Theatre Concert Peer Gynt - program

KILDEN THEATRE KRISTIANSAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

THEATRE CONCERT PEER GYNT TEXT: HENRIK IBSEN MUSIC: EDVARD GRIEG

MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 2., 2019 THE CONCERT HALL

KILDEN TEATER OG KONSERTHUS Kilden Performing Arts Centre

KILDEN.COM

KILDEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE KILDEN PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE in Kristiansand has one of the most exciting, artistic environments of professional performing arts and music in Northern Europe. The art center contains both Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Kilden Theatre, Kilden Opera, Kilden Culture and Kilden Dialogue – an innovative way to convey the social aspects related to our social responsibility.

These five institutions come together in one cultural operational concept. Kilden Performing Arts Center is one unified organization, which also is one of Norway’s largest houses of performing arts and music.

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Owners:

Kristiansand municipality, Vest-Agder county authority, Aust-Agder county authority, Grimstad municipality Main collaborators

Collaborators:

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KILDEN THEATRE & KRISTIANSAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

THEATRE CONCERT PEER GYNT TEXT: HENRIK IBSEN - MUSIC: EDVARD GRIEG KRISTIANSAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA CONDUCTOR: PER KRISTIAN SKALSTAD DIRECTOR: AMALIE NILSSEN - SCENOGRAPHER: RYALL BURDEN COSTUME DESIGNER: BERIT LÅGEIDE GRIFFIN - LIGHTING DESIGNER: MARTIN MYRVOLD CAST: TOMOS YOUNG, VICTORIA MARR, FLIK SWAN, CHENNO TIM, INE WILHELMSEN AUSTREIM, AMALIE HAGESÆTER, JULIE RASMUSSEN, ULRIK WAARLI GRIMSTAD, LARS EMIL NIELSEN AND MARIUS KARLSRUD PROGRAM

EDVARD GRIEG (1843-1907) PEER GYNT from suite 1 and 2 Suite 1, Op. 46 1: Morning Mood (4:13) Suite 1, Op. 46 2: The Death of Åse (3:55) Suite 1, Op. 46 3: Anitra’s Dance (3:27 Suite 1, Op. 46 4: In the Hall of the of the Mountain King(2:50) Suite 2, Op. 55 1: The Abduction of the Bride. Ingrid’s Lament (4:17) Suite 2, Op. 55 2: Arabian Dance (4:46) Suite 2, Op. 55 3: Peer Gynt’s Homecoming (2:37) (Stormy Evening on the Sea) Suite 2, Op. 55 4: Solveig’s Song (5:10) Duration: approx. 40 minutes. Performed without a break.

Sound- and movie recordings are not allowed.

Mobile phones must be turned off.

Audio recording of the concert is made by Kilden Digital.

Photo, front: Jacob Buchard

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WELCOME TO THEATER CONCERT

DEAR AUDIENCE, Is Peer Gynt a Norwegian national hero? Or is it more appropriate to call him an anti-hero? This man, who is so obsessed with becoming something great, that he becomes nothing at all, is truly only great at two things; hurting people – and trolls – around him, as well as doing poetry (or poeting, as we would like to call it)! Sadly, Peer Gynt’s ability to tell stories are not appreciated by anyone.

Maybe this was the way Ibsen felt himself during his early career?

Our performance begins at the end of Henrik Ibsen’s story.

As a child, the writer himself had a nightmare about a buttonmoulder. In Ibsen’s imagination, the button-moulder came to remould the soul of people that did not leave any traces on earth. When the character of Peer Gynt meets The ButtonMoulder, he is told that he is not good enough for Paradise, but also neither bad enough for the sulphur-pit. Peer Gynt is set to be remoulded as damaged goods. This is Peer’s biggest fear: to be insignificant. He begs for another chance to show his importance, and then he brings us along on a whirlwindlike journey through an entire life.

Yet again it is possible to imagine parallels with the dramatists’ own life. There was always a storm around Ibsen’s own published works and theatre openings. Some pieces were loved, others were hated. Maybe Ibsen let Peer Gynt share his fear of not leaving anything behind?

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WELCOME TO THEATER CONCERT

A lesser discussed chapter of Henrik Ibsen’s life is the child that he fathered whilst being an apprentice pharmacist in Grimstad. Else Sophie Jensdatter Birkedalen was working as a maid at Pharmacist Reimann whilst Ibsen himself lived there. In January 1846 she became pregnant with Ibsen’s child. The 18-year-old apprentice was at the time writing his first ever play, and starting a family was not at all part of his plans. Reluctantly he paid the necessitated child support, but he never had anything to do with neither Else Sophie or the child itself. Is it possible that Ibsen’s bad conscience was transformed into The Green-Clad Woman who comes to haunt Peer Gynt, when he is finally about to get the life he desires? ooo

Theatre Concert Peer Gynt is fast forwarding through six hours of drama, and we will give you some of the highlights from both Ibsen and Grieg. Additionally, we have moved the pieces around in the wrong order. Ibsen wrote the poem first, Grieg followed him with scoring it. Finally, the composer structured the music score he had written into a different order – two “suites”. We have decided to follow Grieg’s preferred musical dramaturgy, and thereby let the entire piece tell us about Peer Gynt’s attempts to try and convince the Button-Moudler that his life has not been as meaningless as the people around him seems to believe. That way Ingrid’s wedding is accompanied by Morning Mood, Anitra’s Dance is doing a twist on the different women in Peer’s life, whilst Dr. Begriffenfeldt is scored by Stormy Evening on the Sea. Peer’s short career as a Prophet is backed by Arabian Dance.

The Death of Åse, In the Hall of the Mountain King, and Solveig’s Song have been chosen to accompany each other as 5

WELCOME TO THEATER CONCERT

originally intended, whilst The Abduction of the Bride is portrayed as Peer Gynt’s Last nightmare-like meeting with The Button-Moulder. Peer is weighed and found wanting.

None of his relations can attest to anything but re-moulding.

None but Solveig.

The lovely and faithful Solveig dedicates her life waiting for Peer to finally discover that she is as important to him, as he is to her. She can see Peer for whom he truly is. And this, at the end of his life, gives him the ability to see himself, as well as her, in a different light. If only everyone had a Solveig in their life.

Both Henrik Ibsen and Edvard Grieg wrote Peer Gynt with an ironic twist about what it means to be Norwegian. Grieg himself writes: … And then I have made something for The Hall of the Mountain King. Something which I literally cannot listen to, as it chimes with manure, Norwegian-ness and being-oneself-enough! Although, I think that said, the irony will be noticed.”

A lot of Norwegians chose to overlook the irony at the time of release. They simply loved the music, as well as the text. As do we. Because Peer Gynt might be about being Norwegian, but most of all, it tells us the crucial difference between being oneself, and to be oneself enough.

With hopes of a lovely experience.

Amalie Nilssen Artistic Director, Kilden Theatre

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HENRIK IBSEN & EDVARD GRIEG

Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt had already by its first release the shape of a dramatic poem. When the writer seven years later transformed the material into a scenic version, he enquired Edvard Grieg about a composition that would accompany his work. However, the collaboration was anything but effortless. Grieg’s first impression of the play was that it was obviously unmusical, and neither was he in favour of the over-the-top satire and mockery of the Norwegian people.

In addition; the two artists had different ideas about the style of the music. Ibsen would envision a grandiose symphonic poem with elements of regional music and folk songs from the assorted countries that Peer Gynt visits during the story. Grieg, on the other hand, was of a different mind. He wrote music that would augment and bind the various scenes more tightly.

Opening night came at February 24th 1876 with great success and a series of enthusiastic critics. The pieces have maintained its popularity ever since, and several of the parts in Peer Gynt are considered some of classical music’s “show stopper”, for example Morning Mood, Anitra’s Dance, The Death of Åse and In the Hall of the of the Mountain King.

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CONTRIBUTING Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra Conductor

Per Kristian Skalstad

Director

Amalie Nilssen

Set Designer

Ryall Burden

Choreographer

Dansere og skuespillere

Costume Designer

Berit Lågeide Griffin

Lighting Designer

Martin Myrvold

Dramaturg

Endre Sannes Haaland

Dancers

Tomos Young, Victoria Marr, Flik Swan, Chenno Tim, Julie Rasmussen

Aerialists

Amalie Hagesæter, Ine Wilhelmsen Austreim

Actors

Ulrik Waarli Grimstad, Lars Emil Nielsen, Marius Karlsrud

Stage Manager

Tine Smith-Hjelmerud

Stage Manager (orchestra)

Sveinung Tofteland

Technical Stage Manager

Anders Hardeland

Lighting Technician

Bjørnar Skutlaberg

Producer

Jørgen Macdonald

Scenography, costumes, props, hair and make-up are all made at Kilden’s workshops.

KRISTIANSAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA 1. violin

Viola

Flute

Trumpet

Adrian G. Selfjord

Kjell Åge Stoveland

Nina Barkenes

Eivind Bjørnevik

Katarina Skogheim

Piotr Slowik

Anne Randi Haugejorden Trym Dalene

Solveig Husebø

Jane Kärner

Mamiko Miura

Jens Forus

Henriette A.L. Børven

Anne C.F. Thommesen

Sigmund Eikeset

Trygve-Johan Simonsen

Oboe

Trombone

Pål Svendsberget

Dusica Cvijanovic

Marion Walker

Nils Tore Brunvatne

Roar Brostrøm

Sølve Grødem Wold

Lars Audun Hadland Jonas Båtstrand

Cello

Loussine Azizian Idsøe

Ariel de Wolf

Clarinet

Svetlana Jelic

Maarten Jansen

Ingrid Wangsvik

Tuba

Josine van den Akker

Anne Bræin

Kari Ingelsrud

David Tellefsen

Linda Manukyan

Krisztina Eikeset Wolfram Kärner

Bassoon

Harp

Jasper Havelaar

Odd Lyngstad

Johanna Engedal

Thea Iselin Øyhus

Nina Schlemm

2. violin Emilie Norum Gudim

Thor-Arne Martinsen

Armando Toledo Aribú

Double bass

Yuka Sato

John W. Harrison

Horn

Timpani

Kari-Andrea B. Larsen

Alfred Matre

Simon Breyer

Thomas Hansen

Dorota Grüchot

Askild OH Sømme

Leif Tore Strandbakken

Karen Walthinsen

Kåre Dalanee

Hilde Lunde Garby

Percussion

Ove Repål

Ellen Fjørtoft

Lars Lunde Daniel Perek Maria Andrén

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Henning Seldal