Oslo Opera House
Snohetta's waterfront opera house, home of Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, with a walkable roof.
The Oslo Opera House stands at the head of the Bjorvika inlet and has been the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet since it opened on 12 April 2008. The Norwegian practice Snohetta designed it after winning an open international competition in 2000. Clad in white Carrara marble and Norwegian granite, the building rises from the fjord like a sloping sheet of ice, and its roof forms a public plaza that anyone may walk up at any hour.
Inside, an oak-panelled wall curves through the foyer towards the horseshoe-shaped Main Stage, which seats about 1,370 people beneath an oval chandelier of hand-cast glass. A smaller Second Stage and a studio stage host chamber opera, dance and concerts. The company presents opera, ballet and orchestral programmes across the season. The building received the Mies van der Rohe Award for European architecture in 2009 and a World Architecture Festival prize in 2008.
Highlights
- Marble roof that visitors can walk up for views across the fjord
- Main Stage seating around 1,370 with an oval hand-cast glass chandelier
- Home of the Norwegian National Opera, Ballet and Orchestra
- Winner of the Mies van der Rohe Award for European architecture, 2009
