Opening of the Copenhagen Opera House January 15, 2005

[GrandDuchess]

Queen Margrethe, Prince Henrik, Prince Joachim, Princess Alexandra, Princess Benedikte, Prince Richard, Queen Anne-Marie and King Konstantin are all attending the Gala Performance taking part right this moment to mark the opening of the new opera house in Copenhagen. I will start by posting some info, then let's hope for lots of pictures!

[GrandDuchess]

The Copenhagen Opera House timeline

In August 2000, the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation donated an opera house to the Danish people. On 16 October 2001, the opera house project was presented to the public and construction work began shortly after on the island of Holmen in Copenhagen Harbour. On 1 October 2004, the opera house was handed over to the Danish State and will be administered by the Royal Danish Theatre. The Copenhagen Opera House will open with a Royal Command Performance on 15 January 2005. The first opera performance will be Verdi’s Aïda on 26 January 2005, and the first ballet performance will be Three Companies – Three Works on 16 January 2005.

The opera totals 41,000 sq.metres. Five of the fourteen storeys are subterranean. The auditorium and foyer totals 7,000 sq. metres of the total 41,000 sq. metres. The building has more than 1000 rooms including several rehearsal rooms for the opera and ballet and a large orchestral rehearsal room. The main stage of the opera seats an audience of approx. 1500, and Takkelloftet, the experimental stage, seats an audience of approx. 200.

The stage floor of the main stage and the five adjacent stages are constructed following a modular design where the individual elements can be mechanically wheeled from one stage to another to facilitate dynamic alternation between different opera or ballet set designs. The opera also features a custom made ballet floor which is mechanically elevated from below prior to a ballet performance.

The opera house is clad with southern German Jura Gelb limestone, and the foyer features Sicilian Perlatino marble. The wall of the auditorium facing the foyer is clad with maple wood, and the ceiling in the main auditorium is adorned with 105,000 sheets of 24 carat gold leaf.

The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation has sought to create a world-class opera house and have contracted leading experts within stage technology and acoustics such as Henning Larsen Tegnestue A/S, Rambøll A/S, Theatre Planning and Technology Ltd., Ove Arup & Partners and E. Pihl & Søn A/S.

Facts

* Excavation commenced: August 2001
* Construction commenced: November 2001
* Construction completed: 1 October 2004
* Inauguration: 15 January 2005
* Cost: DKK 2.5 billion
* Size: 41,000 m2 of which 12,000 m2 is subterranean
* Length of building: 125 m
* Width of building: 90 m
* Length of roof: 158 m
* Overhang: 32 m
* Height up to the roof: 24 m
* Height up to the fly tower: 38 m
* Storeys: 14
* Storeys below ground: 9
* Storeys above ground: 5
* Number of rooms: Approx. 1000
* Number of large rehearsal rooms: 5 plus an orchestral rehearsal room
* Orchestral pit capacity: Approx. 110 musicians
* Seats in Main Stage: Approx. 1500
* Standing stall capacity: 56
* Seats in Takkelloftet: Approx. 200

Official website of the Opera House
The Opera House project website (construction etc)

[GrandDuchess]

Pictures Part 1 - from DR:

[GrandDuchess]

Pictures Part 2 - from DR:

[GrandDuchess]

Programme for the Opening Concert - 15 January 2005 at 19:00 (7 PM)

Kuhlau: Elverhøj Ouverturen
Det Kongelige Kapel

Børnedans fra Elverhøj
Dansere: Ida Praetorius og Oscar Nilsson

Speeches:

1. Mærsk McKinney Møller
2. Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen

Carl Nielsen: Forspil til 2. akt af Saul & David
Det Kongelige Kapel

Poul Ruders: Sonet (Shakespeare, Sonnet VIII)
Hanne Fischer, mezzosopran

Peter Martins: Jalousie. Pas de Deux
Silja Schandorff og Nikolaj Hübbe
Musik: Jacob Gade, Douze Secrets + Tango Jalousi

Harald Lander: Etudes
Caroline Cavallo, Gitte Lindstrøm, Jean-Lucien Massot, Kenneth Greve
Andrew Bowman, Mads Blangstrup
Musik: Knudåge Riisager

Pause

Carl Nielsen: Maskarade - indledningen til 3. akt
Christian Christiansen, Jeronimus (sang)
Poul Elming, Leonard
Ole Hedegaard, Arv
Lise-Lotte Nielsen, Magdelone
Gisela Stille, Leonora
Michael Kristensen, Leander
Johan Reuter, Henrik
Djina Mai-Mai, Pernille
Guido Paevatalu, maskarademester
Det Kgl. Operakor

Delibes: Lakmé - Blomsterduetten
Inger Dam-Jensen, Lakmé
Tuva Semmingsen, Mallika

Verdi: Otello - Già nella notte densa
Tina Kiberg, Desdemona
Stig Fogh Andersen, Otello

Carl Nielsen: Maskarade - Henrik og Pernilles duet
Johan Reuter, Henrik
Djina Mai-Mai, Pernille

Bournonville: Blomsterfesten pas de deux
Gudrun Bojesen, Thomas Lund

Nielsen: Maskarade - Leander og Leonoras duet
Gisela Stille, Leonora
Michael Kristensen, Leander

Puccini: Tosca - Vissi d’arte
Inga Nielsen, sopran

Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor - Chi mi frena in tal momento
Niels Jørgen Riis - Edgardo
Per Høyer - Enrico
Anne Margrethe Dahl - Lucia
John Lundgren - Raimondo
Michael Kristensen - Arturo
Elisabeth Halling - Alisa
Det Kongelige Operakor

Saxofon-ballet
Gudrun Bojesen

Rossini: Rejsen til Reims - Gran Pezzo Concertato
Anne Margrethe Dahl – Folleville
Elsebeth Lund – Cortese
Lise-Lotte Nielsen – Maddalena
Gisela Stille – Corinna
Tuva Semmingsen – Delia
Hanne Fischer – Melibea
Elisabeth Halling – Modestina
Johnny van Hal – Luigino
Gert Henning-Jensen – Libenskof
Niels Jørgen Riis – Belfiore
Bengt-Ola Morgny – Gelsomino
Palle Knudsen – Sydney
John Lundgren – Profondo
Guido Paevatalu – Trombonok
Sten Byriel – Alvaro
Anders Jakobsson – Prudenzio

Richard Strauss: Rosenkavaleren - Terzet, 3. akt
Gitta-Maria Sjöberg – Marschallin
Randi Stene - Octavian
Henriette Bonde-Hansen - Sophie

Nielsen: Maskarade - Scene fra 3. akt
Poul Elming, Leonard
Lise-Lotte Nielsen, Magdelone
Christian Christiansen, Jeronimus

Nielsen: Maskarade - Hanedansen
Morten Eggert, Hanen
8 høns, Corps de Ballet

Verdi: Aida - Triumfmarchen
Det Kongelige Operakor, Det Kgl. Kapel

[GrandDuchess]

First two pictures! From Polfoto:

[Mandy]

Thank you for sharing this information and photos with us.

[GrandDuchess]

The opening performance took about 4 hours! Here's another pic, this one is from BT.

[Alisa]

Here are a few more photos:

[GrandDuchess]

Here are some pictures from Berlingske Tidene.

[GrandDuchess]

From Colourpress:

[GrandDuchess]

From Colourpress:

[Lena]

Thank you for posting those great pictures!
It seems to me, that Mary becomes more and more a real part of the danish RF. While she high likely was accepted from the beginning, she seems now, as if she really belongs to them, as if she has always done. She is now like a fish in the water, when performing duties.

To the new opera...I know and fear that many might disagree (esp. "proud" Danes) Actually I even don´t know much about the other locations for operas in Denmark...and from an architectural point of view this new opera house is an masterly achievement, but what I really don´t like is, that old great operas should be performed in this new modern building. Was there really no possibilty to restore the/an old building?

[Mandy]

Thanks for the great pictures GrandDuchess. Mary looks very pretty and at ease with herself. Lena, imho that's a very astute and accurate assessment of Mary.

[KikkiB]

Originally Posted by Lena

Thank you for posting those great pictures!
It seems to me, that Mary becomes more and more a real part of the danish RF. While she high likely was accepted from the beginning, she seems now, as if she really belongs to them, as if she has always done. She is now like a fish in the water, when performing duties.

To the new opera...I know and fear that many might disagree (esp. "proud" Danes) Actually I even don´t know much about the other locations for operas in Denmark...and from an architectural point of view this new opera house is an masterly achievement, but what I really don´t like is, that old great operas should be performed in this new modern building. Was there really no possibilty to restore the/an old building?

This hit me last night when the news reported the opening of the new opera in Copenhagen, that some of the same issues have caused discussion and disagreement with the new opera in Oslo (and they just started building it). It has had critic on the arcitecture, the choice of materials (Norwegian expencive granite vs. Italian inexpencive marble) and most of all the location. In the middle of the industrial harbour area in Oslo. The consequence is that the roadsystem has to be put in a tunnel under the sea and the industrial harbour has to be moved elsewere. Some of the discussion has been about restoring the old opera, but the employees would like to have modern working conditions. And also I think the opera house in Oslo also would be used for other events as well. Funny how things are so alike in the Scandinavian countries...

[hillary_nugent]

Wow...the Copenhagen Opera House is one funky building! ^___^