Shanghai's 'Audacious' New Opera House Just Opened Its Doors—and a Gravity-Defying Staircase—to the Public.
The Shanghai Grand Opera House, designed by Norwegian firm Snøhetta, opened this week on the Huangpu River with three auditoriums and a public spiral staircase that leads to a rooftop stage.
The Shanghai Grand Opera House officially opened this week on the banks of the Huangpu River, a decade after Snøhetta, an architecture firm from Norway, won the international competition to design it. Its best-known feature is a spiral staircase that connects the riverfront to a rooftop stage and observation deck.
The building covers nearly 1.6 million square feet and holds three auditoriums with a combined 4,200 seats. The largest, Harmony Hall, seats 2,000 across five levels and is furnished in dark reds. The Soar Theatre has 1,200 seats and was designed with baroque and classical opera in mind. The slightly smaller Open Stage looks out over the riverfront and can change its stage and seating layouts for experimental work.
Visitors do not need a ticket to enter the building or explore it. The exterior staircase rises from the riverfront and spirals up to form the roof, linking the city's existing walkways with an open-air observation deck, gathering spaces and a stage. Its design recalls a traditional Chinese fan, a swirling dance movement, piano keys and the flow of the river. Snøhetta co-founder Kjetil Thorsen told CNN, "Accessibility is about daring to go in."
The inaugural season runs from October through February 2027 and includes 82 performances. The lineup features ballet from Russia's Eifman Ballet and the American Ballet Theatre, a Beethoven cycle from Staatskapelle Berlin, and traditional Chinese operas known as xiqu, including The Peony Pavilion and Dream of the Red Chamber. Serge Dorny, director general of the Bavarian State Opera, told ShanghaiEye: "The audacious architectural gesture now needs to be filled in with contents, with projects, with life, with people."
Snøhetta has designed other opera houses that pair performance with public access. The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet in Oslo opened in 2008. The Busan Opera House in South Korea is set to debut sometime in 2027, and the Royal Diriyah Opera House in Saudi Arabia is expected to open in 2028. The opening also continues a cultural push in Shanghai, a city of roughly 25 million people, where several museums and a theater have opened since 2021.
At a Glance
- The Shanghai Grand Opera House has three auditoriums with a combined 4,200 seats, including the 2,000-seat Harmony Hall.
- Snøhetta won the international design competition a decade before the building was completed.
- The inaugural season runs from October through February 2027 and includes 82 performances.
- Visitors can enter the building and explore its architecture without a ticket.
- Snøhetta's Busan Opera House is set to open in 2027, and the Royal Diriyah Opera House in 2028.
Sources
This brief was written by Brightside Report from the reporting linked above. Spot an error? Request a correction.