The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (Eng.: Queen Sofia Palace of the Arts) is an opera and culture house in Valencia.
Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía illuminated at night
The structure was opened on October 8, 2005. The first performance took place on October 25 of the same year with the opera Fidelio by Ludwig van Beethoven.
The opera house is striking because of its unusually curved design. The narrow roof curves outwards in the form of a folded segment of a sphere. The outer walls also describe curved lines. At the highest point, the building reaches 75 meters spread over up to 14 floors; below the ground floor there are three more floors. The house is 230 meters long and offers a total of 40,000 m² of space. In terms of volume, it is the largest opera house in the world.
The Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía has a total of four auditoriums:
The main hall, Sala Principal, seats 1412 people and is primarily used for opera performances.
The Auditorio is located above the main hall and has 1490 seats.
The Aula Magistral is primarily used for performances of chamber music. It offers space for 400 spectators.
The underground Teatre Martín i Soler is a theater for 400 visitors.