Curtains: Düsseldorf opera to shut for 5 years

Curtains: Düsseldorf opera to shut for 5 years

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norman lebrecht

January 19, 2020

Recent 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.

Comments

  • Symphony musician says:

    That is really terrible news. I hope they can find an alternative venue quickly

  • phf655 says:

    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.

    • Brian says:

      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. ;-))

      • Mr. Knowitall says:

        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.

      • Robert Holmén says:

        If they’re so smart, they should make an easier way to make the umlaut in.

      • pageturner says:

        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.

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