Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts

Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts is the main venue for the performing arts in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts
Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts in Raleigh and commemorative statue of the city's namesake Sir Walter Raleigh
Address2 East South Street
Raleigh, North Carolina
United States
Coordinates
TypePerforming arts center
CapacityRaleigh Memorial Auditorium: 2,277
Meymandi Concert Hall: 1,700
Fletcher Opera Theater: 600
Kennedy Theater: 150
Construction
Opened1932
Reopened2001
Website
www.dukeenergycenterraleigh.com

The naming rights to the center currently are held by Duke Energy (formerly Progress Energy), which purchased them from the city in 2005 for a 20-year term at the cost of $7.5 million. The original naming rights previously were held by Business Telecom, Inc. (now EarthLink)), and the facility was known as the BTI Center for the Performing Arts from 1997-2005. BTI Owner Peter Loftin donated $3.1 million to the center in 1999, matching BTI's earlier donation.[1]

The center consists of:

  • Raleigh Memorial Auditorium (opened 1932, renovated 1990)
  • Meymandi Concert Hall (opened 2001)
  • A. J. Fletcher Opera Theater (opened 2001)
  • Kennedy Theater (opened 2001)
  • Lichtin Plaza (opened 2001)

Performance Venues and Facilities

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium

Raleigh Memorial Auditorium opened in 1932 to replace the city's original 1912 City Auditorium, which burned in 1930. The auditorium's name commemorates Raleigh citizens who died serving their country during World War I.

Situated downtown at the southern end of Fayetteville Street, the Greek Revival structure is an architectural complement to the North Carolina State Capitol located a few blocks away at the northern terminus of the street. The removal of the obstructive original Raleigh Convention Center in 2005 (now replaced with a building on an adjacent site) restored the historic vista along Fayetteville Street between Memorial Auditorium and the Capitol.

Following minor improvements in 1963 and 1977, the auditorium was renovated extensively in 1990, with the notable addition of an external modern glass concourse and lobby. The venue seats 2,277 and most often hosts large musical theater productions.

Meymandi Concert Hall

Meymandi Concert Hall seats 1,700 in a shoebox configuration. It is the home of the North Carolina Symphony, which previously held its concerts in Memorial Auditorium. Named for the mother of Raleigh physician and philanthropist Dr. Assad Meymandi, the facility has excellent acoustics.[2] The North Carolina Debutante Ball is held annually at the Meymandi Concert Hall.[3]

Fletcher Opera Theater

Fletcher Opera Theater seats 600, providing a more intimate space for chamber music, solo and operatic performances, as well as other ensemble productions. The theater is named in honor of Alfred Johnston Fletcher (1887-1979), a pioneer of television broadcasting in Raleigh, whose family foundation provided partial funding for its construction. In 2010, Carolina Ballet became the theater's resident performing arts organization, performing over 40 times per season in the theater.

Kennedy Theater
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium, 2013
Raleigh Memorial Auditorium and Lichtin Plaza, Christmas 2018

Seating 150, the Kennedy Theater offers a 40x60-foot black-box space for nontraditional performances and experimental theater. It is named for longtime Raleigh theater patron K.D. Kennedy Jr. and his wife Sara Lynn.

Lichtin Plaza

Lichtin Plaza is the 2-acre (8,100 m2) lawn fronting the Duke Energy Center. It often serves as a venue for outdoor festivals, as well as the site of public and private gatherings and tented events. The plaza is named for Harold Lichtin, a prominent regional commercial real estate developer.

Performance Groups and Organizations

Organizations that regularly hold performances and concerts at the Duke Energy Center include:

References
  1. Many Cheers for Loftin's Giving TBJ Aug. 2, 1999.
  2. "Assad Meymandi: Polymath, humanist, philanthropist". www.waltermagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  3. https://nsjonline.com/article/2019/07/2019-north-carolina-debutantes-announced/
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