Beautiful modern design, though the constant bleached wood and metal is a little Ikea. Still - it's a proud showplace to have downtown for our glorious National Ballet and Canadian Opera Company and finally getting it built is something to be very very proud of.
My only complaint is the sparse 5th ring lobby area and lack of detailing up there - as well as sight line issues from that level that mean you often miss anything far upstage. This includes the wonderful painted backdrops and the sumptuous entrance of the Sugar Plum Fairy from a giant Faberge egg in The Nutcracker, or in the case of The Nightingale - anything that happened n the water area of the set downstage (the projections on the screens were a weak attempt to reconcile this for a theatre presentation).
The best advice would be to spend a little extra and go a little lower. Tier 4 seems devoid of these problems and my personal favorite is Tier 3 seating - wonderful!
I can't wait to see how Miss Saigon (with it's roots in Madame Butterfly) and South Pacific look in this beautiful space this summer (2010).