Combining state-of-the-art technology and architecture: The new Opera House in Oslo, which celebrated its official premiere on 12 April 2008

With a colorful music program ranging from Richard Wagner to George Gershwin and world premieres of the Norwegian National Ballet, the Opera House in Oslo celebrated its official opening on 12 April 2008. The complete electrical and hydraulic control and drive technology, as well as the steel structure for the stage technology, was supplied by Rexroth.

The Opera House in Oslo shows Norway's close links with the sea. It forms a connection between the city center of Oslo and the open fjord. After a 5-year construction period, the approximately 39,000 m² building, with its white marble facade and large windows, will offer top artistic performances on two stages with a capacity for almost 1,800 visitors. As the main contractor, Rexroth was responsible for the project planning, supply and installation of the entire stage technology. Specialists from Norway, Germany, Hungary and the Netherlands worked closely together on this project.

In excess of two hundred drives were used for the above-stage machinery of the opera in Oslo. This marks a new world record. They simply and effortlessly move and position all stage elements, lighting units and numerous pieces of technical equipment above the stages. "Safety takes priority in the Rexroth solution because in the theater actors work under suspended loads which can also be moved in the dark", emphasized Jürgen Konertz, Project Manager of the German Rexroth activities for the Opera House in Oslo. Rexroth's safety concept with electrical and hydraulic drives, as well as the coordinated stage control, meets the highest demands and has already been proven in many theaters, operas and musicals throughout Europe and Asia.

The below-stage machinery consists of 80 powerful but extremely quiet hydraulic drives for 4 large elevator podiums, 16 secondary and diverse orchestra and equalization podiums. The checkered adjustable stage gives directors a very high degree of dramaturgical freedom, since every secondary podium can be individually adjusted by 4 hydraulic cylinder drives in height and incline. A revolving stage with a diameter of 15 meters and a rotation speed of 1m/s complements the extensive equipment. In total, Rexroth used 380 tonnes of steel in the stage technology and installed power connections for 6,500 kW. The principal, Statsbygg, the Norwegian Office for Public Buildings, decided in favor of Rexroth after a worldwide invitation to tender. With the new Opera House in Oslo, the Norwegian cultural scene is expecting the largest cultural impulse since the construction of the Nidarosdom in Trondheim during the Middle Ages. The wildly celebrated premiere showed that the Norwegian artists aim to put life into this claim.

Bosch Rexroth AG is one of the world’s leading specialists in the field of drive and control technologies. Under the brand name of Rexroth the company supplies more than 500,000 customers with tailored solutions for driving, controlling and moving machinery used in industrial and factory automation as well as in mobile applications. As The Drive & Control Company, Bosch Rexroth develops, produces and sells components and systems in more than 80 countries. In 2006 Bosch Rexroth AG, part of the Bosch Group, achieved sales of approximately 4.9 billion Euro with more than 29,800 employees.

For more information please visit: www.boschrexroth.com

Courtesy of Bosch Rextroth