(photo from here)
Norway. OC thinks of fjords, Martin Luther's black beret with viking horns, and gag-inducing lutefisk chased by akevitt. And death metal. Cultural stereotypes, sure, but such super-unsexy ones at that. At least the Oslo Opera House -- that white, gleaming, Italian-marble monolith (peppered with contrasting oak beams & towering glass) that houses the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet -- can add a little sleek-sexiness to downtown Oslo. And a blessed occasion to strap on a pair of towering YSL 6-inch tribute stilettos. The record-setting €550 million project was designed by the Norwegian team of architects at Snøhetta, who netted the EU's 2009 Mies van der Rohe award for Contemporary Architecture for their ambitious project. The Opera House was fully embraced by the public and even thrilled the local skateboarding contingent. I mean, c'mon...it's a giant skate park! Shred!
Blending design aesthetics with acoustic principles, the acoustically-superior structure boasts a precise fine-tuning by Norwegian studio Brekke Strand Akustikk. I.T. opera geeks can read about it in the latest edition of Hear the World magazine, produced quarterly by the Hear the World Foundationto raise awareness for all topics pertaining to hearing loss. You can browse the piece as a pdf --> [see article here].
"In the Oslo Opera House, members of the Royal Family do not take their seats in a box, but in the middle of the audience. In egalitarian Norway, this almost goes without saying."
That's not how it works in Italy!
Posted by: Marius | October 31, 2009 at 01:27 AM
It is a gorgeous building. It is a shame the operas they put on there are so bad.
Posted by: Jonathan Ichikawa | October 31, 2009 at 02:06 AM
The pictures in that PDF are stunning. It's a good reason to take a Scandinavian vacation. And what exactly is it with the Norwegians and death metal???
Posted by: YH | October 31, 2009 at 02:18 AM
I don't think that "the operas they put on there are so bad".
Last season: Don Carlo and Carmen the Covent Garden's production.
This season I saw the best Rusalka I ever seen.In december is coming La Fanciulla del West with Jose Cura.
Andreas Scholl and Concerto Copenhagen in concert soon.
Posted by: arabella | October 31, 2009 at 09:16 AM
When La Scala was "redone" ( = ruined worse than during the Abbado years) why did it reamain an "inside" job and why were there not teams and teams of people brought in?
Posted by: vale | October 31, 2009 at 10:34 AM
O.C., I certainly hope that you did not climb to the top of the building in those stiletto heels!!
I agree with arabella, I saw the Rusalka in September and it was a gorgeous and thought-provoking production, beautifully sung. One of the performances was televised live on NRK, I hope that this is eventually released on DVD.
Posted by: Wilhelm Meister | November 01, 2009 at 04:30 AM
Obviously we are at a disagreement with our opinions of Norway, as I find both death metal and viking helmets to be ballin' and fjords to be just wonderful.
That being said, it strikes me as odd that they'd build an opera house on a beach. But it's Norway, so I'm not too surprised. Nearly 80% of their country is sand, iirc.
It's a nice building, though. Quite sleek indeed.
Posted by: Maximus | November 02, 2009 at 04:32 AM
I love the linked skateboarding article!
Posted by: Amanda White | November 02, 2009 at 05:27 AM
I saw "Don Carlos" there last season and fell in the love with the opera house.This year I saw "Rusalka", which has to be the most beautiful production of anything I've ever seen. I saw the premiere of "Poppea" on the 2nd stage, which was also world class. If you love opera and live In Oslo then I envy you. A beautiful opera house and a fine company. The ballet isn't bad either, not to mention their wonderful leading male dancer, Andreas Heise as Albrecht in "Giselle." I was introduced to an Australian visitor in Oslo in September who said: "This opera house is everything the Sydney Opera House should be, but isn't."
Posted by: Christiaan Nieukirk | November 03, 2009 at 12:35 PM