The Oslo Opera House (Norway) is still very young. It exists only about 10 years. His repertoire is interesting and full of unique productions. His modern interpretations of classical works are famous.
Theater History
The Opera House (Oslo) was conceived back in the 19th century. But the place for its construction was determined only in 1999. This is the Bjorvik Peninsula - the very heart of the city. Next to it is the seaport and central station. Oslo authorities have announced a competition for the best project of the theater. There were more than two hundred applications. As a result, the architectural company Snøhetta became the winner. She owns the project of creating a modern library in Alexandria.
The construction of the theater began in 2003. It lasted 4 years. The Opera House (Oslo) was inaugurated on April 12, 2008. The ceremony was attended by the King of Norway Harald, the President of Finland and the Queen of Denmark.
The theater building was marked at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona and was awarded the Mies van der Rohe Prize.
In 2008, the theater was recognized as one of the main attractions, a symbol of Oslo and a cultural object of world significance. It is very popular among citizens and tourists.
Building
The Opera House (Oslo), the photo of the building of which is presented in this article, was built in an ultramodern style and organically fits into the landscape. It was erected on the very shore. The building is an iceberg shape. The bright part is the roof. It is assembled from more than 30 thousand marble white slabs. The roof is made sloping, it goes down to the ground. This feature allows anyone to climb it to the highest point, from where a magnificent view of the bay and the city opens. The roof is used by snowboarders as a court.
Its middle part is crowned with a trapezoidal tower, glazed with stained-glass windows, behind which you can see the foyer of the theater. Its height is 15 meters. The roof is supported by columns made in the form of letters V. They do not close the view. Outside, the tower is sheathed in white aluminum. A concave-convex pattern is applied on it, similar to old weaving patterns.
The theater building has an area of 38,500 square meters. The main stage has a capacity of 1364 spectators. In addition to her, there are two more small halls. One is designed for 400 seats, and the second accommodates 200 people.
In the fjord, next to the building, a She Lies sculpture made of stainless steel and glass panels is installed on a concrete platform. Its author is Monica Vonvichini. The sculpture moves through the wind and tides, due to which it appears before the audience from different angles.
Interiors and Engineering
The Opera House (Oslo), as mentioned above, is made in the shape of an iceberg, which sailed from the northern seas. At the same time, its main stage was created in the shape of a horseshoe. This is a classic view of the hall. This form allows you to achieve the highest performance in terms of acoustics. The walls of the auditorium, as well as stairs and balconies are sheathed with natural oak panels. The warm texture of the inner lining contrasts brightly with the cold surfaces of the outer, resembling white ice floes.
Hall lighting is provided by a large spherical chandelier. It is equipped with eight hundred LEDs. A chandelier is decorated with pendants made of handmade crystals, in the amount of almost six thousand pieces. Its weight is 8.5 tons. The diameter of the chandelier is seven meters.
The stage in the hall is big. Its width is 16 meters and its depth is 40. It is one of the most technically equipped in the world. The scene consists of 16 separate, independent platforms, each of which, independently of the others, can lower, rotate, rise and bend. There is also a turntable with a diameter of 15 meters. The stage is equipped with a lower level, which serves to prepare the scenery before they rise to the surface. Its depth is 9 meters. The platform also has two side scenes and one back. All mechanics are equipped with hydraulic as well as electric drives. This allows you to control the scene with ease. Plus, all mechanisms operate completely silently.
Part of the stage equipment is 16 meters below the water level in the bay. Behind the scene is a very large and wide corridor. Through it, trucks drive directly onto the stage for ease of unloading and loading.
The curtain of the main scene in its appearance resembles a crumpled aluminum foil. Its size is 23 by 11 meters. Weight - almost 500 kilograms.
Part of the power supply in the building is powered by solar panels, which are located on the facade of the building on the south side. They produce up to 20 thousand kilowatt / hours per year.
Opera performances
The Opera House (Oslo) offers its audience a very large and interesting repertoire. There are many unique performances.
Theater repertoire:
- "Madame Butterfly."
- "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk".
- "Magical flute".
- Turandot.
- "Military Requiem".
- "Pelléas and Melisande."
- "The Return of Ulysses."
- "Orpheus and Eurydice."
- Elysium and others.
Ballet performances
The Oslo Opera House (Norway) repertoire of choreographic performances offers the following:
- "Anna Karenina."
- "Don Quixote".
- "Hospital".
- "Evening of the Balanchine".
- Carmen.
- Giselle.
- "Swan Lake".
- "Black and white".
- "Nutcracker".
- "Doll House" and others.
Excursions
The Opera House (Oslo, Norway) offers its visitors guided tours. Thanks to them, viewers will be able to see a lot of interesting things. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the life of the theater from the inside and to understand how the performances are created. You can visit the holy of holies - behind the curtains, see what the scene looks like on the other side of the curtain, look into the workshops, see how the scenery is made, props.
The guide will talk about the architecture of the building. Visitors will be able to go into the dressing rooms and see how the rooms look in which the artists prepare for performances. It may even be possible to meet with the singer or dancer, to observe how the makeup is applied, how the preparation for the role takes place. The tour also includes a visit to the dressing room. Here you can see the stage costumes.
The duration of the tour is 50 minutes. For students of creative universities - an hour and a half with a detailed examination of the mechanics of the scene. Tickets for the backstage world can be purchased through the theater’s official website. From Monday to Saturday, excursions are conducted in Norwegian. Sunday - in English. You can visit the tour as a family, with colleagues, with friends, and collective applications from schools and kindergartens are also accepted. There is a special price for tour operators.
Troupe
The Opera House (Oslo) gathered on its stage a large troupe.
Artists:
- Craig Cathcart.
- Yoshifumi Inao.
- Georgie Rose.
- Kari Ulfsen Kleven.
- Victoria Francis Amundsen.
- Sebastian Goffen
- Melissa Hough.
- Alexandra Santana.
- Marius Christensen
- Emma Lloyd
- Garrett Smith.
- Petter Moen.
- Yolanda Correa and other actors.
Buying tickets
On the official website you can buy tickets for performances at the Opera House (Oslo). The plan of the auditorium presented in this article will help you choose seats that are convenient in location and affordable. How to buy a ticket? Everything is very simple. On the site of the theater, you need to choose a performance of interest. At the bottom of the page there will be a calendar where it is indicated on which dates this production is going. You need to choose a convenient day. After that, go to the column "Buy a ticket." Payment is made by credit card. You can download and print the electronic ticket, or order it to be sent to email or regular mail, or pick it up yourself at the theater box office no later than an hour before the start of the performance. You can make a purchase from a computer, tablet or smartphone.
You can also make a call to the box office of the theater and order tickets. You can also reserve seats without payment. The duration of the reservation is 5 days. It is possible to purchase a gift card for a certain number of performances. It is valid for two years. On it you can visit any theater performances.