Singer's Inner Space: A new work space for opera singers addressing their well-being

Abstract

The theater is the main work space of opera singers. Addressing their well‐being at their place of work seems to have been neglected in many theatre design projects, focusing mainly on audience amenities. This doctorate is organized in two sections: research and design application. The research section undertakes various design methods to create a different and more thoughtful approach to the space planning of theatre design. There are three main areas of study that are applied to create such theatre design: Vocal Psychology, Environmental Psychology, and the Sociology in theatre spaces. Each of the areas of study is presented first with their history of development, leading to the selected theories that apply to the theatre design. These theories are supported by case studies and a qualitative data collection to gain a full understanding of each of the areas of study. All of them have overlapping themes that help form the building program, the space planning, and the architectural form of the theatre. The second section of this doctorate research is the application of the theory into an actual building design that leads to the proposal of the New Hawai'i Opera Theatre. An interview with the company’s Artistic Administrator has been performed that further helped in the building program development. The second section documents the site selection and its analysis, followed by the design process, and finally, the illustrations of the New Hawai'i Opera Theatre. This includes additional efforts in marketing opera in Hawai'i such as rebranding Hawaii Opera Theatre and early design stages of a pop‐up retail store to sell opera tickets. The overarching goal of this research is to find a way to keep opera alive and relevant. If the opera singers feel healthy, then it should reflect on their performance and in return, the audience will receive the positive message of that performance, and as a whole, look at opera in a different way.