The renovation of the State Opera Unter den Linden in Berlin was planned to take three years and cost 239 million euros. It took seven years and cost about 400 million euros. At the request of music director Daniel Barenboim, the ceiling of the hall was raised by five meters. A new gallery under the ceiling raised the reverberation time from 1.1 to 1.6 seconds. The house reopened on 3 October 2017.
Barenboim said: Ich bin erstaunt, wie hervorragend der Klang geworden ist. I am amazed at how excellent the sound has become. He also said: Natürlich wäre es besser gewesen, wie geplant nach drei Jahren wieder zu öffnen. Of course it would have been better to reopen after three years, as planned.