The Mann Center for the Performing Arts (formerly known as the Robin Hood Dell West and Mann Music Center) is a nonprofit performing arts center located in the Centennial District of Philadelphia's West Fairmount Park, built in 1976 as the summer home for the Philadelphia Orchestra. It is the successor in this role to the Robin Hood Dell outdoor amphitheater, where the Philadelphia Orchestra had given summer performances since 1935. It has since hosted artists and touring companies such as the American Ballet Theatre with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Marian Anderson, Leonard Bernstein, Buena Vista Social Club, Ray Charles, Judy Garland, the Metropolitan Opera, Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Paul Robeson, Itzhak Perlman, Lang Lang, Midori, and Yo-Yo Ma. Major Philadelphia premieres have included the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Bolshoi Ballet and Orchestra's production of Spartacus, and Britain's Royal Ballet’s productions of Romeo and Juliet and Swan Lake. Among the scores of award-winning popular artists presented by the Mann in recent years are Jack Johnson, Ed Sheeran, Phish, Tony Bennett, Mary J. Blige, Roger Daltrey, Bob Dylan, Furthur, Arcade Fire, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Herbie Hancock, Norah Jones, Diana Krall, Wynton Marsalis, Willie Nelson, Smokey Robinson, Jill Scott, James Taylor, Damien Rice, Blondie with Garbage, Sugarland and Stevie Ray Vaughan. In 2010, 2011, and 2014, the Mann was nominated by Pollstar, a concert industry trade publication, as "Best Major Outdoor Concert Venue" in North America. The venue has a total seating capacity of approximately 14,000, with 4,743 seats under the roof and over 8,600 outside.
