The Winspear Opera House includes the Nancy Hamon Education and Recital Hall, a space that can be used for smaller performances seating audiences up to 200, as well as classes, rehearsals, meetings and events.

The venue was designed by Foster and Partners (principal architect: Spencer de Grey) and made possible in part by a $42-million gift from Margot and Bill Winspear, for whom the facility is named.

An 84-foot (26 m) wide section of the glass façade is retractable to a height of 23 feet (7.0 m), literally opening up the Grand Lobby, Cafe and Box Circle-level Restaurant to Performance Park.

By eliminating most direct sunlight on the façade and by creating a cooler microclimate around the building, the canopy significantly reduce the energy requirements of the Winspear Opera House.

Starting Friday, June 28, 2013, the traditional pre-performance ascent of The Moody Chandelier has been accompanied by an exclusively adapted piece “The Light” by American composer Philip Glass.