Cathedrals of Culture: The Oslo Opera House

In 2008, an elegant new neighbor designed by Snøhetta architects settled along Oslo's struggling waterfront in the center of the city. The Oslo Opera House, home to the Norwegian Opera and Ballet, now rises from the fjord, coaxing visitors to its seemingly endless marble roof and to its graceful interior. The building's breathtaking design blurs the spatial divisions between inside and outside offering a unique blend of relaxation, recreation, and high culture. Margreth Olin's "The Oslo Opera House" documents the thousands of feet crossing the snow-white roof each day and the hundreds of professionals below the roof - the performers and the staff - attempting to make sense of life "up above." The building's very design, as Olin reveals in the film, dramatizes the symbiosis of art and life.