Operaorkestret: Mozart's last symphonies at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra is the mainstay of our activities. Without music, there can be no opera – and no dance. The orchestra’s concert series has been a great success, and become an important part of Oslo’s music scene. When the musicians are lifted out of the pit and onto the stage, becoming the evening’s leading performers and only point of focus, they are able to display their talent in an entirely different way than during our ballet and opera productions. Our opera house has also proven to be a fantastic concert hall, with world-class acoustics.

This season we are particularly proud to present the fruits of the collaboration with our new Musical Director, Karl-Heinz Steffens. In two concerts he will conduct the orchestra in the Main House – with works spanning from Mozart to Sibelius and Grieg. Audiences will also be able to experience his direction of three opera productions, as well as a concert version of Beethoven’s Fidelio.
Mozart's last symphonies

Of Mozart’s three last symphonies, the English conductor Sir Simon Rattle said “here, human emotions are pushed to the absolute extreme. You have the feeling that you’re conducting three very concentrated operas in the same evening.”

Mozart composed his three last symphonies over a period of three months in 1788. The occasion for which the symphonies were composed, where they were first performed, and whether the composer ever heard them himself is not known. Many claim that the last of the three symphonies, “Jupiter”, summarises everything that had happened in the development of the symphony genre up to that point, as a precursor to the works of Beethoven. As Mozart’s legacy to posterity, the symphonies are exuberant, introverted, charming and complex – just like life itself.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Symphony no. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543, Symphony no. 40 in G minor, K.550, Symphony no. 41 in C major, K.551 “Jupiter” Artists The Norwegian National Opera Orchestra, Karl-Heinz Steffens/conductor