No end in sight at Germany’s greatest opera disaster
NewsThe city of Cologne approved the renovation of its unimpressive opera house ten years ago, in 2012.
The cost was supposed to be 253 million Euros.
It is now running at almost one billion, and the project is at least two years from completion.
Whatever happened to efficiency, competence, civic pride?
One mayor after another has thrown their hands in the air.
Watch the disaster unfold here (video in German).
It is quite simple: those responsible all know that the estimated costs will never be sufficient. But that is the only way funding and approval is possible, because government funders are bound to fixed budgets. So they pretend that these costs will be enough. Projects like the Elbphilharmonie would never have been approved if the actual costs had been known from the outset.
This is true, but nevertheless it should have been possible to renovate an opera house for far less than a billion euros.
The Royal Opera House underwent a complete renovation and partial reconstruction at a total cost of £214 million. Admittedly that was more than two decades ago, but still, an interesting benchmark.
It should be. But in Germany it is apparently not possible. Stuttgart will be also more than a billion.
Illuminating.
Antwerp was supposed to complete its renovation of its Fine Arts museum within two years. Eleven years after its closure it is finally opening on September 24. Mind you it was worth the wait.
Sometimes, a disaster turns into a triumph, as with the Elbhilharmonie in Hamburg, which cost many times over than what it was supposed to do, and took years longer than anticipated. But look at it now! It has become the prime attraction of the city, and despite its acoustics peculiarities a worth home to the radio orchestra (the old concert hall, the Laeiszhalle , is just an antiquated relic). Let’s hope that this is what’ll happen in Cologne too, eventually. Never mind the administrative catastrophe that it is now.
How can it be a worthy home for the radio orchestra if its acoustics are peculiar? (They have also been described as terrible.) I thought the main point of a good concert hall was to, err, sound good.
It’s like the Sydney Opera House, which took way too long, cost several times the original budget, was mired in controversy (and produced rather mediocre performing venues). But worth every penny – it’s the symbol of Australia.
Though it does seem to belie the vaunted German efficiency we all grew up hearing about.
Forget the German efficiency when you look at Stuttgart and the scandalous Berlin Airport! They are just useless there and Hamburg might be an attraction but a disaster when it comes to acoustics – Germany is just run down
Look at cities in the U.S: They are ugly , filthy , rat infested , overrun with homeless drug addicts , and of course violent crime – the highest in the developed world. Remove your head from your arse before you make stupid , ignorant comments…
Lincoln Center , NYC : How many times has the concert hall been rebuilt to improve the acoustics ? The Koch ( Ex- NY State Theater ) is also an acoustic disaster for opera. The Barbican in the U.K. and the Sydney opera house and concert hall are acoustic nightmares….So what is your point except stupid Anti-Germanism ?
Germans cannot manage major projects like this, I find: too many people involved, conflicting lines of reporting, inadequate communication, politics trumps competence, political hacks run projects, seeing the little things but not the big picture (cultural). Just think of Berlin’s new international airport, or the rebuild of the rail network in and around Stuttgart, or the rehab of their sailing ship used for naval training purposes. Hey, it’s ok. It still doesn’t rival Palermo opera house’s eon-spanning rebuild, or the fact that the US seems unwilling to tackle major infrastructure projects in the first place (water in Jackson, MS, anyone? compare Beijing to O’Hare airports…). Today’s over-simplification – just like the “cowardly” cancelling of Last Night when in fact it just might have been appropriate.
How long did it take NYC to finally extend the subway on the East side of Manhattan ? Talking about the subway – it is a disgusting rat and crime infested shithole…
Another ignorant comment : What ever happened to the high-speed rail lines planned in the U.S. ? Have you seen the run down LaGuardia Airport in NYC ? Where is the direct rail link to Kennedy Airport from Manhattan that has been discussed for decades? The NYC subway has been neglected for 50 years – it is on the verge of collapse , all they can do is minor repairs -on weekends – and of course crime is out of control…