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Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
Mumbai, India
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Other Projects by Abha Narain Lambah Associates
Royal Opera House
Mumbai, India
Type
STATUS
Built
YEAR
1916
SIZE
25,000 sqft - 100,000 sqft
BUDGET
$1M - 5M
The only surviving historic Opera House in India, the Royal Bombay Opera House was once described as the 'finest theatre in the East' . A prestigious venue for live performances since it opened in 1916, (the building even before the interiors were completed hosted a performance in honour of King George V in 1911), the Opera House hosted opera, musical concerts, dance, theatre, lectures (Mahatma Gandhi addressed a conference there in 1934) and performances by some of the most legendary Indian artists - Lata Mangeshkar, Pt. Dinanath Mangeshkar, Krishna Master, Bal Gandharva and Prithviraj Kapoor.
In Stones Of Empire: The Buildings of The Raj, Jan Morris records that of all the performance venues the British built in Calcutta, Simla, Madras and Bombay, the only one with “proper theatrical flair” was the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. “This late Victorian building was unmistakably the real thing,” she declares, before rhapsodizing about its “indispensable” first floor veranda, chandeliers, Corinthian columns, arcade (“for flowersellers, of course”) and gaslit lights, “all of which…seemed to await the arrival of Signor Puccini”. “Instead,” she writes, “the movies came.. ".
In 1935 Ideal Pictures Ltd acquired the theatre and completely renovated it in the following year, including new flooring, tiles, doors, window frames and colored cements. In 1952, it was bought by the erstwhile Maharaja of Gondal, Vikramsinhji and as a plush single screen theatre, it was a popular venue for film premieres such as V. Shantaram's Dahej that showed here on 19 May 1950. It underwent another refurbishment sometime in the 1970s when its neo Baroque balconies were demolished and the interior was given an Art Deco design. By the 1980s, video films adversely impacted the popularity of cinema. Over the decades, with the onset of multiplex cinemas and video piracy, it became unviable for a single screen theatre to run and this loss of revenue led to its ultimate demise in the 1990s and a number of theatres were closed that included Bombay's beloved opera house in 1993.
The following years saw the building fall into disrepair and finally dereliction with severe structural distress leading to it being declared in “ruinous condition likely to fall and dangerous to any person occupying, resorting to or passing by the same” by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. The linear balconies were verging on collapse, sections of the flooring had caved in, steel girders had badly corroded to the extent of becoming unsafe, jack arches showed signs of distress and there were severe roof leakages.
After a series of ownership changes, the Opera House eventually came under the custodianship of Shri Jyotendrasinhji Jadeja. He appointed Abha Narain Lambah to lead team of conservation architects for the restoration of this historic building in 2007. After preparing the detailed fabric assessment and conservation plan was ready, heritage permission was obtained from Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) in 2009 for structural repair and work commenced in 2010 to structurally strengthen and restore the Royal Opera House. In 2012, World Monuments Fund listed Opera House among the Endangered Monuments of the World. Sadly however, being a building under private ownership, no funds were available under this scheme, nor through any government grant or incentive. The owner his wife Kumud Kumari were very clear on restoring this space as a cultural venue and put in their own funds to bring back in its former glory as a gift to the city as its beloved cultural venue.
After a 2 1/2 year long conservation exercise that included emergency propping of distressed sections, followed by roof repairs, consolidation of balconies, strengthening of jack arches and replacement of distressed steel girders with salvaged old steel girders sourced from demolition yards in Mumbai and Gujarat, the first phase of structural works were completed by 2012 and permissions were once again sought for interior restoration which were finally granted in 2013.
It was a leap of faith when the team decided to restore the Opera house, not as a cinema hall, but in its original avatar as an Opera House and performance theatre, with no government or institutional funding. Help however came through gestures by the National Centre of Performing Arts Mumbai that offered to share the technical expertise of UK based acoustician Richard Nowell in helping refine the acoustics and Harman Carden who gave their sound system at a subsidized rate.
The second phase of work (2015 -2016) included interior restoration including restoration of historic chandeliers, sculptures, tromp le oils, paintings and restoration of old Minton tile floors, marble, cast iron and Burma teak. The project involved not only the restoration of original features such as the historic baroque plaster ceilings and re-instatement of the side balconies (that were demolished in the 1970s renovations to create an Art Deco cinema interior) but also interventions required to re-open the venue as a state of the art performance theatre and opera house. To enable its use as a performance theater, the stage mechanics were upgraded, fire fighting systems introduced, state of the art acoustics, sound systems, stagecraft, as well as service upgrade for electrical, stage lighting, HVAC and public health engineering were introduced while ensuring that the spatial integrity of the interiors was not compromised and the acoustics were carefully calibrated.
Due care and consideration was given to original design elements in the interior restoration to ensure the authentic restoration of the Baroque interiors. The building was designed with neo baroque interiors true to an Opera House but subsequent renovations had changed the interiors to an Art Deco style. Archival research led to the discovery of an old catalogue printed in 1917 that carried black and white images of the historic baroque interiors, complete with side balconies that had gone missing. This lead the team to remove the plywood panelling on the sides, to reveal the historic structural grid of the side balconies that were then restored. Parts of plaster and wood cherubs, mouldings and bosses found stored in the balcony and carefully inventorized allowed for the faithful restoration of decorative details and a painstaking research into some old Hindi films revealed the original design of the viewing balconies (that were visible in a 1970s film Prem Kahani which was shot in the Opera House). Paint scrapes and records of colour schemes in the archival documents helped carefully restore the historic colour scheme to the original palette.
Ensuring a high quality of workmanship was key to the restoration and this was achieved through constant supervision by the team of conservation architects and by meticulous work and careful attention to every detail. Osler chandeliers that once hung in the house of David Sassoon and were subsequently hung in the Opera House in 1916 were carefully restored by a team of restorers and the painted panels of playwrights in the foyer were restored by material conservators Anupam Sah and Manikandan. Stained glass restorer Swati Chandgadkar worked on the restoration of the ruby red lancet lights in stained glass and Manikandan and his team of art conservators worked on the restoration of stained glass canopies and painted ceiling and wall panels in the foyer. A team of traditional craftsmen from Gujarat were employed to restore the stone details of the freize on the facade pediment as well as to carefully restore the lime plasters and historic woodwork.
The conservation works brought back Opera House from the precipice of imminent collapse to resound with the sound of opera music. In October 2016, the Royal Opera House finally opened its doors after 23 years with the inauguration of the Mumbai Film Festival (considering its long association with films) followed by an operatic performance the next day. It has since its re-opening, become the most sought after cultural venue in the city with a host of performances of classical music, opera singing, dance recitals, movie shoots, ballet, classical music, plays, Russian film festival, award functions, Chinese Opera, Hindustani classical music, jazz and theatre. The unprecedented response this has received from citizens of Mumbai and the press only reinforces that the restoration of this cultural landmark has impacted the lives of so many people as it has been an indelible part of the city's memory. This project, which for years suffered due to the absence of funding or support for privately owned heritage has today successfully illustrated that restoration of historic buildings helps save a city's collective cultural memory.
In size Opera house is about 2400 sq.m and the entire conservation works were completed in USD 2.6 million The project was fully funded by the owner Mr. Jyotendrsinghji Jadeja and Abha Narain Lambah Associates were the conservation team involved in Opera house’s complete restoration.
B: Description of the cultural heritage property
- Historical background of the property
- Articulation of the property’s overall cultural significance and heritage values such as historical, social, cultural, architectural and other values (please see guidelines for explanation)
- Use of the property
- Heritage protection status of the property
Historical Background
In 1908, Maurice E Bandmann, (an American who had worked as an actor in late 19th century England before setting up a theatrical empire known as the Bandmann Circuit, that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Far East. He brought productions ranging from musical comedy to ragtime and opera to the British colonies. He also took to interspersing his theatrical productions with films and owned theatres in Calcutta ) and Jehangir Framji Karaka, a Parsi who headed a firm of coal brokers drew up designs for the Royal Opera House theatre, designed in the baroque style. Bandmann’s Manager was responsible for the design of the auditorium while Mr. Collaco was assigned charge of constructional work. The foundation stone was laid in July 1910. Although the theatre was still incomplete, the first performance was given on October 16, 1911, as a preview to a December opening to coincide with the visit of King George V and Queen Mary of Bombay.
The programme included a vaudeville act featuring an English dancer called Roshanara and three films. Interestingly, the four unfinished bare walls and floors were disguised with draperies and carpets respectively for the event. Hence the Opera House, was rechristened the Royal Opera House. The theatre was fully completed only in 1916, at a total cost of Indian Rupees 7.5 lakhs.
Cultural Significance & Socio Cultural Values
As the only surviving opera house in India, the Royal Opera House has been the fulcrum of cultural activities in the city of Bombay since its first performance in 1911 to celebrate the visit of King George V. Maurice Bandmann had sole rights of George Edwardes modern musical comedies which were screened at Opera House. Opera House became the chosen venue for Parsi, Gujarati, Shakesperean, Urdu and Marathi theatre and for some of the finest performances of opera and Hindustani classical music since the early 20th century and has been host to India's legendary musicians and actors who performed at the theatre, among them the iconic Bal Gandharva, Krishna Master, Bapu Pendharkar, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Jyotsna Bhole, Londhe, Patwardhanbuwa, and Prithviraj Kapoor (who is said to have practically lived for extended periods in the multi storeyed green rooms while staging his plays). It was also associated with the Freedom Movement and in 1935 it hosted Mahatma Gandhi for a speech on the Freedom movement.
Within the landscape of Mumbai - home to the largest film production industry in the world, Opera House also has an indelible link with cinema. By 1917, the Royal Opera House became associated with cinema, long before it became a single screen theatre. In 1925 it began to screen British Pathé films. In 1935 it was converted into a single screen cinema hall and remained the chosen venue for hosting the premiers of India's greatest films through the 1940s - 1970s. By the 1990s there was a decline in cinema viewership for single screen theatres and a number of theatres were closed by the 1990s that included Bombay's beloved opera house.
Architectural Value
The Royal Opera House, declared a Grade I heritage building and the included in the list of Mumbai's greatest heritage treasures, is the only surviving remnant of this architectural typology in India. The imposing structure was designed in the tradition of the neo Baroque style with a highly ornate stone façade and magnificent interiors. The monumental front façade is surmounted by an elaborate carved pediment with a sculpted frieze in carved cartouches and bas relief depicting angels, cherubs and musicians playing the violin, harp and cello. The front façade with Corinthian capitals, stained glass fanlights, decorative architraves, iItalianate balusters, timber paneled and louvered doors, timber awnings, intricate cast iron railings and ornate statuary make this a truly spectacular building and India's only surviving Opera House.
Archival photographs of the Royal Opera House are testimony to the most luxurious interiors in the city. In the finest tradition of Opera houses, no expense was spared in creating a rich interior with painted murals, ornate plasterwork, Italian marble and Minton tile flooring, marble statuary and exquisite crystal chandeliers from the Sassoon mansion - Sans Souci. Historical research by Sharada Dwivedi informs us that, “The boxes on the sides, besides being the acme of comfort and beautifully adorned in cream and gold, add to the striking splendour of the auditorium.” This has been again achieved in the restoration process of the Opera House with the careful reconstruction of the side balconies in cream and gold- once dismantled and boarded up in a previous renovation.
A contemporary record from 1916, The Testimonials records, "Then high up above all are the superb ceilings which in all the glory of their golden grandeur look down on the auditorium below. But it is not with a view of artistic effect along that these ceilings have been constructed. By a scheme based on the principle of the horn of the gramophone, the ceilings are so devised that they form a long sounding board high up over the stage. This novel plan has resulted in adding in no small measure to the acoustic effects of the theatre. Indeed it may be said that in all truth that the decorations and general appointments of the Royal Opera House are the best to be seen in India or the East or for that matter the Far East also if we except the great theatre at Tokio which is maintained by the Japanese Government as a national institution."
Urban Value
Opera house was built on New Queen’s road during the colonial period and the Royal Opera House became the epicentre of the area owing to its cultural and social significance. This contributed in a very great measure to the growth of the neighbourhood and handsome buildings sprung up in the vicinity of the opera house in the 1920’s. Over time, the entire neighbourhood acquired the name Opera House, with the heritage precinct identified as Opera House precinct today.
Articulation of the Cultural Significance & Values
The restoration of the Royal Opera House has not only been successful in saving a cultural monument from dereliction and disuse, but has also helped restore to the city of Mumbai, its finest cultural venue and performance theatre. The restoration project done in phases due to the limitations of funding open to a privately owned building has successfully demonstrated that there is hope for other heritage buildings in the private ownership domain, as sustainable cultural assets if they are given a new lease of life even without government support.
Articulation of Socio Cultural and Economic Values
Given its long association with cinema, it was appropriate that for its re-opening 23 years later, the International Mumbai Film Festival inaugural ceremony hosted at Opera House included tributes by leading film personalities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and others who paid tribute to this great cultural venue, having nostalgic childhood memories of having watched their most memorable films here. This patronage by the film, artist and cultural community has now ensured the economic sustenance and viability of the restored Opera House for the future. Since its opening in October 2016, the cultural calendar of the Royal Opera House has been packed with musical concerts, opera performances, plays, film festivals, award ceremonies, design events, dance performances and cultural activities, truly restoring it back to the centre of Mumbai's cultural life.
Articulation of the Architectural Value
The conservation project addressed first the structural integrity of the building, undertaking emergency repairs followed by a sequential repair and strengthening of its distressed roofs, balconies, slabs and structural members. This was followed by the careful restoration of its facade and interiors, peeling off layers of 1970s pseudo Art Deco interventions to reveal and restore its historic neo Baroque interiors. This entire process was supported by painstaking archival research, delving into historic records, municipal and lease deeds, archival photographs and old films to carefully piece together the original design of missing elements, carefully restore damaged and missing details and revive the historic colour and material palette closest to the original.
The conservation project restored the building exterior using specialized conservation techniques and non abrasive methods to restore the historic facade, lime stucco, cast iron and wrought iron balconies, stained glass windows and historic pedimented frieze to the levels required for a Grade I heritage building. The historic interiors have been restored to the original neo Baroque style, carefully basing the restoration on archival documents and photographs to reverse the 1970s interventions of an Art Deco interior. Even the old signage details have been carefully reinstated.
Articulation of Urban Values
Since its reopening, the Royal Opera House has infused new life into the cultural ethos of South Mumbai, creating a much needed cultural venue in the heart of the city and with its new ecosystem of cultural performances, a new opera cafe, restaurant and garden cafe, promises to be a complete cultural centre within the heart of the busy mixed use neighbourhood.
Use of the Building
By restoring this as an opera house and performance theatre without any institutional or government support, the project team and owners took a leap of faith. Over the last 9 months however, through the successful running of this project as Mumbai's most sought after cultural venue and performance theatre since its re-opening with the International Mumbai Film Festival, this has proven that not only has this project demonstrated the successful restoration of a historic landmark, but also shown that it is possible to sustain a cultural venue if supported by a sound conservation plan and integrating this with good management, cultural curation and public outreach.
Heritage Protection Status
The Opera House was declared a Grade II A heritage building as per the Heritage Regulations for Greater Bombay 1995 and upgraded to Grade I heritage building in 2016. It also falls within the urban heritage precinct of Opera House Precinct. The conservation scheme is adhered to the Mumbai’s Heritage Regulations.
C: Description of the condition of the cultural heritage property before conservation
- Previous condition of physical features, structure, finishes, layout, setting, etc
- Factors that were affecting the condition of the heritage property (environmental, social, etc - please see guidelines for explanation)
- Please explain the factors affecting the condition of the heritage property prior to the conservation project. Factors could include, but are not limited to:
- Structural factors (material deterioration, etc.)
- Environmental factors (extreme weather conditions, erosion, effects of climate change or natural
- disasters, etc.)
- Biological factors (weeds, pests, micro-organisms, etc.)
- Social factors (improper use, vandalism, politically motivated acts, insurgencies, armed conflict, etc.)
- Management and institutional factors (ownership issues, neglect, lack of maintenance, tourism impact,
- etc.)
- Economic factors (funding, monetary issues, etc.)
- Please state if any of these factors are ongoing and explain how they will be addressed in the future
Max. 1000 words
By the 1980s, the Opera House, like most single screen cinema halls in Mumbai, had gone into decline with the advent of multiplexes, home theatres and video piracy. The steep entertainment taxes and lack of any economic incentives or policies for promoting heritage theatres made it economically unviable to run single screen cinema halls, resulting in the shutting down of most of Bombay's iconic theatres. Driven by these management, institutional and socio-economic factors, the Opera House cinema shut down in 1993 and the building faced neglect, dereliction and decay.
By 2007 the building was verging on collapse. The roof was leaking, balconies were leaning precariously, and the structure was extremely weak and distressed. Roof leakages caused water to seep into the walls and basements, tearing down decorative plaster and historic trompe l’oel paintings, chandeliers were hanging naked of its crystal armor and chairs were broken and jack arch slabs showed cracks and distress. World Monument Fund announced the inclusion of the building in its 2012 global list of Endangered Monuments and it had been declared unsafe by the Municipal Corporation.
The structural system of the Opera House consists of a combination of load bearing stone masonry walls, jack arch slabs, cast iron and stone balconies supported by steel girders encased in lime concrete and roof trusses with timber boarding and terracotta tiled roofs. Over a 100 monsoons, the steel members were badly corroded with flanges being nearly completely corroded or scaling off. Expansion of embedded steel due to corrosion caused by extensive water ingress caused deep cracks and failure of walls and lime concrete slabs. Due to this especially in areas along the lower theatre balcony and exterior balconies, the slabs were structurally distressed and were propped up as a safety measure. Blocked drainage gutters and spouts added to the woes and ficus growth and algae was visible along most wall surfaces. Water ingress in the building was right up to the basement; since the water had no outlet water retention led to rising dampness in the building. Bulging was seen in the marble flooring due to rusting and corrosion of steel in the slab over the basement. Rising dampness had damaged the interior finishes largely.
Nearly a 100 years of Mumbai's monsoons had taken their toll on the building and the limestone pediment freeze had missing and weathered stone. The stained glass windows were in need of restoration and the doors and window shutters had deteriorated. The ironwork along the balconies was in a poor shape and there was substantial staining of the basalt stone masonry. The theatre has two balconies, of these the lower balcony showed severe distress and required emergency stablization. The roofing timber planking were severely damaged due to wet rot caused by water seepage. The wooden framework for the false ceiling had also deteriorated and sections of plastered ceilings were broken and collapsing. The south staircase had collapsed above the 1st floor balcony level. The staircase on the north side had deteriorated beyond the first floor level and had been propped up. Many flights of steps were broken or were severely cracked and had broken balustrades with cast iron railings missing or broken and wooden railings on the verge of collapse.
Since the building underwent change in use from Opera House to cinema, certain additions and alterations were made ranging from addition of an exit staircase on the garden side to external cladding in marble. Columns on ground floor were encased with ply boarding and provision of exhaust fans led to the alterations in the window fanlights. Corner shops had altered the building façade by adding incongruous signage, new doors, rolling shutters etc. The timber in windows and doors had been infested with a wet rot due to dampness and interventions like packing the inner side of the window shutter. Stained glass which formed part of the original design scheme was missing and altered in parts. Windows of stained and decorative glass had been badly damaged due to corrosion and exhibited issues of buckling, stress, and staining and glass damage.
Crafted out of a combination of buff trachyte Malad stone ashlar masonry along with white Porbunder limestone, the exterior stone masonry exhibited a range of defects. Porbunder stone had been consistently painted over many times and was weathered. The grey basalt stone plinth had been painted and plastered in cement in certain areas. Natural disintegration and erosion of stone due to climatic factors resulted in extensive damage to limestone parapet balusters. The statuary in the top pediment was broken at places.
Excessive dampness had led to staining, discoloration of the exposed masonry. The stone façade was affected by salt crystallization and efflorescence due to built up of sulphate skins caused from atmospheric pollution and action of rain water. There were also cases of localized soiling in damp sections of masonry near leaking toilet or rain water down take pipes. De-lamination was seen in stone in the front façade and the lime stucco on the side walls was badly deteriorating. Due to re-pointing in hard cement epoxy pointing in past repairs to stop leakage, the stone façade was severely damaged. As a result of dampness fungus and algae growth, efflorescence was clearly visible in the facade. Due to a range of reasons from rusting of metal dowels to thermal expansion and weathering, the stone pilasters along the façade exhibited signs of splitting and cracks. Cracks had appeared on the masonry due to structural distress and some appeared at the keystone level signifying severe structural failure. Due to structural distress and moisture retention the external plaster had cracked and detached itself. A range of issues emerged due to the plumbing additions in the building comprising of old, broken pipe lines, to badly routed new pipes that cut through architectural moldings and details.
The historic interior elements too had suffered greatly over time. In 1935, Ideal Pictures Ltd had acquired the theatre and completely renovated it in the following year, including replacing historic material with new flooring, tiles, doors, window frames and colored cements. A subsequent renovation in the 1970s had completely ripped up the neo Baroque interior elements in the theatre, dismantled and covered up the side balconies with plywood, ripped up the historic neo Baroque horn ceiling in the auditorium to replace it with a pseudo Art Deco detail and blocked the windows on the inside of the theatre, to add a modern acoustic panelling on the wall surfaces. The historic chandeliers were in a state of distress and the colour scheme had been completed painted over in gaudy colours. Over time, leakages and structural cracks had caused the interior panelling and ceilings to be broken in many places, with the theatre bearing the look of a ghostly space.
The building had continued to deteriorate for over 20 years after the cinema shut down due to a lack of any financial support or economic incentive to heritage owners of privately owned properties. Whereas the Heritage Regulations mandated the preservation of heritage listed buildings, there were no policies to support their conservation through any kind of grant, loan or economic support mechanism. The dereliction of the Opera House was emblematic of this problem.
In Stones Of Empire: The Buildings of The Raj, Jan Morris records that of all the performance venues the British built in Calcutta, Simla, Madras and Bombay, the only one with “proper theatrical flair” was the Royal Opera House in Mumbai. “This late Victorian building was unmistakably the real thing,” she declares, before rhapsodizing about its “indispensable” first floor veranda, chandeliers, Corinthian columns, arcade (“for flowersellers, of course”) and gaslit lights, “all of which…seemed to await the arrival of Signor Puccini”. “Instead,” she writes, “the movies came.. ".
In 1935 Ideal Pictures Ltd acquired the theatre and completely renovated it in the following year, including new flooring, tiles, doors, window frames and colored cements. In 1952, it was bought by the erstwhile Maharaja of Gondal, Vikramsinhji and as a plush single screen theatre, it was a popular venue for film premieres such as V. Shantaram's Dahej that showed here on 19 May 1950. It underwent another refurbishment sometime in the 1970s when its neo Baroque balconies were demolished and the interior was given an Art Deco design. By the 1980s, video films adversely impacted the popularity of cinema. Over the decades, with the onset of multiplex cinemas and video piracy, it became unviable for a single screen theatre to run and this loss of revenue led to its ultimate demise in the 1990s and a number of theatres were closed that included Bombay's beloved opera house in 1993.
The following years saw the building fall into disrepair and finally dereliction with severe structural distress leading to it being declared in “ruinous condition likely to fall and dangerous to any person occupying, resorting to or passing by the same” by the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai. The linear balconies were verging on collapse, sections of the flooring had caved in, steel girders had badly corroded to the extent of becoming unsafe, jack arches showed signs of distress and there were severe roof leakages.
After a series of ownership changes, the Opera House eventually came under the custodianship of Shri Jyotendrasinhji Jadeja. He appointed Abha Narain Lambah to lead team of conservation architects for the restoration of this historic building in 2007. After preparing the detailed fabric assessment and conservation plan was ready, heritage permission was obtained from Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee (MHCC) in 2009 for structural repair and work commenced in 2010 to structurally strengthen and restore the Royal Opera House. In 2012, World Monuments Fund listed Opera House among the Endangered Monuments of the World. Sadly however, being a building under private ownership, no funds were available under this scheme, nor through any government grant or incentive. The owner his wife Kumud Kumari were very clear on restoring this space as a cultural venue and put in their own funds to bring back in its former glory as a gift to the city as its beloved cultural venue.
After a 2 1/2 year long conservation exercise that included emergency propping of distressed sections, followed by roof repairs, consolidation of balconies, strengthening of jack arches and replacement of distressed steel girders with salvaged old steel girders sourced from demolition yards in Mumbai and Gujarat, the first phase of structural works were completed by 2012 and permissions were once again sought for interior restoration which were finally granted in 2013.
It was a leap of faith when the team decided to restore the Opera house, not as a cinema hall, but in its original avatar as an Opera House and performance theatre, with no government or institutional funding. Help however came through gestures by the National Centre of Performing Arts Mumbai that offered to share the technical expertise of UK based acoustician Richard Nowell in helping refine the acoustics and Harman Carden who gave their sound system at a subsidized rate.
The second phase of work (2015 -2016) included interior restoration including restoration of historic chandeliers, sculptures, tromp le oils, paintings and restoration of old Minton tile floors, marble, cast iron and Burma teak. The project involved not only the restoration of original features such as the historic baroque plaster ceilings and re-instatement of the side balconies (that were demolished in the 1970s renovations to create an Art Deco cinema interior) but also interventions required to re-open the venue as a state of the art performance theatre and opera house. To enable its use as a performance theater, the stage mechanics were upgraded, fire fighting systems introduced, state of the art acoustics, sound systems, stagecraft, as well as service upgrade for electrical, stage lighting, HVAC and public health engineering were introduced while ensuring that the spatial integrity of the interiors was not compromised and the acoustics were carefully calibrated.
Due care and consideration was given to original design elements in the interior restoration to ensure the authentic restoration of the Baroque interiors. The building was designed with neo baroque interiors true to an Opera House but subsequent renovations had changed the interiors to an Art Deco style. Archival research led to the discovery of an old catalogue printed in 1917 that carried black and white images of the historic baroque interiors, complete with side balconies that had gone missing. This lead the team to remove the plywood panelling on the sides, to reveal the historic structural grid of the side balconies that were then restored. Parts of plaster and wood cherubs, mouldings and bosses found stored in the balcony and carefully inventorized allowed for the faithful restoration of decorative details and a painstaking research into some old Hindi films revealed the original design of the viewing balconies (that were visible in a 1970s film Prem Kahani which was shot in the Opera House). Paint scrapes and records of colour schemes in the archival documents helped carefully restore the historic colour scheme to the original palette.
Ensuring a high quality of workmanship was key to the restoration and this was achieved through constant supervision by the team of conservation architects and by meticulous work and careful attention to every detail. Osler chandeliers that once hung in the house of David Sassoon and were subsequently hung in the Opera House in 1916 were carefully restored by a team of restorers and the painted panels of playwrights in the foyer were restored by material conservators Anupam Sah and Manikandan. Stained glass restorer Swati Chandgadkar worked on the restoration of the ruby red lancet lights in stained glass and Manikandan and his team of art conservators worked on the restoration of stained glass canopies and painted ceiling and wall panels in the foyer. A team of traditional craftsmen from Gujarat were employed to restore the stone details of the freize on the facade pediment as well as to carefully restore the lime plasters and historic woodwork.
The conservation works brought back Opera House from the precipice of imminent collapse to resound with the sound of opera music. In October 2016, the Royal Opera House finally opened its doors after 23 years with the inauguration of the Mumbai Film Festival (considering its long association with films) followed by an operatic performance the next day. It has since its re-opening, become the most sought after cultural venue in the city with a host of performances of classical music, opera singing, dance recitals, movie shoots, ballet, classical music, plays, Russian film festival, award functions, Chinese Opera, Hindustani classical music, jazz and theatre. The unprecedented response this has received from citizens of Mumbai and the press only reinforces that the restoration of this cultural landmark has impacted the lives of so many people as it has been an indelible part of the city's memory. This project, which for years suffered due to the absence of funding or support for privately owned heritage has today successfully illustrated that restoration of historic buildings helps save a city's collective cultural memory.
In size Opera house is about 2400 sq.m and the entire conservation works were completed in USD 2.6 million The project was fully funded by the owner Mr. Jyotendrsinghji Jadeja and Abha Narain Lambah Associates were the conservation team involved in Opera house’s complete restoration.
B: Description of the cultural heritage property
- Historical background of the property
- Articulation of the property’s overall cultural significance and heritage values such as historical, social, cultural, architectural and other values (please see guidelines for explanation)
- Use of the property
- Heritage protection status of the property
Historical Background
In 1908, Maurice E Bandmann, (an American who had worked as an actor in late 19th century England before setting up a theatrical empire known as the Bandmann Circuit, that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Far East. He brought productions ranging from musical comedy to ragtime and opera to the British colonies. He also took to interspersing his theatrical productions with films and owned theatres in Calcutta ) and Jehangir Framji Karaka, a Parsi who headed a firm of coal brokers drew up designs for the Royal Opera House theatre, designed in the baroque style. Bandmann’s Manager was responsible for the design of the auditorium while Mr. Collaco was assigned charge of constructional work. The foundation stone was laid in July 1910. Although the theatre was still incomplete, the first performance was given on October 16, 1911, as a preview to a December opening to coincide with the visit of King George V and Queen Mary of Bombay.
The programme included a vaudeville act featuring an English dancer called Roshanara and three films. Interestingly, the four unfinished bare walls and floors were disguised with draperies and carpets respectively for the event. Hence the Opera House, was rechristened the Royal Opera House. The theatre was fully completed only in 1916, at a total cost of Indian Rupees 7.5 lakhs.
Cultural Significance & Socio Cultural Values
As the only surviving opera house in India, the Royal Opera House has been the fulcrum of cultural activities in the city of Bombay since its first performance in 1911 to celebrate the visit of King George V. Maurice Bandmann had sole rights of George Edwardes modern musical comedies which were screened at Opera House. Opera House became the chosen venue for Parsi, Gujarati, Shakesperean, Urdu and Marathi theatre and for some of the finest performances of opera and Hindustani classical music since the early 20th century and has been host to India's legendary musicians and actors who performed at the theatre, among them the iconic Bal Gandharva, Krishna Master, Bapu Pendharkar, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar, Jyotsna Bhole, Londhe, Patwardhanbuwa, and Prithviraj Kapoor (who is said to have practically lived for extended periods in the multi storeyed green rooms while staging his plays). It was also associated with the Freedom Movement and in 1935 it hosted Mahatma Gandhi for a speech on the Freedom movement.
Within the landscape of Mumbai - home to the largest film production industry in the world, Opera House also has an indelible link with cinema. By 1917, the Royal Opera House became associated with cinema, long before it became a single screen theatre. In 1925 it began to screen British Pathé films. In 1935 it was converted into a single screen cinema hall and remained the chosen venue for hosting the premiers of India's greatest films through the 1940s - 1970s. By the 1990s there was a decline in cinema viewership for single screen theatres and a number of theatres were closed by the 1990s that included Bombay's beloved opera house.
Architectural Value
The Royal Opera House, declared a Grade I heritage building and the included in the list of Mumbai's greatest heritage treasures, is the only surviving remnant of this architectural typology in India. The imposing structure was designed in the tradition of the neo Baroque style with a highly ornate stone façade and magnificent interiors. The monumental front façade is surmounted by an elaborate carved pediment with a sculpted frieze in carved cartouches and bas relief depicting angels, cherubs and musicians playing the violin, harp and cello. The front façade with Corinthian capitals, stained glass fanlights, decorative architraves, iItalianate balusters, timber paneled and louvered doors, timber awnings, intricate cast iron railings and ornate statuary make this a truly spectacular building and India's only surviving Opera House.
Archival photographs of the Royal Opera House are testimony to the most luxurious interiors in the city. In the finest tradition of Opera houses, no expense was spared in creating a rich interior with painted murals, ornate plasterwork, Italian marble and Minton tile flooring, marble statuary and exquisite crystal chandeliers from the Sassoon mansion - Sans Souci. Historical research by Sharada Dwivedi informs us that, “The boxes on the sides, besides being the acme of comfort and beautifully adorned in cream and gold, add to the striking splendour of the auditorium.” This has been again achieved in the restoration process of the Opera House with the careful reconstruction of the side balconies in cream and gold- once dismantled and boarded up in a previous renovation.
A contemporary record from 1916, The Testimonials records, "Then high up above all are the superb ceilings which in all the glory of their golden grandeur look down on the auditorium below. But it is not with a view of artistic effect along that these ceilings have been constructed. By a scheme based on the principle of the horn of the gramophone, the ceilings are so devised that they form a long sounding board high up over the stage. This novel plan has resulted in adding in no small measure to the acoustic effects of the theatre. Indeed it may be said that in all truth that the decorations and general appointments of the Royal Opera House are the best to be seen in India or the East or for that matter the Far East also if we except the great theatre at Tokio which is maintained by the Japanese Government as a national institution."
Urban Value
Opera house was built on New Queen’s road during the colonial period and the Royal Opera House became the epicentre of the area owing to its cultural and social significance. This contributed in a very great measure to the growth of the neighbourhood and handsome buildings sprung up in the vicinity of the opera house in the 1920’s. Over time, the entire neighbourhood acquired the name Opera House, with the heritage precinct identified as Opera House precinct today.
Articulation of the Cultural Significance & Values
The restoration of the Royal Opera House has not only been successful in saving a cultural monument from dereliction and disuse, but has also helped restore to the city of Mumbai, its finest cultural venue and performance theatre. The restoration project done in phases due to the limitations of funding open to a privately owned building has successfully demonstrated that there is hope for other heritage buildings in the private ownership domain, as sustainable cultural assets if they are given a new lease of life even without government support.
Articulation of Socio Cultural and Economic Values
Given its long association with cinema, it was appropriate that for its re-opening 23 years later, the International Mumbai Film Festival inaugural ceremony hosted at Opera House included tributes by leading film personalities such as Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan and others who paid tribute to this great cultural venue, having nostalgic childhood memories of having watched their most memorable films here. This patronage by the film, artist and cultural community has now ensured the economic sustenance and viability of the restored Opera House for the future. Since its opening in October 2016, the cultural calendar of the Royal Opera House has been packed with musical concerts, opera performances, plays, film festivals, award ceremonies, design events, dance performances and cultural activities, truly restoring it back to the centre of Mumbai's cultural life.
Articulation of the Architectural Value
The conservation project addressed first the structural integrity of the building, undertaking emergency repairs followed by a sequential repair and strengthening of its distressed roofs, balconies, slabs and structural members. This was followed by the careful restoration of its facade and interiors, peeling off layers of 1970s pseudo Art Deco interventions to reveal and restore its historic neo Baroque interiors. This entire process was supported by painstaking archival research, delving into historic records, municipal and lease deeds, archival photographs and old films to carefully piece together the original design of missing elements, carefully restore damaged and missing details and revive the historic colour and material palette closest to the original.
The conservation project restored the building exterior using specialized conservation techniques and non abrasive methods to restore the historic facade, lime stucco, cast iron and wrought iron balconies, stained glass windows and historic pedimented frieze to the levels required for a Grade I heritage building. The historic interiors have been restored to the original neo Baroque style, carefully basing the restoration on archival documents and photographs to reverse the 1970s interventions of an Art Deco interior. Even the old signage details have been carefully reinstated.
Articulation of Urban Values
Since its reopening, the Royal Opera House has infused new life into the cultural ethos of South Mumbai, creating a much needed cultural venue in the heart of the city and with its new ecosystem of cultural performances, a new opera cafe, restaurant and garden cafe, promises to be a complete cultural centre within the heart of the busy mixed use neighbourhood.
Use of the Building
By restoring this as an opera house and performance theatre without any institutional or government support, the project team and owners took a leap of faith. Over the last 9 months however, through the successful running of this project as Mumbai's most sought after cultural venue and performance theatre since its re-opening with the International Mumbai Film Festival, this has proven that not only has this project demonstrated the successful restoration of a historic landmark, but also shown that it is possible to sustain a cultural venue if supported by a sound conservation plan and integrating this with good management, cultural curation and public outreach.
Heritage Protection Status
The Opera House was declared a Grade II A heritage building as per the Heritage Regulations for Greater Bombay 1995 and upgraded to Grade I heritage building in 2016. It also falls within the urban heritage precinct of Opera House Precinct. The conservation scheme is adhered to the Mumbai’s Heritage Regulations.
C: Description of the condition of the cultural heritage property before conservation
- Previous condition of physical features, structure, finishes, layout, setting, etc
- Factors that were affecting the condition of the heritage property (environmental, social, etc - please see guidelines for explanation)
- Please explain the factors affecting the condition of the heritage property prior to the conservation project. Factors could include, but are not limited to:
- Structural factors (material deterioration, etc.)
- Environmental factors (extreme weather conditions, erosion, effects of climate change or natural
- disasters, etc.)
- Biological factors (weeds, pests, micro-organisms, etc.)
- Social factors (improper use, vandalism, politically motivated acts, insurgencies, armed conflict, etc.)
- Management and institutional factors (ownership issues, neglect, lack of maintenance, tourism impact,
- etc.)
- Economic factors (funding, monetary issues, etc.)
- Please state if any of these factors are ongoing and explain how they will be addressed in the future
Max. 1000 words
By the 1980s, the Opera House, like most single screen cinema halls in Mumbai, had gone into decline with the advent of multiplexes, home theatres and video piracy. The steep entertainment taxes and lack of any economic incentives or policies for promoting heritage theatres made it economically unviable to run single screen cinema halls, resulting in the shutting down of most of Bombay's iconic theatres. Driven by these management, institutional and socio-economic factors, the Opera House cinema shut down in 1993 and the building faced neglect, dereliction and decay.
By 2007 the building was verging on collapse. The roof was leaking, balconies were leaning precariously, and the structure was extremely weak and distressed. Roof leakages caused water to seep into the walls and basements, tearing down decorative plaster and historic trompe l’oel paintings, chandeliers were hanging naked of its crystal armor and chairs were broken and jack arch slabs showed cracks and distress. World Monument Fund announced the inclusion of the building in its 2012 global list of Endangered Monuments and it had been declared unsafe by the Municipal Corporation.
The structural system of the Opera House consists of a combination of load bearing stone masonry walls, jack arch slabs, cast iron and stone balconies supported by steel girders encased in lime concrete and roof trusses with timber boarding and terracotta tiled roofs. Over a 100 monsoons, the steel members were badly corroded with flanges being nearly completely corroded or scaling off. Expansion of embedded steel due to corrosion caused by extensive water ingress caused deep cracks and failure of walls and lime concrete slabs. Due to this especially in areas along the lower theatre balcony and exterior balconies, the slabs were structurally distressed and were propped up as a safety measure. Blocked drainage gutters and spouts added to the woes and ficus growth and algae was visible along most wall surfaces. Water ingress in the building was right up to the basement; since the water had no outlet water retention led to rising dampness in the building. Bulging was seen in the marble flooring due to rusting and corrosion of steel in the slab over the basement. Rising dampness had damaged the interior finishes largely.
Nearly a 100 years of Mumbai's monsoons had taken their toll on the building and the limestone pediment freeze had missing and weathered stone. The stained glass windows were in need of restoration and the doors and window shutters had deteriorated. The ironwork along the balconies was in a poor shape and there was substantial staining of the basalt stone masonry. The theatre has two balconies, of these the lower balcony showed severe distress and required emergency stablization. The roofing timber planking were severely damaged due to wet rot caused by water seepage. The wooden framework for the false ceiling had also deteriorated and sections of plastered ceilings were broken and collapsing. The south staircase had collapsed above the 1st floor balcony level. The staircase on the north side had deteriorated beyond the first floor level and had been propped up. Many flights of steps were broken or were severely cracked and had broken balustrades with cast iron railings missing or broken and wooden railings on the verge of collapse.
Since the building underwent change in use from Opera House to cinema, certain additions and alterations were made ranging from addition of an exit staircase on the garden side to external cladding in marble. Columns on ground floor were encased with ply boarding and provision of exhaust fans led to the alterations in the window fanlights. Corner shops had altered the building façade by adding incongruous signage, new doors, rolling shutters etc. The timber in windows and doors had been infested with a wet rot due to dampness and interventions like packing the inner side of the window shutter. Stained glass which formed part of the original design scheme was missing and altered in parts. Windows of stained and decorative glass had been badly damaged due to corrosion and exhibited issues of buckling, stress, and staining and glass damage.
Crafted out of a combination of buff trachyte Malad stone ashlar masonry along with white Porbunder limestone, the exterior stone masonry exhibited a range of defects. Porbunder stone had been consistently painted over many times and was weathered. The grey basalt stone plinth had been painted and plastered in cement in certain areas. Natural disintegration and erosion of stone due to climatic factors resulted in extensive damage to limestone parapet balusters. The statuary in the top pediment was broken at places.
Excessive dampness had led to staining, discoloration of the exposed masonry. The stone façade was affected by salt crystallization and efflorescence due to built up of sulphate skins caused from atmospheric pollution and action of rain water. There were also cases of localized soiling in damp sections of masonry near leaking toilet or rain water down take pipes. De-lamination was seen in stone in the front façade and the lime stucco on the side walls was badly deteriorating. Due to re-pointing in hard cement epoxy pointing in past repairs to stop leakage, the stone façade was severely damaged. As a result of dampness fungus and algae growth, efflorescence was clearly visible in the facade. Due to a range of reasons from rusting of metal dowels to thermal expansion and weathering, the stone pilasters along the façade exhibited signs of splitting and cracks. Cracks had appeared on the masonry due to structural distress and some appeared at the keystone level signifying severe structural failure. Due to structural distress and moisture retention the external plaster had cracked and detached itself. A range of issues emerged due to the plumbing additions in the building comprising of old, broken pipe lines, to badly routed new pipes that cut through architectural moldings and details.
The historic interior elements too had suffered greatly over time. In 1935, Ideal Pictures Ltd had acquired the theatre and completely renovated it in the following year, including replacing historic material with new flooring, tiles, doors, window frames and colored cements. A subsequent renovation in the 1970s had completely ripped up the neo Baroque interior elements in the theatre, dismantled and covered up the side balconies with plywood, ripped up the historic neo Baroque horn ceiling in the auditorium to replace it with a pseudo Art Deco detail and blocked the windows on the inside of the theatre, to add a modern acoustic panelling on the wall surfaces. The historic chandeliers were in a state of distress and the colour scheme had been completed painted over in gaudy colours. Over time, leakages and structural cracks had caused the interior panelling and ceilings to be broken in many places, with the theatre bearing the look of a ghostly space.
The building had continued to deteriorate for over 20 years after the cinema shut down due to a lack of any financial support or economic incentive to heritage owners of privately owned properties. Whereas the Heritage Regulations mandated the preservation of heritage listed buildings, there were no policies to support their conservation through any kind of grant, loan or economic support mechanism. The dereliction of the Opera House was emblematic of this problem.
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