Vahdat Hall

he completion of the Vahdat Hall (Rudaki Hall) in 1967, nearly ten years in the building, filled a major gap in Tehran's cultural life by providing a modern opera house and concert hall equipped with the very latest theatrical and electrical devices.

The hall - built under the auspices of the Ministry of Fin Arts and Culture (now Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance) - is named after the blind 10th century poet, Rudaki, the first great classical poet of Iran, and provides accommodation for audiences of up to 1,350. The architect was a Persian American, Dr. Eugene Aftandilian, who studied in Iran. The floodlit marble entrance foyer incorporates the traditional Talar motif. Behind, towers the mass of the main building. By contrast to the Hall's overpowering vertical exterior, its horseshoe theater within has the cozy, white-and-gold, red-plush air of a 19th century European opera house, complete with two tiers of boxes and gallery above.