''Which Witch'' is a

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

written by Norwegian singers/composers

Benedicte Adrian Benedicte Christine Adrian Mouton (born 22 October 1963) is a Norwegian singer and artist. She has released material on her own, but is best known for her collaboration with Ingrid Bjørnov in the pop duo Dollie de Luxe (1980–1994). She has also ...

and

Ingrid Bjørnov Ingrid Bjørnov (born 5 December 1963) is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, keyboard player, composer and text writer. Her debut album ''Første Akt'' from 1980 with the duo Dollie (together with Benedicte Adrian) was awarded Spellemannprisen, a ...

. The storyline for ''Which Witch'' was derived from the witch finder's manual ''

Malleus Maleficarum The ''Malleus Maleficarum'', usually translated as the ''Hammer of Witches'', is the best known treatise about witchcraft. It was written by the German Catholic Church, Catholic clergyman Heinrich Kramer (under his Latinisation of names, Latini ...

'', and the original script was written by Adrian and Bjørnov's manager

Ole A. Sørli Ole A. Sørli (12 September 1946 – 4 August 2009) was a Norwegian people, Norwegian musician and writer as well as a music industry manager and record producer. Career He first gained fame as a musician and leader of the band The Cool Cats (196 ...

. The lyrics of the early concert versions were written by Helen Hampton in collaboration with Adrian, Bjørnov and Sørli. The first performance was in

Grieghallen Grieg Hall () is a 1,500 seat concert hall located on Edvard Griegs' square in Bergen, Norway, Bergen, Norway. Grieghallen was named in honor of Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg, who served as music director of the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra ...

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

on May 27, 1987, with Adrian playing the female lead, and Bjørnov as musical director. The material was constantly developed throughout a period of eight years, resulting in several national and international tours presenting continuously updated concert versions of the musical. The "Operamusical" ''Which Witch'' opened at the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at the junction of Denman Street and Sherwood Street, near Piccadilly Circus, in the City of Westminster, London. It opened in 1928. In its early years the theatre presented a wide range of ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on October 22, 1992 and ran for 76 performances, after a critical savaging. It has been described as "the second worst

West End musical West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes"West End"in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, ...

of all time", a "bizarre musical", and "a

dire Dire may refer to: Places * Diré, a town in Tombouctou Region, Mali * Diré Cercle, an administrative subdivision of Tombouctou Region, Mali * Dire (Aanaa), a woreda in Oromia Region, Ethiopia People * Dire Tladi (born 1975), South African law p ...

rock opera". The London version was followed by a rather more successful Norwegian tour, and further performances of a Norwegian version in

Holmenkollen Holmenkollen () is a mountain and a neighbourhood in the Vestre Aker borough of Oslo, Norway. It goes up to above sea level and is well known for its international skiing competitions. Etymology The name is a compound of the farm name and the ...

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 ...

during the summer of 1994. ''Which Witch'' has, since its premiere in May 1987, been performed a total of 142 times in concert version in the following countries: Norway, Canada, USA, the Netherlands, England, Spain, Finland, Sweden and Denmark. The total attendance figure is approx. 276,000.

Recordings

*''Which Witch- the original studio album'' (released 1987). *''Which Witch på Slottsfjellet'' live concert double album (released 1990). *''Which Witch - London Cast Album'' (released 1993). Total record sales are in excess of 110,000 units. Licensed productions have been staged in several European countries.

References

{{Reflist

External links

''Witch Witch'' - The Operamusical
- Official website. 1986 musicals Musicals based on European myths and legends Norwegian musicals Rock operas West End musicals Musicals based on books