The Düsseldorf Opera House has had to cancel or postpone several performances of the new season. The reason, the city of Düsseldorf announced on Friday, is structural deficiencies in the supporting structure of the stage tower. The problems were discovered during a routine inspection during the summer break. The responsible structural engineering firm has not issued a safety clearance for rehearsals and performances.

Düsseldorf Opera House

The theater festival planned for September 13th to open the season has been cancelled, as well as at least eight performances, including the six performances of Giacomo Puccini's opera "Madama Butterfly". The premiere of Richard Wagner's "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg", scheduled for October 11th, must also be postponed.

The structural defects affect parts of the supporting structure in the front section of the stage tower, which largely date back to the reopening of the Düsseldorf Opera House after the Second World War. The loads on the supporting structure now need to be distributed across several new beams to ensure the continued safety of the working galleries to the left and right of the stage, as well as the portal bridge.

The city of Düsseldorf originally planned to build a new opera house because the existing building on Heinrich-Heine-Allee had numerous structural, technical, and functional deficiencies. More than ten million euros had been invested in repairs since October 2017 alone. In the summer of 2026, the city council rescinded the plans for a new building. Instead, the current location of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is to be upgraded to such an extent that it can continue performances beyond the 2030s.

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