Jakarta to get RI's first opera house
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.