Dubai Opera

Look at the building’s outline: the sharp prow, the curved hull, the vertical ribs. Dubai Opera reproduces the shape of a dhow, the wooden sailing ship that for centuries carried pearls, dates and spices across the Gulf, like those still moored on the Creek.

1A glass ship

It was designed by the Atkins practice, led by the Danish architect Janus Rostock, and developed by Emaar. The «bow» houses the main stage, the orchestra pit and the stalls. The great glass façade, facing the plaza and the Burj Khalifa, reveals the illuminated foyer at night, when the whole building glows like a lantern beside the lake.

2Domingo opens the house

It was inaugurated on 31 August 2016 with a concert by Plácido Domingo. Its first season brought the tenor José Carreras and Bizet’s «The Pearl Fishers», a choice with a local wink in a city that once lived from pearls.

It has about 2,000 seats, but its mechanical system can remove the stalls and turn the theatre into an open hall for banquets or exhibitions.

And so this walk through Downtown comes full circle: a ship of the old Gulf, reimagined in glass at the foot of the world’s tallest building.

3What to look for

• The prow of the building, the clearest gesture towards the dhow.
• The ribs of the façade, like the frames of a wooden hull.
• The reflection of the Burj Khalifa in the glass.