Opera House Crowns Danish Design
Few cities get a chance to build a world-class opera house from scratch with a stage and acoustics that are second to none, yet Copenhagen is one of them.
When Maersk Mc-Kinney Møller, Denmark's wealthiest citizen, offered to write a check to give the Danes an opera house that would set a standard for decades to come, it was gratefully accepted.
"We bought this piece of land with the purpose of using it for something special and did not find that special something. Many made the suggestion of an opera house, which we then studied and then we decided to try for it," says Mc-Kinney Møller.
That was early in 2000 -- five years later and a 14-storey structure has risen up from a former naval base on Halmen Island in the city harbor, opposite the Queen's palace.
"The last theatre was built in 1874, so it lasted for 130 years and is still being used. The previous one was built in 1776, so we expect this one to last for a long time," explains Mc-Kinney Møller, whose business group is one of the world's largest shipping companies.
He donated $440 million from the A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation, which was set up by his father, for Copenhagen's new opera house -- called the Operaen.
Five storeys of this impressive structure are below ground. The outer shell is made up of 11,000 pieces of stone from
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