Berlin – Berlin’s Opera House thanked German taxpayers with a free concert on Saturday. It was attended by hundreds of citizens, whose money contributed to the reopening of the historic building.

About 300 people attended the “Concert for Berlin,” which was also broadcast live.

The Opera House’s director Daniel Barenboim thanked taxpayers for the renovation of the 250-year-old building.

The Berlin Opera Hall was reopened on Tuesday after a seven-year renovation.

The renovation process cost a total of 400 million euros. They were equally funded by the federal budget and the local budget of the Berlin Municipality.

Some free seats remained vacant at the concert, which featured performances of the works of Italy’s Giuseppe Verdi and England’s Edward Elgar.

Celebration of the opera house’s reopening began on Tuesday and ended over the weekend.

The opera is scheduled to close for two months to allow musicians, exhibitors and employees to adapt to the new technology installed at the building.