A day at the Opera

The new Oslo Opera House  is an architectural delight.  It is situated at the head of the Oslofjord and its angled lines, covered with Italian marble and white granite give it the appearance of rising out of the water like an iceberg. There is still a fair bit of construction work going on around the building so as you walk towards it you are unaware that the marble concourse that you are walking on gradually rises so that you soon find yourself on the roof of the building itself with great views down the fjord and across to the waterfront. Given the construction works it was difficult to get a really good angle from which to show off the architecture so I chose to stitch a panorama from 5 photos which hopefully gives some impression of the mirrored side wall of the Opera House reflecting the waterfront beside it. A full day's exploration of "new Oslo" including the modernised face of the waterfront, where I enjoyed the best shrimp sandwich ever, gave me no illusions but that this city is vibrant and enticing for any visitor to explore.

The Oslo Opera House is home to the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet and we enjoyed a ballet masterclass with their rendering of Carmen and there was not a single seat empty in the auditorium which seats close to 1,400. No words were needed as the dancers interpreted the story superbly and  I have to say that the Cuban dancer playing the part of the macho and seductive toreador Don Jose was magnificent and I will never hear that piece of music again without the accompanying visual image !