New artistic leaders win applause

The recent appointment of new leaders for the The Norwegian Opera & Ballet has been met with resounding applause. They won’t formally take over until next year, but already have a high profile as the opera company reaches out to the public at large. This week marks the Oslo Operafestival that aims to “bring opera [...]

Opera House draws the most tourists

Oslo’s still-new Opera House has emerged as the capital’s top tourist attraction. It now out-ranks the Frogner Park and the Holmenkollen Ski Jump by a wide margin, and drew nearly four times the number of visitors who went to see the Viking ships on Bygdøy. New figures released by state statistics bureau SSB (Statistics Norway) [...]

Curtain falls on Opera chief

Paul Curran, who took over as head of Norway’s National Opera four years ago, is bowing out after months of criticism and controversy over his leadership style and program choices. His superiors claim he was not asked to leave, but they went along with his request to cut short his contract by two years. “This [...]

Opera curtain failed to go up

Oslo’s Opera House was sold out Saturday evening for a performance of Romeo & Juliet, but fans had to go home disappointed when technical trouble made it impossible to raise the curtain. “Intense efforts to get it up weren’t successful,” information chief Lene Jacobsen told newspaper Aftenposten, after the high-tech system simply hung up. “After [...]

Opera singer ready for an encore

Norwegian soprano Toril Carlsen has relinquished her permanent post at The Norwegian Opera after 31 years, but she’s far from singing her last verse. She wants to still be seen and heard by audiences as she embarks on a freelance career. Carlsen, age 52, was educated at the State Opera School, Statens Operaskole, in Oslo.  [...]

Opera House already ‘too small’

Norway’s Opera House opened on Oslo’s waterfront just two-and-a-half years ago after years of political debate and billions of taxpayer funding, but now it’s already considered too small to handle the crowds and staffing it’s attracted. State officials don’t blame themselves for any lack of planning for the future, reports newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN), but [...]

The show can go on at the Opera

After a week of cancelling performances and disappointing fans, employers and employees at The Norwegian Opera and Ballet settled their differences during the night and were heading back to work. The curtain would go up again for Monday evening’s performance of the ballet Askepott (Cinderella). It was among several performances at the popular Opera House in [...]

New sculpture berths off Opera

Oslo’s still-new Opera House has acquired more artistic company, two years after it opened. A permanent sculpture, created by an Italian artist and financed by a Norwegian businessman, berthed off the Opera House this week, with Queen Sonja on hand for its handover. The sculpture, called She Lies, seems to float on the waters of [...]

Ice hurts Opera House, and people

Winter is finally releasing its grip on Oslo, but as the ice melts, new signs of its ferocity are emerging. Ice on the Oslo Fjord has done damage to the city’s still-new landmark Opera House, and ice on rooftops is posing a constant threat to anyone walking down city streets. The Opera House slopes into [...]

'Operaen' now top tourist attraction, as music festivals also draw crowds

Norway’s new Opera House in Oslo has emerged as the capital’s top tourist attraction, beating out both the Vigeland (Frogner) Park and the Viking Ships. Even though performances are suspended during July, the Opera House offers daily events, while other music festivals are drawing crowds all over the country. An estimated 1.3 million people have [...]

Opera hosted huge roof party

Norway’s national Opera House celebrated its first anniversary by opening up its roof to the masses over the weekend, and rigging up an outdoor screen to share the performance going on inside. It’s been no easy task getting tickets for performances inside. Almost everything on the program for the Opera House that opened in April [...]