The auditorium at City of Dreams takes shape
City of Dreams, Melco Crown Entertainment’s casino resort on Cotai, has given the local media a preview of its new 2,000-seater ‘Theater of Dreams’ auditorium.
It’s part theatre-in-the-round, part water park. Eleven hydraulic lifts can convert the stage from a 26 feet deep pool—said to be the world’s largest aquatic performance area—to a solid dry stage in less than a minute.
That will come in handy as the opening production will be ‘The House of Dancing Water,’ a spectacular aquatic show by Franco Dragone, a former creative director with Cirque du Soleil who now runs his own ship. Italian-born Mr Dragone has also created Las Vegas spectaculars for Canadian singing star Céline Dion and for Wynn Resorts.
The Macau production will feature performers diving 65ft (around 20 metres) into the pool. It’s due to launch ‘in the first half’ of 2010, according to CoD’s management.
The US$250 million production has a 77-strong cast from more than 18 countries. It also has 32 scuba divers responsible for monitoring the performers and ensuring their safety in the water during the show.
The auditorium is designed by Pei Partnership Architects of New York City, the people that brought you the Al Burj tower in Dubai.