Berlin’s big beasts face 12% cuts
NewsThe Berlin Philharmonic will need to find $2 million to cover a looming cut in city funding.
The world-famous Schaubuehne theatre says it will have to shut down at the end of 2025.
The Berliner Ensemble is cancelling five productions.
The Komische Oper has been told to scrap its long-mooted rebuilding. No word yet on the two bigger opera companies.
The Berlinale film festival has seen its subsidy halved.
Some of the outcry may be exaggerated but there is no denying that Berlin’s arts are facing their toughest winter since the wall came down. Interesting to see who will be their most effective vocal champion.
Joe Chialo, the city’s cultural senator (pic), is putting up no fight at all.
I’m sorry, but to say Joe Chialo is putting up no fight is laughable. He’s been very vocal about trying to preserve the culture budget.
One source of issue might be Germany’s insane building costs (and they’re not alone there), particularly for public buildings, due to a combination of old buildings needing updating, poor constructions, and mismanagement. The Staatsoper cost 700M€; the Komische Oper was mooted at half a billion. The Berlin city library (the ZLB) move/expansion was being discussed at close to a billion (600€ to buy the Galeries Lafayette building + renovations); the German national library at Potsdamer Platz will be renovated for 600M€.
Nice try, Joe.
Berlin has old buildings!!!???
Even worse: Berlin has buildings from the 1970s.
The Staatsbibliothek is a huge monster of impractical architecture, not built to last, and riddled with asbestos. Hence the 750M€ price tag (excluding inflation and risk provisions), for a 15 year project: https://www.bbr.bund.de/BBR/DE/Bauprojekte/Berlin/Kultur/Staatsbibliothek/Potsdamerstr/GIS/Grundinstandsetzung.html
Joe doesn’t know the difference between Schönberg and Schöneberg. His days are numbered.
What, one was birthplace of Furtwaengler, the other was hated by Furtwaengler?
It’s much worse: Chiallo was expected to cut 10% and he turned it into 12.
He’s obviously trying to get a promotion after the next elections.
Just sad.
The most poorly governed city in Europe. To say they are clowns is a compliment.
I understand Deutsch Oper Berlin has lost 5 million per season.
If this culture senator were a man of integrity, he would put on the fight of his life, eventually step down if not successful. But it is probably as they say. He is only fighting for his own political carreer, using Berlin‘s cultural scene as a means to rise in power beyond, leaving behind major damage.