Oslo's new opera house shuns pomp and splendour

0 Comments | AFP, March, 2008

OSLO (AFP) — Despite its futuristic structure and oblique angles, the design of a new opera house set to open in Oslo next month is far from pretentious: visitors can picnic on the roof and royals will mingle with the crowd.

"You can walk on the roof and stomp on the art. It's the only opera where you can do that," said Bjoern Simensen, the managing director of the opera house, which cost four billion kroner (767 million dollars, 505 million euros) to erect.

The building, which sits on the waterfront in central Oslo, was designed by Snoehetta, the Norwegian firm that created the Alexandria Library in 2002, and will open with an inaugural bash on April 12.

Openness and accessibility were key concepts in the elaboration of Norway's newest art institution,...