June 27, 2025 | Written by Lauren Ross
With its public opening in 2022, Brockman Hall for Opera finally gave Shepherd’s renowned opera program the dedicated space it had long deserved.
Conceived by Allan Greenberg Architect, with theater design by Fisher Dachs Associates and acoustic design by Threshold Acoustics, Brockman Hall for Opera came to life as both an architectural landmark and a world-class training space. The 84,000-square-foot building houses rehearsal rooms, studios, classrooms, a prominent lobby, scene shop, and its crown jewel: the 600-seat Morrison Theater.
The Royal Opera of Versailles served as the primary design inspiration for Morrison Theater, evident in the hall’s stepped tiers, free-standing upper columns, and lunettes adorning the upper walls. Blending grandeur with intimacy, the hall was strategically proportioned so as not to over-extend opera students’ vocal capabilities (most singers’ voices do not fully mature physically until their 30’s and early 40’s). The hall also features a rare asset for its size: a 70-player orchestra pit, making it one of the largest in North America relative to theater size.
Today, Brockman Hall for Opera stands as the perfect complement to Alice Pratt Brown Hall – a space where vocalists, instrumentalists, composers, and scholars come together for powerful musical experiences. Its creation is a testament to the generosity of many donors and the vision of former dean Robert Yekovich, whose leadership helped establish a complete home for the Shepherd School.