Acoustic Panels Raise Safety Issue

A glass panel, one of 100 designed to improve acoustics at the venue, fell onto seating during a recent performance of the ballet Excelsior. Fortunately, the seats beneath were empty, cleared because technicians felt uneasy about cracks that had started to appear in some of the panels. Inevitably, this has led commentators to speculate on the safety of the theatre, which was constructed in just over two years in order to be ready for the start of the 2002 season. The theatre is currently closed whilst further investigations takes place.