Jakarta to get RI's first opera house
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Jakarta will have a brand-new opera house, the first in the country, when President Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurates the Dome of Sarbini at the Plaza Semanggi compound in South Jakarta on Feb. 23.
Built around historic buildings, which have been totally renovated in the past four years, the Dome is a truly modern performance venue, with top-notch acoustics, a spacious stage and high-tech multimedia, sound and lighting systems.
"Many musicians have played in this building. They are satisfied with the acoustics and sound system, which we designed in consultation with experts from Germany and Singapore," Jimmy Oentoro of PT Dom Semanggi Indonesia said on Monday.
The 1,500-seat opera house will have a huge 20,000 watt sound system and 60 different lighting combinations. Sydney Opera House's concert hall can accommodate 2,679 people while its opera theater holds 1,547.
The Nusantara Symphony Orchestra would be the dome's resident orchestra and would regularly perform classical compositions from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Indonesian composer Ismail Marzuki, PT Primatama Nusa Indah director Veri Y. Setiady said.
Those interested in staging cultural events at the building must pay Rp 25 million (US$2,976) for a six-hour period and Rp 50 million for 12 hours.
Currently, musical concerts have been held in multi-function buildings, including the Jakarta Convention Center and the Bung Karno Tennis Indoor Stadium, both in Senayan, Central Jakarta.
The historic buildings in which the dome has been developed are the Balai Sarbini and the 14-story Graha Purna Yudha. While they and the land where they are located are owned by the state, they are managed by the Indonesian Military veterans association (LVRI).
"Since the 1990s, we've had no money to finance the operational cost of the buildings. Their condition worsened and the government refused to help. That's why we've cooperated with a private company to conserve and renovate the buildings," LVRI chairman (ret.) Lt. Gen. Rais Abin said.
The Indonesian Consumers Foundation had earlier criticized the Jakarta administration for giving the go-ahead to the Rp 400 billion (US$47.6 million) project, despite knowing it would cause serious traffic problems.