The building’s eastern part

To the east of the ‘opera street’ are located all the production and administration areas; approx 1000 rooms of varing size and function. The opera street is the main communication artery for all the employees - almost 600 persons from more than 50 professions.

A large loading dock running east west splits the back of house area in two. Here also, the dimensions of the space are given by the size of scenery elements, up to 9m high.

To the north lie the ‘hard workshops’ where the scenery is made. Several professions have their workspaces here, carpenters, metalworkers, painters and decorators. The finished scenery is moved through the loading dock and directly into the rear stage area.

To the south lie all the other functions necessary to serve the needs of the dancers and singers: ‘Soft workshops’ with costume production, wigs, hats, gloves and make up areas. Also administration and changing rooms are located here.

A spaceous green courtyard is at the heart of this area on levels U1 and Ground.

Most of the changing rooms house 4 performers with all the necessary costume and make up for each show. The rooms are also intended to be a place for relaxing and concentrating and are therefore equipped with a day bed.

The opera and ballet departments have several large rehearsal rooms in this zone on levels 3 and 4. and it is possible to transport scenery from the loading dock to the rehearsal spaces on level 3 via an elevator with a clear height of 6m. The largest of the rehearsal rooms has a clear height of 9m and is as large as the main stage. This allows the dancers to practice a complete performance. All these spaces have walls with acoustic attenuation. There are also a number of small rehearsal rooms at palan 2.

The wig makers, make up artists, and dressers are located closer to the stage at level 1 (ground). From here the artistes can access the stage areas at ground level or from the basement.

At level 2 there are msic archives, offices, and support functions for the orchestra as well as a health center and gym.

Level 3 houses the administration department with a large canteen wo the south with a terrace overlooking the fjord.

The main auditorium

The main auditorium is a classic horseshoe theatre built for opera and ballet. It houses approx. 1370 visitors divided between stalls, perterre, and three balconies. Technical spaces occupies the area above balcony 3.

The orchestra pit is highly flexible and can be adjusted in height and area with the use of three separate lifts.

On each side of the stage are mobile towers which allow for adjustments in the proscenium width for ballet or opera without damaging the acoustics of the hall. Reverberation time is fine tuned using drapes along the rear walls and control rooms for sound and light are located to the back of the hall.

The form of the auditorium is based on several relationships: short distance between the audience and the performers, good sight lines, and, above all, excellent acoustics. The architectural intentions for a modern auditorium with traditional, acoustic musical performance have been developed in parallel with requirements for visual intimacy and acoustic excellence. In older opera halls acoustic attenuation was often achieved by using rich decorative, sculptural elements on most surfaces. In this case the requirements have been met with a clean, carved aesthetic using a modern formalistic language.

The requirement for a long reverberation time results in a room with a large volume. In this case the volume is increased by the use of a technical gallery which cantilevers out over the walls below, giving the hall a T shaped section. The main structure of the stone clad roof above is included in the volume of the hall rather than being hidden behind a false ceiling.

Optimum acoustics have been achieved by the following methods:

• We have, also as an aesthetic move, given the balcony fronts a geometry which changes relative to its location in the room and the acoustic function necessary in each location. At the sides the form reflects sound back down to the audience whilst at the rear it sends soungs in multiple direction to avoid focussing.

• The oval ceiling reflector visually finishes the hall and also reflects sounds in very specific ways. The same principle is used as with the balcony fronts.

• The rear walls at each level are made up of convex panels to avoid focussing and to spread sound evenly through the room.

• The geometri of the interlying walls, main orchestra reflector, and the mobile towers are modulated to scatter sound around the space. Using timber staves of varying dimensions to modulate sound of different wavelengths.

• All the surfaces are of relatively dense materials to avoid high frequency vibrations. Balcony fronts are 50mm solid oak where the rear wall panels are 100mm MDF with oak veneer.

The double curvature of the balcony fronts and oval ceiling ring are made of pre-fabrcated oak elements made of solid stave glued together, amonia treated and the routed from 3D computer drawings before oiling and polishing. The dark coluour is particularly suited to the theatre space and the oak gives a rich, warm, and intimate feel to the space.

The seats are designed to absorb as little sound as possible. Materials are dark timber and a specially design orange red fabric as a counterpoint. Text display screens are built into the seat backs so that the audience can individually choose to read the libretto in a number of languages.

The auditorium is illuminated by a snøhetta designed chandelier in the form of a shallow lens as well as inbuilt LED fittings in the cailigs and floor.

The chandelier

The chandelier, which is suspended inside the oval reflector, is an important element in the hall as performs several tasks. It is the auditoriums main source of illumination, using LED for the first time in such a setting. It weighs 8.5 metric tons and has a diameter of 7m. It is made up of 5800 hand cast glass crystals through which 800 LED lights shine. This bathes the room in a cool diffuse light. The whole chandelier can be lowered to the floor for maintenance.

It is also an important acoustic reflector. This explains the particular form which scatters and diffuses sound. The distance between the strips of crystals increases towards the stage to allow a greater amount of sound to pass through and therefore contribute to the reverberance of the space. It is placed forward of the centre in order to allow unhindered sightlines from the follow spot room on the rear of the oval reflector.

Finally it forms a visual closure to the hall itself to take attention away from the technical spaces and structure above.

The stage curtain

The stage curtain is also an important element in the auditorium. Together with the chandelier and seat fabric it is a contrast to the dark timber. It has been made by the american artist Pae White, following an international competition. She has worked with digital images of aluminium foil which reflects and adopts the colurs of the auditorium. These images are then transferred to a computer driven loom.