The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet () is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

and the only such professional organisation in the country, it is currently resident at the

Oslo Opera House The Oslo Opera House () is the home of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, and the national opera house in Norway. The building is situated in the Bjørvika neighbourhood of central Oslo, at the head of the Oslofjord. It is operated by S ...

, since the spring of 2008.

History

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. 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 Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

Ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

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 Bjørvika is a neighborhood in the Sentrum borough of Oslo, Norway. The area is an inlet in the inner Oslofjord, situated between Gamlebyen and Akershus Fortress. It serves as an outlet for the river Akerselva. Since the 2000s, it has been ...

district, a harbour area of downtown

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. The

was opened in the spring of 2008. In 2008

Radio Marconi Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

, 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), Anne Gjevang (as interim director), Per Boye Hansen and

Annilese Miskimmon Annilese Miskimmon (born 1974) is a Northern Irish opera director who has been the artistic director of English National Opera since 2020. She previously held equivalent posts at Ireland's Opera Theatre Company (2004–2012), Danish National Opera ...

(2017–20). 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. Past music directors have included John Fiore. In February 2022, the company announced the appointment of

Edward Gardner Edward Gardner may refer to: * Edward W. Gardner (1867–1932), American balkline and straight rail billiards champion * Edward Joseph Gardner (1898–1950), U.S. Representative from Ohio * Ed Gardner (1901–1963), American actor, director and wr ...

as its artistic advisor, with immediate effect, and as its next music director, effective 1 August 2024.

References

External links

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet website

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet website
{{authority control 1957 establishments in Norway Musical groups established in 1957 Music of Norway Norwegian opera companies Culture in Oslo Musical groups from Oslo

History

See also

References

External links