The Berlin Comic Opera must deal with a 10% reduction in budget, in addition to ongoing renovation work.
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Berlin, arguably one of the most dynamic cities in Europe, if not the world, is home to three and a half opera houses and dozens of theaters. However, the city plans to cut the culture budget by several million euros.
As several theaters sound the alarm, one of the city’s opera houses narrowly escaped a price explosion after budget cuts threatened to halt renovations at the Komische Oper.
In 2023, the “Komische Oper” (comic opera) will close its doors and temporarily move to the nearby Schiller Theater, as it has been in dire need of renovation for 60 years.
The opera’s co-director, Philip Bröking, told Euronews that “the electrical systems were failing, there was no proper ventilation and the stage technology was borderline dangerous. There was an urgent need for renovation, recognized as early as 1998.”
However, the Schiller Theater has 20% fewer seats and storage space for sets is significantly reduced, meaning the opera house is unable to stage many of its ambitious operas.
“Berlin must face a reduction in subsidies of 130 million euros out of a total budget of around 1 billion euros, which is disproportionate. It is disproportionate. Berlin must make savings, that is clear and everyone knows it But when I see that 3 billion euros in total savings are necessary for 2025 and that the cultural budget represents 2.5% of overall state spending, logically, 75 million euros should be the amount saved on the cultural budget. In reality, 130 million euros are removed, which is disproportionate. For us, this represents around 10% of our budget, or around 4 million. “Euros. It’s very difficult to manage during a year that is already fully planned.”explains Bröking.
Part of the funding for the opera house comes from the construction budget for renovations. “If this budget is reduced, we suffer a double shock: fewer grants and fewer funds to cover additional costs. This makes us very skeptical about the future of our institution,” adds Mr. Bröking.
Even though the six-year renovation of the Komische Oper continues, budget cuts are affecting Germany’s image.
“If the renovations take longer than expected – for example, ten years instead of six – costs will also increase by 40 million euros per year due to construction cost inflation. The most economical option is to complete the renovations as quickly as possible We can manage temporarily at the Schiller Theater, but we must return to Behrenstrasse to ensure our financial viability.”explains Mr. Bröking.
However, according to German media, there is no question of freezing the renovation work. Culture is expensive, but part of what makes Berlin so unique is its subsidies for the arts. According to Bröking, 80% of tourists who visit Berlin each year go to the city’s cultural venues.
Berlin has already faced international criticism for being 10 years late in building its airport and going three times over budget. The Berlin Staatsoper also exceeded its budget by 40 million euros and was four years behind schedule.
More “what is the value of culture for Berlin?” asks Bröking.“German history is a very difficult and complex story. Berlin’s history is even more so. But what unites us is this immense cultural heritage, of which we can rightly be proud. We have here so many places – theaters, operas – where the conditions of human existence can be explored. These are spaces where people come together, dialogue and communicate with each other. There are not many places like this. And especially at a time when democracy is threatened by extreme fringes, it is extremely important to reaffirm who we are and where we come from. And that is what we can do.he concludes.
But culture will not be the only one to be affected by budget cuts. The German economy, which continues to struggle, could do with a little boost from this area, which brings in tens of millions of euros per year. The Komische Oper has found creative ways to take advantage of renovations to its premises, including setting up a traveling multicultural bus.
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