Opera i staden

Sammanfattning: Though opera is not a widely popular art form and though the construction of an opera house has few economic incentives the typology is far from dying. The opera house has somehow found its raison d’etre in other ways, mostly through its role as a symbol for a city or the state. To understand the role that the opera house plays in a city this thesis explores the typology and how architecture in the shape of opera houses becomes an expression of power and ideology. This exploration has its base in the debate about building a new opera in Stockholm and aims to better the understanding of what this house could be and bring to the city. In my typological research I focused especially on opera houses and similar buildings constructed with democratic ideas in mind and with the ambition to lower thresholds to make the opera house a more public affair. The connection to the city and its people became central in the understanding of the opera as an open public space and is the focus point of the thesis design part. Avoiding the contemporary trend of creating formalistic buildings meant to be viewed through digital imagery how could the opera house be used to better a place in the city in need of improvement while also making the art form the house encapsules more accessible? Identifying important aspects of earlier attempts with similar ambitions I explore what a new opera in Stockholm could look like through a suggested design for an opera house in Fatbursparken.