Copenhagen Opera House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Copenhagen Opera House |
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Operaen på Holmen
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| General information | |
| Type | Opera house |
| Architectural style | Neo-futurism |
| Location | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Address | Ekvipagemestervej 10 1438 København K |
| Construction started | June 2001 |
| Completed | October 1, 2004 |
| Inaugurated | January 15, 2005 |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Henning Larsen |
| Other information | |
| Seating capacity | 1,700 |
The Copenhagen Opera House (often called Operaen in Danish, meaning The Opera) is Denmark's national opera house. It is one of the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built. It cost about 2.5 billion DKK, which is around 370 million USD. You can find it on the island of Holmen in central Copenhagen.
Contents
History of the Opera House
The idea for the Opera House started with a generous gift. A foundation called A.P. Møller and Wife Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller's Foundation for General Purposes donated the building to the Danish state. This happened in August 2000. Arnold Peter Møller was a co-founder of the famous company now known as Mærsk.
Some people had discussions about this private donation. However, the Danish Parliament (called the Folketing) and the government accepted the gift in late 2000.
The famous architect Henning Larsen designed the building. Construction began in June 2001 and was finished on October 1, 2004. The Opera House officially opened on January 15, 2005. Important people like shipping leader Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, and Queen Margrethe II were there.
A famous singer, Plácido Domingo, performed there on April 7, 2006. He sang in an opera by Richard Wagner called Die Walküre. The Queen also attended this special performance.
Where is the Opera House Located?
The Opera House is in central Copenhagen. It sits right on the shore of the Inner Harbour. It is directly across the water from Amalienborg, which is the main palace where the Danish royal family lives.
The building was designed to line up perfectly with Amalienborg and Frederik's Church. This church is also known as the Marble Church. If you stand at the main entrance of the Opera House, you can look across the water and see the Marble Church. It's a cool view!
The specific part of the island where the Opera was built is called Dokøen. This name means Dock Island. Just a short walk west of the Opera, you can still see an old dock and a pumping station. This reminds everyone of the area's history.
What Makes the Opera House Special?
The Copenhagen Opera House is managed by the Royal Danish Theatre. It is known as one of the best-equipped opera houses in the world. It has a main stage and five other stages connected to it. This makes it easy to move large sets in and out quickly.
The main theatre can hold between 1,492 and 1,703 people. The exact number depends on how big the orchestra is. All 1,492 seats are angled individually. This helps everyone get the best view and sound experience.
The area for the orchestra is one of the largest in any opera house. It has space for 110 musicians. The building's design gives excellent sound quality for the orchestra. If the orchestra is small, the pit can be covered. This allows for more seats to be added for the audience.
Just like the old Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, the Queen has her own special box. It is on the left side of the audience area, closest to the stage.
The main entrance area, called the foyer, is designed for comfort. It has lots of wall space for people to stand against. It also offers great views across the entire foyer and some of the best views of Copenhagen.
You can take guided tours of the building. These tours show you most of the building, including the main stage and the areas behind the stage.
Takkelloftet: The Experimental Stage
Besides the main stage, the Opera House has a smaller stage. This stage is used for experimental theatre. It's called a "black box" theatre and its name is Takkelloftet.
The name comes from an old building nearby. The original Takkelloftet was 280 meters long. It was built between 1767 and 1772 to store ropes for the navy. So, the new opera house keeps a connection to the area's history.
Everything on this stage and in its audience area is completely black. The audience seats can be easily moved. This makes the room very flexible for different types of performances. It can hold up to about 200 people.
Takkelloftet has its own foyer. Some walls in this room are decorated with the same Jura Gelb limestone used outside. These stones are placed in a special way. You can tap them with your bare hands and they make musical sounds!
Backstage Areas
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The Opera House has six main stages. One is for the audience to see. The other five are for rehearsals and preparing sets. It has everything needed for opera and ballet. This includes stage elevators and movable ballet floors.
The building is huge, covering 41,000 square meters. It has 14 floors, with 5 of them underground. There are more than 1,000 rooms inside. This includes a large rehearsal room for the orchestra. Even with all its fancy equipment, it only has about 1,500 seats. This is because more seats would make the sound quality worse.
Unlike older opera houses, artists can take an elevator from their dressing room to the stage. This is because the elevators are very reliable. However, the dressing rooms are a bit far from the stage. This can make quick costume changes tricky. But the stagehands have found a solution. They set up temporary dressing rooms near the main stage for fast changes.
You can go outside on the top floor of the building. But it's only comfortable to walk on the south side. This area is where the employee canteen is located, away from public view.
Architecture, Art, and Design
The building was designed by architect Henning Larsen. He worked closely with Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, who was the main donor. Mærsk wanted the building to be timeless and not get old-fashioned. He personally checked seats and materials. He even traveled the world to see how other opera houses were built.
The outside of the building is covered with Jura Gelb, a beige limestone from Germany. The Opera House is surrounded by canals. These canals make it look like the building is on its own island. The bridges leading to the building are made from oak trees. These trees were planted long ago to replace Denmark's navy ships. The ships were lost during the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807.
The front of the building was first designed with large glass panels. This was so people could see the main auditorium from the harbor. But Mærsk thought glass doesn't age well. So, the front was changed to a metal grid instead.
The floor in the main entrance area (foyer) is made of Sicilian Perlatino marble. In the middle of the foyer, there are three round chandeliers. These were created by the Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson. Each chandelier has many pieces of glass. Some light passes through, and some reflects. The patterns change as you walk around.
Artist Per Arnoldi designed the Opera's logo. You can see it in the marble floor right inside the entrance. Painter and sculptor Per Kirkeby created four bronze artworks for the wall. They are just below the maple wood part of the auditorium. Per Arnoldi also designed the main stage curtain. It's made of many colored threads that create a cool 3D effect.
The back wall of the foyer and the balcony fronts are made of maple wood. The architects wanted the wood to look like an old violin. This would have been too expensive. So, they used special staining techniques to get a similar color. Locals sometimes call this orange-colored area the pumpkin because of its shape and color.
The ceiling of the main auditorium shines with about 105,000 sheets of pure gold leaf. The floor in the main auditorium is made of smoked oak. The balcony fronts have special openings. These are designed to make the sound quality even better. They also have LED lights that can create different patterns.
Getting There
You can reach the Copenhagen Opera House by public transport.
- The Route 903 boat shuttle runs between Nyhavn and the Opera. It operates from 7 AM to 11 PM on weekdays and 10 AM to 11 PM on weekends.
- Other Harbour Buses, Routes 901 & 902, also connect the Opera to other places along the harbor.
- Bus Route 66 connects the Opera House to the Central Station.
- As of 2015, bus 9A also has the Operaen as its final stop.
