Curtains: Düsseldorf opera to shut for 5 years
mainRecent flooding at the Düsseldorf base of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein has exposed deep-seated structural faults.
The post-war building, engineers say, is no longer fit for purpose.
It will require either massive renovation ,or, more likely, demolition and a complete rebuild.
Either way, the house will shut for five years.
That is really terrible news. I hope they can find an alternative venue quickly
This company divides its performances between Dusseldorf and Duisburg, which is 20 minutes away by train. The Dusseldorf opera house closed for a renovation in 2006/07. I remember seeing a performance of a Monteverdi opera at that time in a temporary wooden structure, which actually wasn’t inappropriate in size or atmosphere for a Baroque opera. It is a shame that less than 15 years later the work on the building that presumably was done at that time has gone for naught.
Düsseldorf, please. Dusseldorf means “village of idiots”. Sorry for being a pedant, but even as someone born in Cologne, a rival city if ever there was one, I firmly believe the missing Umlaut is unacceptable. ;-))
For English speakers, that missing umlaut is better thought of as a missing “e.” Functionally the same, I know, but we tend to think of the dots as decoration.
If they’re so smart, they should make an easier way to make the umlaut in.
Yes, Brian, but “village of idiots” sounds rather appropriate for the people who have run that beleaguered house in recent years. The poor people of Düsseldorf have endured quite a lot.