Den Norske Opera & Ballett | |
Type | National opera, national ballet |
---|---|
Established | 1957 |
Located at | Oslo Municipality |
Coordinates | 59°54′27″N10°45′11″E / 59.90750°N 10.75306°E |
Country | Norway |
Website | https://operaen.no |
The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (Norwegian: Den Norske Opera & Ballett) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisation in the country, it is currently resident at the Oslo Opera House, since the spring of 2008. [1]
Founded in 1957, the company had Kirsten Flagstad as its first general manager, from 1958 to 1960, and placed an emphasis on presenting operas and ballets written by Norwegian composers, and Norwegian as the standard language of the opera singers. [2] Subsequent general managers have included Bjørn Simensen. The Ballet School at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet was founded in 1965. In January 2009, the Norwegian Opera and Ballet was reorganized, during the tenure of Tom Remlov as general managing director. The company's current general manager is Nils Are Karstad Lysø.
In the 1980s and 1990s, Den Norske Opera campaigned for a number of years for construction of a new opera house, with preference in the Bjørvika district, a harbour area of downtown Oslo. [3] The Oslo Opera House was opened in the spring of 2008. In 2008 Radio Marconi, an Italian company, installed a seatback multimedia system, from an idea of Geir Mortil of the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, allowing audiences to follow opera libretto in other languages in addition to the original language.
The current chief executive officer of the company is Geir Bergkastet. Past artistic directors of the opera company have included Paul Curran (2009–2011) [4] Anne Gjevang (as interim director), [5] and Per Boye Hansen. [6] and Annilese Miskimmon. Randi Stene is the current opera director of the company. The company's current director of ballet is Ingrid Lorentzen, who succeeded Espen Giljane in the post. [7] Past music directors have included John Fiore. In February 2022, the company announced the appointment of Edward Gardner as its artistic advisor, with immediate effect, and as its next music director, effective 1 August 2024. [8]
Skien is a municipality in Telemark county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsjø area and Bø. The administrative centre of the municipality is the city of Skien, which is also the administrative centre of the whole county. Some of the notable villages in the municipality include Åfoss, Hoppestad, Klovholt, Luksefjell, Melum, Kilebygda, Skotfoss, Sneltvedt, and Valebø.
Moskenes is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The municipality comprises the southern part of the island of Moskenesøya in the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Reine. Other villages include Sørvågen, Hamnøya, and Å.
Flosta is a former municipality in the old Aust-Agder county in Norway. The 22.8-square-kilometre (8.8 sq mi) municipality existed from 1902 until its dissolution in 1962. It is currently part of the municipality of Arendal in Agder county. The administrative center of Flosta was at Staubø in the village of Kilsund. The municipality primarily encompassed the two islands of Flostaøya and Tverrdalsøya and about 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi) on the mainland just north of the islands including the villages of Eikeland, Borås, and Vatnebu.
Events in the year 2008 in Norway.
Rolf Bernt Thorsen is a Norwegian former competition rower, world champion and Olympic medalist. He is a recipient of the Morgenbladet Gold Medal and the Thomas Keller Medal. Outside sports, he has assumed various leading administrative positions in the construction business.
Paul Curran is a Scottish opera director. He was General Manager of the opera company of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet (2007–2011), and artistic consultant to Central City Opera of Denver, Colorado.
Kjersti Alveberg was a Norwegian choreographer and dancer. Over the last 30 years of her career she created ballets for stage and television and won prestigious awards for her work.
Geir Lippestad is a Norwegian lawyer, politician and social activist. He is known for his involvement in several high-profile legal cases, and for starting the political party Sentrum in 2020.
Telenor Culture Prize, titled 'Boundless Communication', is given annually to performing artists or organizations that have made an extraordinary contribution within culture in Scandinavia, but who also are established internationally.
The Queen Sonja Singing Competition is a music competition for young singers taking place every two years in Oslo, Norway. The competition was arranged for the first time in 1988. Participants are selected by a screening committee on the basis of recordings submitted in the application process. 40 singers are invited to the competition in Oslo. The competition programme includes preliminary rounds, a semi-final and final, as well as masterclasses, career development sessions, concerts and social events. The last competition was 15 - 26 August 2023. The next competition will be held in Oslo in August 2025.
Ingrid Trøite Lorentzen is a Norwegian ballet dancer. Since August 2012, she has been artistic director of the Norwegian National Ballet.
Events in the year 2018 in Norway.
Guro Kleven Hagen is a Norwegian violinist raised in Fagernes. She is the first concertmaster at the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet orchestra as of January 2018.
Leif Fritjof Halvorsen was a Norwegian violinist, conductor, and composer.
Ørnulf Boye Hansen was a Norwegian violinist.
Events in the year 2020 in Norway.
Events in the year 2021 in Norway.
Events in the year 2023 in Norway.
Tone Hansen is a Norwegian artist, curator and museum director. She has been director of the Munch Museum since 2022.