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Friday, December 11, 2009

Copenhagen Opera House

The Copenhagen Opera House is the national opera house of Denmark, and among the most modern opera houses in the world. It is also one of the most expensive opera houses ever built with construction costs well over 500 million U.S. dollars. The Opera is located in Copenhagen just opposite the main castle Amalienborg at the shore of the harbor. The opera house is built in alignment with Amalienborg and Marble Church, so we can see the Marble Church over the water along the road through Amalienborg. The specific part of the island where the Opera was built is named Dokoen, which means the Dock Island.

Copenhagen Opera HouseThe house is administered by Royal Danish Theatre and is one of the best-equipped in the world. It has a main stage with five other stages directly connected, where large setups can be moved easily in and out. There are between 1492 and 1703 seats, depending on the size of the orchestra. The 1492 seats are all individually angled in order to provide the best experience.

The orchestra pit provides room for 110 musicians and the building provides excellent sound quality for the orchestra. If the pit is filled, some musicians are located below a part of the stage, which has become controversial among members of the orchestra, because this increases the sound levels beyond those acceptable in Denmark. As in the old Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, the Queen has her own balcony on the left side of the auditorium, near to stage.

The foyer has been designed for comfort, based on behavioural research on operagoers maximizing the wall area for standing against, while still providing views across the entire foyer and one of the best views on Copenhagen.

The Opera has 6 main stages: 1 visible for the audience, and 5 for preparations and training. It has almost everything needed for opera, ballet etc., including stage elevators, movable balletfloors, etc. The building totals 41,000 m² and has 14 floors, of which 5 are below ground. It contains more than 1000 rooms, including a large orchestral rehearsal room. There are only approximately 1500 seats because a larger number of seats would hamper the quality of sound.
The building makes it possible to go outside on the top floor, but it is only possible to walk comfortably at the south side of the building which is opposite to the entrance. This is where the employees have their canteen, and idea behind this design is to ensure that the employees are not seen from below by the visitors.

Opera House EntranceOpera House FoyerThe building makes it possible to go outside on the top floor, but it is only possible to walk comfortably at the south side of the building which is opposite to the entrance. This is where the employees have their canteen, and idea behind this design is to ensure that the employees are not seen from below by the visitors.

The building was designed by architect Henning Larsen in close and often problematic cooperation with Maersk McKinney Moller. The building itself has an outside surface of Jura Gelb limestone. The foyer floor is Sicilian Perlatino marble. There are three very remarkable lamps in the central part of the foyer, created by the Icelandic artist Olafur Eliasson.

The wall of the auditorium towards the foyer, and the wood of the balconies, is maple wood. The ceiling inside the auditorium is made using 105,000 sheets of gold leafs, almost 100% 24 carat. Pure 24 carat wouldn't stick well enough. The floor in the main audience room is smoked oak. The balconies have been designed with holes in a very special pattern, that improve sound quality, as well as LED-based lighting that can be used in a variety of ways.

Route 903 of the Copenhagen Harbour Buses shuttles between Nyhavn and the Opera from 7-23 from Monday-Friday and from 10-23 on weekends. The opera is also served by Harbour Buses Routes 901 & 902, connecting it to various other points along the harbourfront. Of regular buses, Route 66 goes to the Opera, connecting it to the Central Station.

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