Both Parisa Liljestrand and the members of the culture committee have visited the Royal Opera House in Stockholm to take stock of the building’s condition. The Minister of Culture states in a comment to TT that the renovation needs are great and states that “of course all employees, guest artists, audience and others must be able to stay and work in the premises under safe conditions.”
She emphasizes that in 2019 or 2021, proposals for rebuilding and renovation were put forward. “Unfortunately, the necessary decisions were not made then and it was unfortunate because we are now entering an uncertain time where inflation affects the conditions for making stable economic forecasts, which is of importance for the decision-making documents,” writes the Minister of Culture.
Lawen Redar, the Social Democrats’ political spokesperson, has stated in the media that she would like to see cross-party deliberations about the Opera, but does not want to take a stand for any of the alternatives.
— When you want cross-party conversations, you have to listen in first. I want to wait to explain my stance, but also note that conditions have been created for building new operas in Oslo and Copenhagen. It is clear that there is a risk of a loss of competence in Sweden if we do not do something that has a significant impact on the future of opera.
Nevertheless, she does not want to advocate “New opera in the Opera”.
— I am not going to express it, I feel that it is important to get a picture of how the Minister of Culture and the Cabinet Office want the issue to be taken further.
Lawen Redar (S) says that she has gone through the Moderates’ motions for the past eight years without finding any decision or budget regarding the Opera’s future. Archive image.
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