Even though we consider ourselves "Small Lake City" we still have some amazing places to visit when we want a cultured night out. Abravanel Hall has hosted many a date night for me and I've seen some wonderful performances there. It's a beautiful facility that has an air of an upscale ambience without being overly stuffy. While the parking situation is tricky, the Trax station has a stop right outside, so it's easily accessible with public transportation. I've loved all the shows I've seen here-most recently including the symphony. I'm excited to go see more shows in the future. read more

The Utah Symphony's hall is quite impressive for a city with a population of 199,723 (2020 census). The red four-story blown-glass installation sculpture in the lobby is the Olympic Tower, by glass artist Dale Chihuly (1941-). The wood reminds me of Lincoln Center (but I'm not too fond of the gold hue). We were on our way to FamilySearch, but when passing by the symphony hall, we found a Mozart concert! And they still have tickets. Lucky me. The program: 1. Mozart, Symphony #35 2. Saint-Saëns, piano concerto #2, with Alessio Bax (1977-, Bari, Italy) 3. Bartók, concerto for orchestra Conductor Christoph Koncz (1987-, Konstanz, West Germany) gave a briefing on the background, which is excellent. The latecomers are let in during the piece that is being played. Errrhhhh... I thoroughly enjoy Saint-Saëns' piano concerto; the pianist received a prolonged standing ovation. The thundering enthusiasm is rewarded with an encore: he plays with his left hand only. Couldn't remember the name of the piece. The third piece is bit too hard, so we left. read more

OK, I had never been in this facility and within the last year I've visited three times. Once was a live concert performance. The other was the Utah Symphony, and another was a retrospective of the Star Wars musical legacy. The appointment or aesthetic is a little dated in a lot the same way the Kennedy Center is in Washington, but there's one thing that's undeniable. The acoustics in this place rock! I mean seriously! If you're in it for the auditory experience, this is a singular experience! read more

Concert hall a block from Temple Square. It's considered an architectural & artistic icon in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City. It became the home of the Utah Symphony in 1979. It's named for Maurice Abravanel, the long-time conductor of the Symphony & champion of classical music throughout Utah. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

We've been going to this place for years. It's always a highlight of our holiday season to attend performances and this beautiful venue.! read more

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Inside was nice and clean. Came to see America in Paris. Finding our seats was confusing but asked for help and we were directed to the area. We sat in the middle and I think that was great place. We had some friends who sat closer to the orchestra and mentioned it was really loud. Definitely would come back. They only allow water inside the auditorium but some lady next to us was eating a candy bar.. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

Abravanel Hall, now in its 44th year is a classic and classy venue that has aged very well. It is the main performance venue for the Utah Symphony Orchestra and also hosts several other entertainment events each year. The seating is comfortable and the tiered system allows for great views from throughout its expansive interior. Last week my wife and I were able to enjoy a UK themed performance by the Utah Symphony, which, as a group, was spot on in its playing. Maurice Abravanel, the former USO conductor for whom the venue was named, would be proud to see the continuation of great music in this lovely setting. read more

Abravanel Hall - Utah Symphony Orchestra - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

Such a good venue for a night out! Went to see Harry Potter with the music performed at the same time with the Utah Symphony and WOW! I was so impressed!!! It was amazing to see how so many people played all those different instruments at the same time! It was seamless. Screen was nice in size and the acoustics were awesome. I am just bummed I have missed so many of these in the past! (they've done Star Wars before) Lots of good seating options throughout the venue. Inside of the venue has a beautiful sculpture. Bathrooms accessible. PARKING: If street parking is hard to come by, I would suggest parking in City Creek closest to the Nordstrom read more

Over the last 10 years, I have walked past this place dozens of times and for some strange reason, never knew this was Abravanel Hall. (Yeah... I am observant like this - LOL) Last night, instead of walking past this wonderful building, I had the opportunity to visit it. What a great venue. The Lobby is spacious and maintains a beautiful Chihuly sculpture. This sculpture is absolutely AMAZING! The hall is spacious and beautifully maintained, with plenty of room between rows. Being somewhat tall, I alway appreciate not having to cram my legs into tight rows, where my knees are pressing the seats in front of me. Here, I was comfortable and able to stretch out a bit. The acoustics in this theater hall are excellent and it's design allows for great viewing, regardless of where one sits. Not to mention, it's not so large as to create crowds of never ending lines and congestion. (Not a huge fan of crowds.... can't help it ‍). The way the volunteer team ushers you to and from your seats was well orchestrated and organized. The Salt Lake County Volunteers that serve so selflessly at this venue are so friendly and capable. You can tell they really have pride and passion for the arts and want you to enjoy your visit. We had the opportunity to enjoy the Utah Symphony, accompanied by three amazing voices and a very talented conductor. The theme was Woman Rock; which presented many famous musical hits from famous and ever so talented female musical artists, from years past. All 4 of these women truly "rocked"!!!!. It did not disappoint and was a lot of fun. The Utah Symphony was on point and delivered a sound of perfection and enjoyment. Such talented individuals. If you have never had the opportunity to attend an event or performance at Abravanel Hall, be sure to give it a try and find a reason to visit. It's a wonderful facility and one that I intend to visit again, in the near future. In only wish it hadn't taken me 10 years to visit!!!! read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

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Performance started on time. Comfortable seating within the hall. Staff was all very pleasant and helpful. There's honestly not a bad seat in the house. It's just depends on where you like to sit I was in first tier, left section A Row one, seat, 142 read more

This is a fabulous venue to visit! The productions here are outstanding and it is an absolutely beautiful location. It is very central to downtown salt lake. The symphony productions here are fabulous. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

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It gets at least a couple stars just for having a Dale Chihuly glass sculpture in the lobby. It's modern, but classic. The facility is aging well. I've been here a half dozen times over the last 20 years in a variety of seats. I've always felt they were fair seats for the price. This event was great and I was on the third row. No complaints. I've been to a couple VIP events, and the side rooms to meet the cast are nice, and the catering is good. I like that they have a wide mixture of artists perform here. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

Gorgeous. Classic. Classy. A fitting home for the kind of performances here--the Symphony, well-seasoned and well-respected performers as well as lecturers. A little bit of everything, really. First off, the facade with the fountains and the glass wall is memorable. There was much made when the County acquired the massive red Chihuly art piece. Besides the fact that it often feels like it needs a good dusting, it's magnificent. The concert hall is terrific. I've had seats on the floor as well as seats up in the boxes and balcony and never been disappointed. It's not totally majestic like and old, storied venue in say, New York City. But it's cozy enough and although not brand-spanking-new it does have a sort of timelessness to its design. They also make it available for rentals. Not the performance hall, but there is a room on the north side with a magnificent view of the city towards Temple Square that you can rent for receptions. Not braggin', but I maaaay have been the first to ever rent it way back in the day. And by the day, I mean the late '90s. I'm so happy we have an amazing symphony, and that they have a home at Abravanel. Whether you're seeing an author's presentation about the farm-to-table movement or Carol Channing belting out the tunes, you're sitting in one of the best seats in the house. read more

Great hall with great performances! Love that my high school age kids get a chance to perform in such a beautiful place

Great venue. Seats are tight if you are a bigger person. Went to a comedy so and the acoustics were awful. You couldn't hear the comics much. Staff was very nice and helpful! read more

Abravanel Hall is an amazing performance hall with beautiful architecture and stellar acoustics. The place sounds REALLY good! Last night my girlfriend and I went to see "The Blue Planet Live" with the Utah Symphony. The performance was remarkable and it was interesting to hear and see the symphony perform the soundtrack to the "The Blue Planet" video selections. We are lucky to have such a great performance hall in Salt Lake City. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

This is a beautiful venue for performances. I've been here multiple times and always had a great time. The seats are very close together and numbered in an odd way and a little uncomfortable. Other than that only great things! read more

The type of show I saw at Abravanel Hall (stand-up comedy) was not particularly well-suited for this type of performance hall, so my review isn't going to be as great as it could be if I saw something musical performed here instead, but I will do my best to just state the facts. There is an awesomesauce sculpture in the lobby that looks like a million orangey-red glass octopi all mangled together that goes way up to the ceiling, probably 25 feet at least. That was definitely a highlight. After a little googling, I discovered it was created by the famous Dale Chihuly, like Betsey H mentions in her review. Guess I shoulda just consulted Yelp first. We sat in row 1 so we had to climb down the steep hill to get to door A so we could then climb over everyone's legs like user Eric X. mentions to get to our seats that were front and center. Why IS it that Utahns don't follow proper crowd behavior protocol, like everywhere else? So weird here. Row 1 is not really a great place to sit because you end up with a neck cramp from staring up at the show the entire time. I would suggest row 3 or 4 if you want to be that up close and personal. Otherwise, it appears that just about any seat in the house is a good one and the balconies seem especially nice. I'm really torn between 3 and 4 stars here. It's ok, but I am not super impressed. Having been to concert halls in other cities, I feel like SLC could do a little better. It feels a little dated, a tad bit school auditorium-ish, just not up to the standard I would expect for a city that is trying as hard as SLC is. I guess I would like to give Abravanel Hall 3.5 stars, but I will err on the side of being generous and go with 4. We had a good time. read more

One of the best spots in Salt Lake City for entertainment. God bless Mr. Abravanel and the sponsors -- a gem in this city of surprisingly good arts and entertainment. I've been living here for three months and I've seen numerous concerts and events in this venue. You can ride TRAX to the front doorstep of Abravanel Hall which is a great option for those living in SugarHouse (like myself). Or, you can park relatively close and pay next to nothing to go to a concert here. From Opera to Warren Miller to the Symphony, this place does a great job. Find me hanging out here all winter long....... read more

Gorgeous concert hall. Comfy seats with leg room, needed because the rows are ridiculously long without center aisles. They need more bathrooms though to deal with ridiculously long lines. Easy parking across the street at the Plaza Hotel. Next to a trax station. Close to Temple Square. read more

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I have been to a number of shows on this concert hall venue that have varied from symphony to comedy to vocal concert to lecture presentations. The venue itself is what I am reviewing, not the events held here. The location of Abravanel is centrally located in Downtown Salt Lake City. Parking is available at the mall across the street or there is a Trax station to the north. Easy walk to a variety of downtown eateries. The architecture was designed for it to be a symphony hall and the acoustics are best suited for that style of performance. The sound system is not great for other styles of concerts. Additionally, vocal artists who perform with the Symphony are overpowered because of the lack of effective sound system. The facility has plenty of restroom facilities for the large crowds. A recent update put in escalators between the ticket and main levels. The concert hall is three levels and, frankly, there is not a bad seat in the house. The upper tiers are concert style seating so are not close to the stage in most portions. The aisles are generally spacious and easy to get in and out of. I have also noticed plenty of ADA seating for those with needs. read more

Breathtaking venue, great prices, incredible sound and an amazing amount of leg room. No seat is a bad seat in that house. It's a total must see location when visiting Salt Lake. read more

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We are EXTREMELY DISAPPOINTED with Abravanel Hall! Let me list why: 1. Company chooses not to respond EVER after repeated calls, emails, messages etc from 4 of us who had tickets to see a performance that never played. 2. Understandably and out of the control of Abravanel Hall cape COVID19 BUT... no reach out at all about performance being cancelled, re-scheduled- or evening refund info instead- SILENCE! Even other places connected with Abravanel Hall have responded to our pleas and assuring us Abravanel Hall employees would return email or call and NOtHING! My husband finally got ahold of a "person" who promised to get answers within the week- that week has come and gone over 3 weeks ago- 3. Is this company scamming folks? DISAPPOINTMENT! 4. WARNING: stay away from a place that doesn't communicate at all- and this place is one! I feel sick that I have to post a negative review anywhere BUT especially here in the beautiful performing art world! We love and support the performing arts and believe that what we have enjoyed and participated in with such art has been not only inspiring but life changing! Pains me that we've been jolted and tainted now by this company and their customer service! Still NO RESPONSE and it has been weeks and weeks! read more

Decades of attending awesome performances left me with an all time low tonight. My first (and last) joy to the world concert. First of all, tickets are way over priced. I got the impression that everyone around me had a family member that was performing and they felt obligated to pay the high price. The children were cute but what's the point? You couldn't hear them. The orchestra and 300 adult voices drowned them out. Speaking of drowning out, what was the deal with the percussion? Totally drowned out orchestra and choirs. Shameful. Funniest thing I think I saw was during warm ups was the cymbals smashing with a fff a several times. Several huge timing mistakes by choirs. Pitch problems with women. What was the deal with the stage lighting. I would have liked to pick out faces of the children and the choir but the stage lights were down. Couldn't see people. Boring. Selection of music was repetitive, unfamiliar and predictable at the same time. Tough to listen to for 2 hours. All in all, I would go again if the tickets were only $10 (including ticket fees) read more

A beautiful concert hall in downtown SLC offering great seating wherever you are. Went for the Utah Symphony which was spectacular, and must also be attributed to the excellent acoustics. The Dale Chihuly sculpture in the lobby, created for the SLC Olympics, is stunning and reaches to the ceiling with red flame-like arms of glass. This is a gem of a venue. So glad to have experienced Abravanel Hall and the Utah Symphony while visiting SLC. read more

Fabulous location. Easy access. Wonderful facility. Entertaining events. Abravanel Hall does a great job. As one of Salt Lake's cultural hubs. read more

Last visited in January, 2010. A great concert hall which is home to a great symphony (Utah Symphony Orchestra). The place could use a better bathroom situation (it gets busy during the intermission), as well as a nice row cut down the center of the main floor so those of us with center seats don't have to climb over SLCers legs (hey, SLCers, why don't you stand up when someone is trying to get past you to their seat?), but overall the sound and sight lines in this hall parallel any other great hall. read more

We've had season tickets for a number of years, and have enjoyed the acoustics, seating, and experience. Recent renovations and small changes have been very appreciated, and we will continue to enjoy a variety of performances and artists. read more

A Beautiful building wherein some of the sounds closest to Heaven this side of the dying-line are so oft heard. Come and revel in symphonic thrall. Abravanel hosts other events through the year, but it is the Utah Symphony that most oft brings me here. The glass façade immediately strikes light to the imagination--especially with the fiery blown glass sculpture that dominates the foyer otherwise properly and regally grand seen from without on a dark winters' night. TRAX stops right in front on the North and the whole of the City Creek parking structure underground extends to the street on the East. The Salt Palace even has parking on the same block, if you ken. The concert hall itself not only has its own beautiful appointments, but the sound design and engineering and nothing short of remarkable. Even if you don't think you do classical music, you owe yourself a night out here. At least once. read more

Abravanel Hall - Performing Arts Near Me - Salt Lake City, Utah

I got a chance to perform here last year. The facility is beautiful (I especially loved the three story bright red glass kelp like sculpture growing out of the lobby floor! When lit at night it looked like organic flame.), the acoustics are excellent and the staff were tremendously patient with us. I loved singing and recording there and am so grateful for the opportunity to have done so. read more

Beautiful and elegant. A perfect place for a date. The architecture is eye-catching and adds to the special feeling you get when you know you're about to experience a phenomenal show. The theatre is small and intimate making for great views wherever you sit. read more

NEVER AGAIN!!! This place is a horrible venue for comedy shows!!! I don't know that I'll ever see another show here. We had seats that were so far back in the corner it was difficult to hear. Really? A concert hall that has bad seats for sound? It might have had something to do with the sound system, the microphone screeched during the performance about 4 times. They were probably trying to turn it up because we weren't the only ones that complained about not being able to hear. I paid $60 for a ticket for 1 1/2 hours of entertainment and I missed about 1/4 of it because I couldn't hear. It didn't help that there was an issue with tickets and about 30 people were trying to sit in the same 5 seats and lucky us, it was on our row! The ushers were loud and distracting even after the show had started. We selected seats on the end because you have to crawl over everyone to sit in the middle. And we paid for that with the seemingly never ending chatter from the ushers about where to seat people that had tickets, but no seats. After the show, in order to leave, because there was another show, there was only one exit out into the alley - for the entire audience. Classy. Good thing there wasn't a fire and I didn't need to use the restroom after the show. And it was hot. While the lobby is beautiful, it must cost a fortune to cool it because everytime I've been there it's hot and miserable. read more

Love love love Abravanel Hall! This was my second year ('12 & '14) going to Abravenal Hall to see Kurt Bestor. Abravenal Hall is absolutely beautiful & easy to navigate. I especially love the additional leg room the seating aisles have. This is a timeless performance hall, and stunning place. I just love it! Highly recommend it! read more

I have never experienced worse crowd control at an event than I did attending their 75th anniversary. Going to the airport is a better experience. Whoever decided it was a good idea to put all the cocktail tables in the middle of the main circulation path should be fired. read more

BEAUTIFUL JUST BEAUTIFUL! Me and my wife went here for the first time and it was amazing! Great place for family, dates, friends or even to go alone! read more

I went to my very first symphony for the Legend of Zelda and it was AMAZING! I had a great time. It was really crowded (as to be expected) but all the workers were so helpful and all the lines moved so fast. I plan on going to another symphony here soon! read more

Really nice venue. Excellent acoustics and the staff is friendly and professional. The overall setting is nice in the city center. Decor is somewhat dated, but in a kind of nostalgic way. read more