The Norwegian Opera Orchestra: Russian Accent at Den Norske Opera & Ballett

When an orchestra gives a concert there are no dance, drama or visual effects to interpret the music. The musicians and the conductor are the directors, and the listeners and performers create a shared momentary experience in communication between stage and auditorium. This season, the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra will be performing three concerts in the Main House. Our music director, John Helmer Fiore, has focused on authenticity by inviting guest conductors to present music from their respective homelands. For the first concert, Fiore invited the young and much in demand French conductor Fabien Gabel, who conducted the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra in a programme of Ravel and Debussy.

Fiore himself was conducting the second concert, with a repertoire reflecting his own US background. To the incredibly demanding violin concerto by Korngold he invited the young Norwegian violinist Vilde Frang Bjærke, who has attracted much international attention with her sensitive virtuoso playing.

In this third and final concert, the celebrated Russian conductor Michail Jurowski will be conducting a programme by his countrymen Mussorgsky and Shostakovich.