Oper Köln has announced it will not extend the contract of Artistic Director Birgit Meyer, with it set to expire by the end of 2022.

The decision comes as the company’s renovation of its opera house reaches over 1 billion Euros, a figure which is over four times the initial estimate when the project was approved in 2012.

Meyer has been with Oper Köln since 2012. She first worked with the company as a chief dramaturge and opera director in 2009. After obtaining her doctorate in medicine, Meyer studied theater and has held various positions with companies throughout Germany, such as the Stadttheater Wurzburg, Munchner Kammerspiele, Tiroler Landestheater Innsbruck, and the Salzburg Festival in Austria. She also worked for the Bavarian Theater Academy in Munich in the dramaturgy department. 

Oper Köln is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is set to open in December.