Den Fjerde Nattevakt
Another morning of waking up in the dark and tuning into the last session of the cricket. Early morning rain in Brisbane has been giving me more coverage than I would otherwise get. It might be all over by the time I wake up tomorrow though.
On Thursday night I went to see the dress rehearsal for a new Norwegian opera that premieres tonight - Den Fjerde Nattevakt, The Fourth Watch of the Night. A typical tale of love, jealousy, betrayal and death - that is, I think that it what it was about, I only recognised a few words in the whole thing.
It was set in past times, before the oil, when Norway was very poor. Benjamin Sigismund is a priest who comes/returns to Norway (from Copenhagen?) with his wife Kathrine and sons. He meets (recognises from a past love?) Gunhild, who is about to marry soldier David Finne, albeit reluctantly. They experience anguish for a while before starting an affair. People start gossiping, Gunhild has a baby, David discovers the affair and kills himself after he finds himself unable to kill Sigismund. Kathrine, who is sick (TB?), also finds out about the affair and goes a bit mad before dying/killing herself. Gunhild despairs and takes off, giving her baby to a guy called Ole (who maybe knew both Gunhild and Benjamin earlier?) and Benjamin turns into a recluse/invalid. Many years later the lovers meet again and acknowledge they still love each other before Benjamin dies.
The music was a mix of modern, atonal themes, traditional music and music contemporary to the period (for example, a chamber ensemble played onstage in a ball/party scene).
It was pretty good, although the final act dragged on as everyone sang out their anguish and/or guilt.
On Thursday night I went to see the dress rehearsal for a new Norwegian opera that premieres tonight - Den Fjerde Nattevakt, The Fourth Watch of the Night. A typical tale of love, jealousy, betrayal and death - that is, I think that it what it was about, I only recognised a few words in the whole thing.
It was set in past times, before the oil, when Norway was very poor. Benjamin Sigismund is a priest who comes/returns to Norway (from Copenhagen?) with his wife Kathrine and sons. He meets (recognises from a past love?) Gunhild, who is about to marry soldier David Finne, albeit reluctantly. They experience anguish for a while before starting an affair. People start gossiping, Gunhild has a baby, David discovers the affair and kills himself after he finds himself unable to kill Sigismund. Kathrine, who is sick (TB?), also finds out about the affair and goes a bit mad before dying/killing herself. Gunhild despairs and takes off, giving her baby to a guy called Ole (who maybe knew both Gunhild and Benjamin earlier?) and Benjamin turns into a recluse/invalid. Many years later the lovers meet again and acknowledge they still love each other before Benjamin dies.
The music was a mix of modern, atonal themes, traditional music and music contemporary to the period (for example, a chamber ensemble played onstage in a ball/party scene).
It was pretty good, although the final act dragged on as everyone sang out their anguish and/or guilt.
posted by Lee at
6:43 pm
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home