Paris's ultra-modern concert hall to open

Paris

PARIS is known for its many Belle Epoque cultural landmarks - ornate museums, gilded theatres, the stately Eiffel Tower. But its brand-new concert hall opening on Wednesday undoubtedly comes from a different era. The ultra-modern, multi-layered, crested structure, designed by leading French architect Jean Nouvel and planted in the north-east of the French capital, would not look amiss in a glittering, modern desert city such as Doha or Dubai.

The stage of its main, 2,400-seat concert hall is enveloped by the audience, with sweeping, curved balconies surrounding it on all sides, designed to give concertgoers both better views and acoustics. This is La Philharmonie, Paris's new, bigger home for orchestral events.