Philadelphia's Grand Dame 'Trussed Up' for a New Century
When the curtain goes up at the Philadelphia Academy of Music for the opening of Carmen on Nov. 8, opera patrons will see little evidence of its $37-million renovation program even though the work included complex structural first aid for ailing structural members above the auditorium's ornate plaster ceiling.
And that's just the way the owner, the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, wants it. The goal of the ambitious six-year renovation program, dubbed the "Academy for the 21st Century," was to bring the 145-year-old building up to the standards of modern performance halls "while retaining the ambiance and feeling of gild," says George Shaeffer, who oversaw the construction on behalf of the association.