Copenhagen Opera House
June 21, 2019
On Friday morning after the breakfast buffet, we checked out of the hotel and put all our stuff in the bus and its trailer (since the bus itself didn't have room for all our luggage and all the bells and tables). Then we headed back to the opera house for a tour. The design resulted from collaboration and conflict between the architect and the donor. No expense was spared. The architect wanted a glass façade to incorporate the view from the island across to the royal area and the neighboring harbor. Later the national theater was added to the view. Note the direct alignment with the church.
No two of the wooden panels that form the bowl of the audience space are the same.
Below the "pumpkin," as it is popularly called, are panels of relief sculpture.
An artist painted between the panels using a paint mixed with Danish beer.
That was too difficult to maintain, so now they use photographic reproductions of the original paintings.
The distinctive lighting fixtures show different colors and reflect in different ways as the daylight changes.
Since the opera season had ended, work was being done. But you can still see the seating area well.
Design maximized both acoustics and visibility.
Ceiling panels are covered with gold.
The tour includes the black box theater and backstage. They were constructing sets for the fall productions.
This panel controls the movement of sections of the backstage floor. Sets can be moved between the working space and the stage.
A photo on exhibit shows members of the orchestra. When he was young, composer Carl Nielsen played second violin, I think. If you are not familiar with Nielsen's music, I suggest you listen to his fourth symphony. He also wrote very enjoyable overtures. Also pictured is the only woman in the orchestra. Note they would not show her looking directly into the camera.
Following the tour, many of us took the water taxi across to an area with restaurants, where we had lunch.
I had a Danish open-faced sandwich and a local ale.
The line to get on the water taxi back was too long, so we walked around a series of bridges to get back to the bus. Then it was time to leave Copenhagen for our ride across two of the major islands to Jutland. The southern end of the peninsula is part of Germany. We headed north almost out to the end, for our next stop, the small town of Strandby, a 300 mile drive from Copenhagen.