Oslo Opera House in Norwegian

The Oslo Opera House in Norwegian, Operahuset is the seat of The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera theatre in Norway. Shaped as a glacier or a ship the building lies in Bjorvika, in the center of Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. Its builder was Statsbygg, a government-run property owner.

The Opera house, close to the central station, is Norway's first entry into the top league of modern architecture. The cheap pub at the theatre boat Innvik, close to the Opera house, is for the very best views. Also, climb the building on the marble slopes at summer only for a unique Oslo view. Get to the Opera by footbridge from the seaside exit of Oslo central station, next to the Airport Express train terminal.

The architects of Opera House were the Norwegian firm Snohetta and also the architects of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina which is called Library of Alexandria in Egypt. The theatre designers were Theatre Projects Consultants based in London, the acoustic designers were BrekkeStrandArup, a joint venture between local consultant Brekke Strand Akustikk and international acousticians Arup Acoustics.

Norwegian building company Veidekke was awarded one of the largest building contracts of the project. The structure provides a total area of 38,500 m² and includes 1,100 rooms, one of which has 1,350 seats and another has up to 400 seats. Total expenditures for the building project were planned at 4.4 billion NOK, but finished ahead of schedule, and 300 million NOK under budget.

The Opera House was finished in 2007 with the opening event held on 12 April 2008. King Harald V of Norway opened the Opera House that evening at a gala performance attended by national leaders and royalty, including President Tarja Halonen of Finland, Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and Queen Margrethe II of Denmark. The main stage is 16 meters wide, and can be made up to 40 meters deep.

The Opera won the culture award at the World Architecture Festival in Barcelona in October 2008 for its stunning appearance. In April 2009, the Opera House was the winner of the 2009 Mies van der Rohe award, the European Union prize for contemporary architecture.