Inseli in Lucerne becomes theater location
The new Lucerne Theater is to be built on the Inseli, in the immediate vicinity of the KKL concert hall, according to the city and canton of Lucerne and the Salle Modulable Foundation. The financing, which is estimated at CHF 208 million, remains unclear.
The promoters justify the decision with two independent studies that attest this location the greatest potential. The Inseli, located on the lake directly behind the KKL Luzern and currently home to a parking lot and a park, is sufficiently large, centrally located and allows synergies with the KKL Luzern. Two other locations - today's Lucerne Theater on the Reuss River and the gravel parking lot near the motorboat harbor - had proven unsuitable, it says.
"Urban space with cultural orientation"
The new Lucerne Theater should also enable innovative performances with a changeable hall. The idea of a Salle Modulable was launched by the Lucerne Festival, which would like to complement its symphony concerts in the KKL with innovative musical theater. The planned center is to become a modern, multifunctional platform for spoken theater, musical theater and dance; future users include the Lucerne Theater, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Lucerne Festival, independent theater and dance scene, and Theater Werk Luzern (TWL) of the canton and city. The house replaces the 180-year-old Lucerne Theater an der Reuss, which is to be demolished. The new flagship with a flexible large hall, a smaller performance hall and four studios is to be built on the southern part of the island in the direction of the shipyard, where the Volière currently stands. According to the feasibility study, the entire Inseli Park is to be upgraded to an "urban space with a cultural orientation".
Funding still open
A foundation is to be established for the construction of the new theater center. Investment costs are reportedly estimated at CHF 208 million; operating costs are put at CHF 31 million per year. Around CHF 80 million is available from the legacy of patron Christof Engelhorn; another CHF 35 million is to come from private sources, according to government president Reto Wyss. The rest would have to be borne by the public sector. However, these costs are too high and must be reduced for reasons of realpolitik, Wyss is quoted as saying in regional media.
In September, the project will be discussed in the city and cantonal parliaments; on November 27, the citizens of Lucerne will vote.
By the end of 2018, the political process must be completed and a site and project approved - this is the prerequisite for the CHF 80 million from patron Engelhorn to be released. The theater center is scheduled to start operations in 2023.
