Stadsschouwburg Antwerpen

Facing the open expanse of Theaterplein, where Antwerp's Saturday market spreads out beneath a steel canopy, the Stadsschouwburg is a large modern theatre in concrete — unlike anything else in a city of guild houses and baroque churches. Its stage takes the productions that need volume: touring musicals, dance companies and opera on tour, "Carmen" among them. The older Bourla theatre keeps the city's classical drama; the Stadsschouwburg carries the traffic.