan looks like.