Received in the mail this morning : program book for Jüri Reinvere's 'Peer Gynt' in Oslo

This morning, I have received in the mail the program book published by the Norwegian National Opera for the world première of Jüri Reinvere's opera Peer Gynt.

It is a 44 pages brochure. It contains :

- detailed synopsis ;
- complete cast (with photos in character) and crew ;
- an article by the stage director on her staging this new opera ;
- an interview with the singer of the title role, Nils Harald Sødal ;
- an interview with the composer ;
- biographies of performers.

The book in entirely written in Norwegian, with the exception of three pages in English : a foreword by Per Boye Hansen, opera director, and the detailed synopsis. I had already received by e-mail word files of the interview with the stage director and the complete libretto, both in English.

Today : world première of Jüri Reinvere's opera 'Peer Gynt' in Oslo

Today, Jüri Reinvere's new opera, Peer Gynt, with a libretto (in German) by the composer after Henrik Ibsen's play will be performed in Oslo.

It is Reinvere's second opera after Puhdistus (Purge), first performed in Helsinki in 2012. It is the second opera after Ibsen's play. The first was composed by Werner Egk in 1938.

«Who are you?» That is the question Peer Gynt asks the Bøyg, the Mountain King and the Sphinx, receiving only the answer, «Myself». But who is that, and who is Peer Gynt? What does it mean to be Norwegian in 2014, 200 years after we gained our first written constitution? What or where is the core, the seed? Is there one at all ? This work is a commentary on the position of the Peer Gynt phenomenon as a national and international Norwegian symbol. It is the story of the search for an identity that constantly escapes us. Our past and our memories, on the other hand, we carry with us whether we want to or not. The story of the evasive Peer Gynt shows that we have to face them in order to better understand ourselves.(reproduced from www.operaen.no)

There are 8 singers, all of them singing several parts, except Peer Gynt : Nils Harald Sødal (tenor, Peer Gynt), Marita Sølberg (soprano, Young Solveig), Ingebjørg Kosmo (mezzo, Elderly Solveig), Kari Ulfsnes Kleiven (soprano, Ingrid / Anitra), David Hansen (countertenor, Bogey / Cheshire Cat), Thor Inge Falch (tenor, Smith / Huhu), Ketil Hugaas (bass baritone, Troll King / von Eberkopf / Professor Begriffenfeldt) and Johannes Weisser (baritone, Priest / Executioner, Minister Hussein). John Helmer Fiore will conduct the chorus and the orchestra of the Norwegian Opera. Sigrid Strøm Reibo will direct.

The orchestra is the following :
- 3 flutes, 3 oboes, 3 clarinets, 3 bassoons
- 4 horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba
- timpani and 4 percussionists
- 2 harps, piano, synthesizer, celesta
- tape
- strings

The opera should last about 2 hours and 20 minutes, with one interval. The first act consists of 3 'images' and the second of 4. Though the libretto has been written in German, the Norwegian National Opera will perform this new opera in Norwegian. There is no broadcast planned yet.

New Season 2014-2015 at Den Norske Opera in Oslo

During the 2014-2015, the 10 following operas (in 6 languages) will be performed in Oslo (4 new productions, including a world première, 6 revivals) :

- Giacomo Puccini : Madama Butterfly, conducted by John Fiore, directed by Stephen Langridge (revival of a production first performed in Copenhagen in December 2010) ;
- Dmitri Shostakovich : Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, conducted by Oleg Caetani, directed by Ole Anders Tandberg (new production, to be performed at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in January 2015) ;
- Jacques Offenbach : Les Contes d'Hoffmann, conducted by Stefan Blunier, directed by Calixto Bieito (revival, first performed in December 2013) ;
- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : Don Giovanni, conducted by Lothar Koenigs, directed by Thaddeus Strassberger (revival, first performed in March 2014) ;
- Jüri Reinvere : Peer Gynt, conducted by John Fiore, directed by Sigrid Strøm Reibo (world première) ;
- Gioachino Rossini : Il barbiere di Siviglia, conducted by Enrique Mazzola, directed by François de Carpentries (revival, first performed in Nancy in May 2005, already performed in Oslo in February 2007) ;
- Georges Bizet : Carmen, conducted by Fabien Gabel, directed by Calixto Bieito (revival, first performed in Antwerpen in December 2004, then in Gent, Palermo, Basel, Venezia, Torino and London) ;
- Richard Wagner : Lohengrin, conducted by John Fiore, directed by Thorleifur örn Arnarsson (revival, first performed in Augsburg in May 2014) ;
- Giuseppe Verdi : La Traviata, conducted by James Gaffigan, directed by Tatjana Gürbaca (new production) ;
- Peter Maxwell Davies : Cinderella, directed by Gunnar Bergstrøm (children opera, new production).