Copenhagen Opera House
Henning Larsen's harbourside opera house on Holmen, main stage of the Royal Danish Opera.
The Opera House opened in January 2005 on Dokøen, a former naval island in Copenhagen harbour, aligned on an axis with Amalienborg Palace and Frederik's Church across the water. It was funded by the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation and designed by Henning Larsen, with a cantilevered roof canopy projecting over a glazed foyer. Sculptor Per Arnoldi contributed colour work and Olafur Eliasson made the three suspended glass light fixtures that hang in the foyer.
The building is the principal home of the Royal Danish Opera, part of the Royal Danish Theatre. Its main auditorium seats around 1,500 and is lined in maple, with a ceiling covered in sheets of twenty-four-carat gold leaf; a smaller studio stage, Takkelloftet, sits beneath the roof for chamber and experimental work. Six stage areas allow scenery for different productions to be shifted quickly. Guided tours in English take visitors through the foyer, auditorium and backstage machinery.
Highlights
- Main auditorium with a ceiling in 24-carat gold leaf
- Foyer light sculptures by Olafur Eliasson
- Takkelloftet studio stage for chamber and new work
- Backstage tours across the building's six stage areas
