The new Oslo Opera House is a monumental architectural statement for Norway, providing a glamorous new home for the National Opera and Ballet and a striking public plaza overlooking the Oslofjord.
Instantly shedding opera's snooty, high-art image, the new building by Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta slopes down from the roof to the water's edge. The gleaming-white marble threshold between land and water welcomes hundreds of people on a sunny day.
