Musical dome

Aerial photo of the “Musical Dome”, 2012

"Musical Dome", 2016

The Musical Dome (2012 to 2015: Oper am Dom ) is an originally provisional venue for musicals in downtown Cologne .

facts and figures

Frontal view of the Musical Dome, July 2014

The Musical Dome is located between Breslauer Platz and the banks of the Rhine near Cologne Central Station . Characteristic of the Musical Dome is the blue domed roof, which is illuminated at night. In addition to the theater hall, it also houses a glazed foyer with drinks bars, a restaurant as well as administrative rooms and a cloakroom.

The structure is 53 m wide and 77 m long. Its height is 27 m at the highest point. This results in a covered area of 4000 m². The construction consists mainly of steel and glass. The roof is made of polyester and spans the entire building underneath the visible steel arches weighing 30 tons. Due to the difference in height, the main entrance on the Rhine side can only be reached indirectly via a balcony construction. There is a paid parking garage for 60 vehicles underneath . The auditorium is divided on two levels with parquet and a balcony . In total, it offers space for 1,769 spectators, with 540 seats on the balcony. There are six handicapped accessible spaces in the first row.

history

After a quick construction period of six months, the Musical Dome opened in October 1996. Until then, the property was used as a bus station and car park for a long time . The building originally had a purely provisional character, as plans were made in the 1990s to permanently reorganize Breslauer Platz in terms of urban planning. Until construction work began, the Musical Dome was to serve as a temporary venue for the musical Gaudi by Eric Woolfson in a production by Elmar Ottenthal .

The musical, which was previously successful in Aachen and Alsdorf , was a financial flop in Cologne. In 1998 the operator of the Musical Dome had to file for bankruptcy.

In the same year, the two producers Thomas Krauth and Michael Brenner bought the Musical Dome from the bankruptcy estate and produced the 1970s musical Saturday Night Fever as a German premiere and a large en-suite production with great success from September 1999 .

This was followed by the theater musical Jekyll & Hyde (2003/2004) and the Queen musical We Will Rock You (2004-2008), which, with a total playing time of four years, around 1,400 performances and around 2 million visitors, is the most successful musical in Cologne became. In 2009, Monty Python's Spamalot followed with a very short playing time . The musical Hairspray was performed from December 2009 to September 2010 . From November 23, 2010, From the Spirit of Christmas followed until December 30, 2010. The Musical Dome was now under the leadership of producer Maik Klokow and his group of companies Mehr! Entertainment operated.

From March 2012 to autumn 2015, the Musical Dome was used for 40 months by the Cologne Opera under the name “Oper am Dom” as a replacement venue for the opera house on Offenbachplatz to be renovated. In November 2015, the opera left the Musical Dome, which has been used for musicals again since then. According to the planning of the city of Cologne, it is intended that the musical dome, which is intended as a temporary measure, will be operated until 2022. Until the Staathaus am Rheinpark , near the trade fair, can start operating as a new musical theater.

Performances

In the following, only the musicals and shows that were seen for more than 4 weeks in the Musical Dome Cologne are displayed:

Musicals and shows in the Musical Dome Cologne
Beginning	The End	musical	genre
October 1996	Spring 1998	Gaudi	musical
September 11, 1999	June 30, 2002	Saturday Night Fever
November 15, 2002	December 29, 2002	From the spirit of Christmas
March 16, 2003	April 25, 2004	Jekyll & Hyde
December 12, 2004	September 28, 2008	We will rock you
November 12, 2008	December 14, 2008	Cats
January 15, 2009	September 13, 2009	Monty Python's Spamalot
December 6, 2009	September 26, 2010	Hairspray
November 23, 2010	December 30, 2010	From the spirit of Christmas
October 11, 2011	November 27, 2011	Elisabeth
November 21, 2015	27th August 2017	Bodyguard
February 14, 2018	29th September 2018	dance of the Vampires

The most successful musical production in Cologne so far is the Queen musical "We Will Rock You" from 2008, with two million viewers.

The Musical Dome not only offers a stage for musicals and long-term productions, but also serves as a venue for shows by international entertainers and musicians. So far you can see on stage: