The State Opera a few hours before reopening! 500 workers are fine-tuning the details!

The air is filled with cleanliness and Iron, because there's a huge amount of glass here.

"We've made a tremendous achievement, but a few hours before the opening, we are experiencing nervousness, quite like before every premiere,"

laughs the director of the National Theater Jan Burian.

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He is proud not only of having met the objective of the reconstruction, namely restoring the appearance of the building to its original form, but also of the new curtain. It is a paraphrase of the original.

"I painted the curtain according to a photograph of the original curtain by Edward Fait, which used to hang in the New German Theater until 1945. Then it mysteriously disappeared, no one knows where. We painted it in the National Theater workshops,"

said the author of the curtain Martin Černý, adding that the first layer was acrylic paints and the final layer is in oil paints. The installation took more than eight hours.

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The workers had to sacrifice Christmas

As the opening date of January 5 couldn't be postponed, everyone involved was really busy. Taking time off to celebrate Christmas was not an option.

"This year's Christmas completely passed us by. Usually there were about 400 people working on the construction site every day, but in December the number went up to 500,"

explained Jan Křístek, the construction director.

The result, however, is worth it. The main aim of the reconstruction was to ensure that all the changes would be practically imperceptible for the spectators and the introduction of new technologies wouldn't be apparent in the cultural heritage. The only noticeable change is the addition of a new floor above the back of the historic building. Due to the noise from the nearby highway, metro and railway, it was necessary to soundproof the building.

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First in the Republic

The opera house combines historical and modern elements. Its rotating stage relies on a completely new theater technology, parts of which are recessed many meters below the foundations of the original building. The visitors can also look forward to a new subtitling device, which has never been used in the Czech Republic before. Each seat has a built-in tablet, which enables the visitors to select a language. In the future, it will also be possible to buy tickets for other shows from the tablet, or order refreshments for the break.

With this project, the studio tried to get as close as possible to the original form of the 19th century opera. The restorers renovated the decorated terrazzo floor of the foyer according to the finding situation; the auditorium is now adorned with a replica of the original curtain that was destroyed in a fire. All restoration work was carried out manually under the supervision of an expert.

Small disposition changes were made inside the opera, mainly concerning technical background, and a new orchestra rehearsal room was built. Modernization also affected bars, restaurants and the exterior. The facade of the opera is now in its original colors and a piazzetta is being finished in the space between the buildings.

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The total cost of the reconstruction was CZK 1.3 billion.