The Copenhagen Opera House is marking its 10th anniversary today with a new production of the popular opera 'The Magic Flute'.
The festivities, however, are taking place in gloomy times as the 2.3 billion kroner Opera House is going through a crisis.
Thomas Michelsen, a reviewer and music editor at Politiken, believes the opera has lost its confidence and vision.
Performance and visitor numbers falling
The number of performances and visitors has dropped significantly.
In 2006, the opera hosted 287 performances and sold 243,984 tickets, while last year it only offered 152 performances as ticket sales fell to 127,753.
In fact, more people used to go to the opera when it was performed at Gamle Scene at Kongens Nytorv, the original old stage of the Royal Danish Theatre (KGL).
It's a political decision
Marianne Petersen, the CFO of the KGL, blames the financial crisis and necessary savings implemented in 2011 for opera's declining performance.
"We could sell many more tickets if we had the possibility to produce more performances," Morten Hesseldahl, the CEO of the KGL, told DR.
"We have a greater capacity than we use at the moment, but in order to take advantage of what we have, we need more funding, and that's a political decision that lies with Christiansborg," Hesseldahl noted.
Golden ceiling and marble floors
The Opera House was inaugurated in January 2005 in the presence of Queen Margrethe II.
It was designed by the internationally known architect Henning Larsen and donated to the Danish people by the AP Møller and Chastine McKinney Møller Foundation.
Some 41,000 square metres in size, five of its 14 storeys are subterranean. The main stage can seat 1,400 visitors.
The foyer is set with Perlatino marble from Sicily and the ceiling in the main auditorium is adorned with 105,000 sheets of 24 carat gold leaf – the equivalent of 1.5 kilos of gold.
The current run of The Magic Flute will continue at the Operaen Store Scene until March 29. There are performances on January 21, 23, 28 and 31, six more in February, and nine more in March. Tickets range in cost from 125-895 kroner. The performance is three hours. Find out more at kglteater.dk.
