17.03.2020
In light of the Danish authorities’ Coronavirus/COVID-19 ban on all large-scale events until the end of August 2020, Copenhagen Opera Festival is taking its time to carefully go through this year’s planned program with all involved parties, as many components of our festival unfortunately cannot be carried out as planned.
Culture and Opera for all is important, now, more than ever. And as a festival organizer, we are taking this situation very seriously and understand our responsibility in the industry, which we are a part of. Therefore, we are looking at all options available, which will allow us to continue to bring you Copenhagen Opera Festival, ensuring that we follow the authorities’ and health services’ guidelines to keep everyone safe.
We wholeheartedly thank you for your patience as we work towards necessary solutions, which will enable Copenhagen Opera Festival to continue on its mission to create opera for all for many years to come.
"The Copenhagen Opera Festival lives, breathes and thrives in the heart of our beautiful city. Every summer since 2009, world-class artists have taken over the streets, canals, halls, theatres, concert platforms and homes with the ultimate combination of song, theatre, film, drama, dance and storytelling: Opera.
2020 has seen COVID-19 take over the world as we know it and demand a new set of rules and behaviours. At Copenhagen Opera Festival, our foremost thought guiding every decision we make is quite simple: good health and safety for everyone.
Whilst we take the time to reassess our plans and adapt and evolve our ideas and thinking, I want to take this opportunity to send all our artists, friends, colleagues, collaborators, supporters and audience members my very best wishes and to let you know that we will inform you immediately, when we have reached a final decision on our 2020 planning.
During this time of lockdown, social media has seen the most incredible outpouring of love for our beloved Art Form, and it is alive with recorded performances from Opera Houses all over the world, alongside presentations that Artists have been making, directing and mixing from their newly and rapidly created home studios.
I have been absolutely humbled by how this world-wide community of Artists have come together and opened their hearts and voices to make sure that Opera doesn't go on "pause". More than ever, we need culture and art as a daily window to gaze through, so thank you to everyone who has shared arias, ensembles, live streams, archives and personal messages in this most challenging of times.
From my heart to yours, stay safe and stay well.
Amy Lane"
