The National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), colloquially described as The Bird’s Egg, is an opera house in Beijing, People’s Republic of China. The Centre, an ellipsoid dome of titanium and glass surrounded by an artificial lake, seats 5,452 people in three halls and is almost 12,000 m² in size. It was designed by French architect Paul Andreu. Construction started in December 2001 and the inaugural concert was held in December 2007.
Internally, in the National Centre for the Performing Arts Beijing are three major halls:
The Opera Hall – used for operas, ballet, and dances and seats 2,416.
The Music Hall – used for concerts and recitals and seats 2,017.
The Theatre Hall – used for plays and the Beijing opera. It has 1,040 seats
