The Oslo Opera House ( no, Operahuset) is the home of the

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

, and the national opera theatre in Norway. The building is situated in the

Bjørvika Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been und ...

neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by

Statsbygg The Norwegian Directorate of Public Construction and Property ( no, Statsbygg) is a Norwegian government agency that manages central parts of the real estate portfolio of the Government of Norway. Operation The Norwegian Directorate of Public Co ...

, the government agency which manages property for the Norwegian government. The structure contains 1,100 rooms in a total area of . The main auditorium seats 1,364 and two other performance spaces can seat 200 and 400. The main stage is wide and deep. The angled exterior surfaces of the building are covered with marble from Carrara, Italy and white granite and make it appear to rise from the water. It is the largest cultural building constructed in Norway since Nidarosdomen was completed circa 1300.

History

In 1999, after a long national debate, the Norwegian legislature decided to construct a new opera house in the city. A design competition was held and, of the 350 entries received, the judges chose that of the Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta. Construction started in 2003 and was completed in 2007, ahead of schedule and 300 million

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, of which these ...

(~ US$52 million) under its budget of 4.4 billion NOK (~US$760 million). The gala opening on 12 April 2008 was attended by His Majesty King Harald, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark and President Tarja Halonen of Finland and other leaders. During the first year of operation, 1.3 million people passed through the building's doors. The Opera House won the culture award at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in October 2008 and the 2009

European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture – Mies van der Rohe Award is a prize given biennially by the European Union and the Fundació Mies van der Rohe, Barcelona, 'to acknowledge and reward quality architectural production in Eu ...

The building

The roof of the building angles to ground level, creating a large plaza that invites pedestrians to walk up and enjoy the panoramic views of Oslo. While much of the building is covered in white granite and ''La Facciata'', a white Italian carrara marble, the stage tower is clad in white aluminium, in a design by Løvaas & Wagle that evokes old weaving patterns. The lobby is surrounded by tall windows with minimal framing and special glass that allows maximum views of the water. The roof is supported by thin angled columns also designed not to interfere with views. Interior surfaces are covered in oak to bring warmth to spaces in contrast to the coolness of the white exterior. The main auditorium is a horseshoe shape and illuminated by an oval chandelier containing 5,800 handmade crystals. Seats include monitors for the electronic libretto system, allowing audiences to follow opera libretti in Norwegian and English in addition to the original language.

Art

Several art projects were commissioned for the interior and exterior of the Opera House. The most notable is

She Lies ''She Lies'' is a public sculpture by Monica Bonvicini made of stainless steel and glass panels measuring approximately by by next to the Oslo Opera House, in Norway. It is a permanent installation, Buoyancy, floating on the water in the fj ...

, a sculpture constructed of stainless steel and glass panels by Monica Bonvicini. It is permanently installed on a concrete platform in the fjord adjacent to Opera House and floats on the water moving in response to tides and wind to create an ever-changing face to viewers. The work was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Sonja on 11 May 2010. A perforated wall panel which covers roof supports in the lobby was designed by Olafur Eliasson. It features hexagonal opening and is illuminated from below and behind to create the illusion of melting ice. Other artists involved in the construction include

Kristian Blystad Kristian Blystad (born 18 March 1946) is a Norwegian sculptor. Career He was born in Bergen. Among his works is the fountain sculpture ''Kronos'' at Majorstuen, Oslo. A granite sculpture of Wilhelm Frimann Koren Christie was erected in front of t ...

, Jorunn Sannes and Kalle Grude, who designed the shape of the pavers on the forecourt and roof; Bodil Furu and Trine Lise Nedreaas, who created a film and video project; Marte Aas, Talleiv Taro Manum, Tom Sandberg, Gerd Tinglum and Nina Witoszek Fitzpatrick, who created the art book ''Site Seeing''; and Linus Elmes and Ludvig Löfgren, who created the foundation stone. The main stage curtain is the work of Pae White who designed it to look like crumpled aluminum foil. White scanned a crumpled piece of foil into a computer which translated the information to a loom that wove the curtain from wool, cotton and polyester to create a three-dimensional effect. The curtain was manufactured by the German-based theatrical equipment company Gerriets GmbH. The finished curtain measures wide and and weighs .

Images from the entrance and the foyer

File:OsloOperaBjørvika2008-03-25-12.jpg, The audience moving up the stairs in the lobby. File:OsloOperaBjørvika2008-03-25-04.jpg, The lobby seen from a balcony. File:OsloOperaBjørvika2008-03-25-02.jpg, The decoration by Olafur Eliasson in the foyer. File:OsloOperaBjørvika2008-03-25-01.jpg, The waving wood wall.

References

External links

Norwegian National Opera web pages about the Opera
(''Norwegian'')
Snøhetta's web pages about the OperaStatsbygg's brochure about the OperaVeidekke's web pages about the Opera
(''Norwegian'')

{{authority control Music venues in Oslo Opera houses in Norway Fjord City 2007 establishments in Norway Tourist attractions in Oslo Music venues completed in 2007 Theatres in Oslo