The theater's elegance and the opening's upbeat speeches were in stark contrast to the breakneck pace of the construction of the $22.5 million, 1,821-seat theater, the third largest on Broadway.

Yesterday, he gave an upbeat speech at the Sheraton New York in Midtown on the city's future, especially for construction projects, to Local 3 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.

On Friday, more than 1,200 people packed into a ferry terminal in Bellingham to hear him make the kind of upbeat speech that typified his events last fall.

It was a steel-gray Sunday, not even two weeks since Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg had delivered an upbeat speech on New York's condition, and the state of the city had taken a grim turn.

Mr. Sarkozy gave another upbeat speech.

At S.M.U. he gave a defiantly upbeat speech, railing against the "declinists" and asserting, "I'm a little tired of the pessmism in this country."

It was after Coughlin was asked a question about Jacobs, the rookie running back, that he abruptly swung into his upbeat state-of-the-union speech.

"An upbeat speech would not have washed," Mr. Field said.

His dark tone diverged markedly from the upbeat speeches by world leaders at the start of the three-day session on Wednesday, and from the positive speech given Friday morning by Laura Bush, the first lady.

Once the ceremony began, it went smoothly, with upbeat speeches, relaxed dignity and humor amid beautiful surroundings.