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In cultural terms, Copenhagen entered the new millennium at a
crossroads. On the one hand there are those who want to see the city
continue as a stronghold of conservative Danish traditions; on the
other, those who would like it to reinvent itself as a cosmopolitan
regional hub, drawing on its burgeoning immigrant community and its new
links via the Øresund Bridge with Malmö in Sweden, which has increased
the city's catchment area by half a million. At the moment, however,
Copenhagen still delivers a relatively conservative array of culture,
and it's the traditional "high" arts - opera, classical music and
mainstream theatre - which get most of the government's enormous
subsidies, with more experimental ventures struggling to survive even on
the fringe. An exception in recent years has been the lively film
industry, and to some to degree alternative theatre, both of which have
managed to escape the city's often parochial mindset.
Tickets
to many live performances can be bought through Billetnet (credit
card booking line tel 70 15 65 65), at Vesterbrogade 3 beside Tivoli's
main entrance and in all post offices (10kr booking fee). ARTE
sell tickets - including same-day tickets at half price - for theatre
performances and concerts through its outlet at the Tivoli ticket office
on Vesterbrogade (April-Sept daily 10am-10pm; Oct-March Mon-Fri
10am-7pm, Sat 10am-5pm). For listings information, pick up a copy
of the English-language Copenhagen Post (15kr) from the Wonderful
Copenhagen tourist office near Tivoli.
A home for the arts?
One symbol of Copenhagen's current cultural uncertainties are the
arguments surrounding the city's various performing arts venues. The
possible closure or redevelopment of Tivoli's concert hall, a major
venue for orchestral music, and the size limitations of Det Kongelige
Teater, have led to plans to build a massive, purpose-built auditorium
for opera, music and ballet in the new suburb of Ørestad - although many
have wondered how sensible it would be to have the city's main concert
hall in such an out-of-the-way suburb. To add to the general
uncertainty, octogenarian Maersk McKinney Møller, Denmark's richest man,
has recently announced plans to build a huge new opera house-cum-concert
hall at the northern end of Holmen, a project which, if it goes ahead,
will radically alter the cultural landscape of Copenhagen
Classical music and opera
Copenhagen boasts a wide range of classical music and is home to
a number of top-class ensembles - including the Zealand Symphony
Orchestra, the Academic Orchestra and Choir, and the Danish Radio
Symphony Orchestra and Choir - and two opera companies, based at
Det Kongelige Teater and Den Anden Opera. Thanks to subsidies,
tickets are fairly cheap: there are many free concerts in the city,
though seats for big opera productions can run as high as 1200kr -
tickets for most performances are available through Billetnet.
There are also regular classical music concerts in many of Copenhagen's
grandest churches , including Vor Frue Kirke, Vor Frelsers Kirke,
Marmorkirken, Skt Petri Kirke and the church in Kastellet - a free
quarterly programme listing all these concerts is available from the
churches themselves or from the Wonderful Copenhagen tourist office;
most are either free or very modestly priced. Look out, too, for
concerts in the city's museums (including Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek,
Louisiana, Arken, the Statens Museum for Kunst and the National Museum)
and in the Queen's Hall of the Black Diamond.
An excellent resource on classical music in Copenhagen is the Danish
Music Information Centre, at Gråbrødretorv 16 (tel 33 11 20 66,
www.mic.dk ), which has information on all aspects of Danish music.
Den Anden Opera
Kronprinsensgade 7, Indre By tel 33 93 60 93 Bus #31, #42 or #43. An
offbeat alternative to Det Kongelige Teater, Den Anden Opera ("The Other
Opera") stages small-scale new chamber operas by contemporary Danish
composers.
Det Kongelige Teater
Kongens Nytorv, Indre By tel 33 69 69 69 www.kgl-teater.dk Bus
#1, #6, #10 or #31. Copenhagen's grandest theatre and opera house, with
prices to match, stages a fairly conservative range of mainstream operas
and classical concerts. Prices rise according to the scale of the
production (100-1200kr), and tickets for popular works sell out very
fast. Tickets bought from the box office after 5pm on the day of
performance are reduced by 50 percent, and you can book online seven
days in advance. Tickets not available through Billetnet.
Radiohuset Koncertsal
Rosenørns Allé 22, Frederiksberg tel 35 20 30 40 Bus #2, #3, #8, #11,
#13, #68, #69 or #250S. A classic of twentieth-century Danish
architecture - all wood panelling and sweeping curves - Radiohuset is
also something of a white elephant, having been built ten metres shorter
than originally planned due to lack of funds, a shortcut which
drastically affected the hall's acoustics. Now hosts regular
performances by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Rundetårn
Købmagergade, Indre By tel 33 73 03 73 Bus #5 or Nørreport Station.
Regular chamber-music recitals (50-80kr), generally at weekends, with a
free concert in the observatory every full moon.
Tivolis Koncertsal
Tietgensgade 20, Indre By tel 33 15 10 01 www.tivoli.dk Bus #1,
#2, #6, #8, #28, #29, #550S, #650S, Vesterport S-Tog or Central Station.
Inside Tivoli, the garden's concert hall stages a variety of classical
performances, often featuring the major national orchestras. Tickets are
available through Billetnet, except for concerts put on by Det Kongelige
Teater, which must be bought direct from them.
Film
The Danes' love affair with celluloid stretches back to the 1920s, when
the country's thriving film studios looked for a time as though they
would become Europe's answer to Hollywood. Now, at the start of the new
millennium, the Danish film industry is booming again, with the
country's filmmakers achieving international critical acclaim,
culminating in May 2000, when Lars von Trier won the Palme d'Or at
Cannes with his film Dancer in the Dark .
The weekly Film Kalenderen programme (in Danish only) includes
details of almost all of Copenhagen's cinematic offerings and is
available free in most cinemas.
Despite all this, however, most cinemas in Copenhagen offer the standard
repertoire of mainstream Hollywood flicks, though you may find more
offbeat offerings at the city's arthouse cinemas, particularly the
Posthuset Teater and Filmhuset. Nearly all films in Copenhagen are
screened in their original language, with Danish subtitles. Most cinemas
offer reductions earlier in the day, with prices being staggered up to
the most expensive evening and weekend screenings - from about 30-40kr
to 60-80kr. At weekends, it's definitely worth booking ahead. Cinemas
are not part of the Billetnet system.
From early to mid-March the city takes part in the Night Film
Festival , during which cinemas across the country screen large
numbers of mostly foreign films (with English subtitles) which wouldn't
otherwise be seen in Denmark, along with a few previews, and
retrospectives showcasing the work of particular actors.
Cinemateket at Filmhuset
Gothersgade 55, Indre By tel 33 74 34 12 www.dfi.dk Bus #31, #42,
#43, #350S or Nørreport S-Tog Closed Mon. Three-screen, state-of-the-art
cinema showing the best of Danish and international arthouse film - the
more eagerly anticipated films sell out quickly, so bookings are
advisable. The Benjamin theatre shows children's films and free
documentaries, and the complex also houses a reasonable café, a decent
film bookshop and fantastic cinematic archives.
Dagmar
Jernbanegade 2, Indre By tel 33 14 32 22 www.dagmar.dk Bus #8,
#12, #14, #16, #150S or Vesterport S-Tog. Mainstream arthouse cinema in
the heart of Copenhagen containing five theatres and a bust of Carl
Theodore Dreyer, the Danish director of the Oscar-winning The Last
Passion of Joan of Arc , who was the cinema's manager for a short
period.
Gloria
Rådhuspladsen 59, Indre By tel 33 12 82 32 www.gloria.aok.dk Bus
#5, #8, #12, #14, #16, #29, #150S or S-Tog Vesterport. Recently
refurbished cinema excellently located right in the centre of the city,
with an eclectic programme of specially imported films and arthouse
favourites. Also sells a range of arthouse films through its own video
distribution arm, some of which can be hard to find elsewhere.
A cine
buff's delight.
Imperial
Ved Vesterport, Vesterbro tel 70 13 12 11 Vesterport S-Tog. Copenhagen's
largest cinema, and the usual site for gala openings and premieres. The
enormous single screen - the biggest in Scandinavia - shows mainly
middle-of-the-road Hollywood blockbusters, with reclining seats and a
stunning sound system.
Palads
Axeltorv 9, Indre By tel 70 13 12 11 Vesterport S-Tog. One of the
world's first and largest multiplexes, this Copenhagen landmark, with
its famously gaudy exterior, shows Hollywood-blockbuster fare on all
seventeen of its screens.
Park Bio
Østerbrogade 79, Østerbro tel 35 38 33 62 Bus #6, #14, #650S. One of the
oldest in town, this atmospheric single-screen cinema tends to show the
more commercial arthouse films towards the end of their runs. Also has a
decent café-bar.
Posthuset Teater
Rådhusstræde 1, Indre By tel 33 11 66 11 Bus #5, #29, Nørreport S-Tog or
Vesterport S-Tog. A must for cine-buffs - look out for British director
Peter Greenaway's signature on the ceiling - Posthuset is a labour of
love, kept running on a very limited budget by its film-fanatic owner.
Typically screens long runs - it holds the Danish record of three years
- of specially imported films, though lack of funds forces it to close
periodically. Also has a cosy café.
Vester Vov Vov
Absalonsgade 5, Vesterbro tel 33 24 42 00 www.vester.vov-vov.dk
Bus #6, #16, #28 or Central Station. Three-screen arthouse cinema, with
a decent bar and café for pre-screen nibbles. Also has a large and
fairly comprehensive collection of film posters, some of them for sale.
Theatre and dance
Whilst the state subsidizes every ticket at the showpiece Det Kongelige
Teater to the tune of 2000kr, the majority of the city's theatres
have to compete for limited government funds - more alternative
performance groups often struggle to compete with traditional,
state-funded ensembles or theatres. A few youthful and dynamic theatres
and companies have recently appeared, though as they only stage
Danish-language productions, they're unlikely to be of interest to most
visitors. London Toast Theatre is a British company that performs
English-language light comedies and musicals in the mainstream city
theatres. Copenhagen has a small but thriving dance scene -
although there's only one venue, Dansescenen, specifically devoted to
this, other theatres occasionally stage dance performances.
Ticket prices
can be steep even for fringe performances: expect to pay at least 150kr,
though seats may be cheaper if bought late on the day of performance. A
free monthly programme, Teater Kalendern , is available at the
theatres themselves and at the Wonderful Copenhagen and Use It tourist
offices. Tickets to nearly all performances can be bought via Billetnet.
Dansescenen
Øster Fælled Torv 34, Østerbro tel 35 43 58 58 Bus #6, #14, #18, #650S.
The only place in Copenhagen with regular performances of modern dance,
showcasing top Scandinavian ensembles on its two stages.
Folketeatret
Nørregade 39, Indre By tel 33 93 96 93 Bus #5, #14, #16 or Nørreport
S-Tog. One of the oldest theatres in town, with three auditoriums. The
main stage (Store Scene) tends to show family-oriented stuff; the
smaller Hippodromen shows more experimental work; while the tiny youth
stage (Ung Scene) maintains a low entry price (60kr) for its avowedly
fringe performances.
Det Kongelige Teater
Kongens Nytorv, Indre By tel 33 69 69 69 www.kgl-teater.dk Bus
#1, #6, #10 or #31. Copenhagen's flagship state theatre, with two stages
and a permanent troupe who perform a variety of mainstream contemporary
and older plays. Tickets bought from the box office after 5pm on the day
of performance are reduced by fifty percent, and you can also book
online up to seven days in advance. Tickets not available through
Billetnet.
Østre Gasværk
Nyborggade 17, Østerbro tel 39 27 71 77 www.oestre-gasvaerk.dk
Bus #6, #14, #650S or Svanemøllen S-Tog. Set in an old gasworks, this is
one of the hippest theatres in town, with new plays aimed largely at a
younger audience - don't expect weighty classics.
Also hosts
modern dance shows from time to time.
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