18 – 24 March – Grieghallen

In the spring of 2023, the Czech national treasure Rusalka by Dvořák will be performed in Bergen for the first time. The directing group behind the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, La Fura dels Baus, interpret the opera about the water nymph Rusalka who falls in love with a prince and therefore transforms into a human.

The opera is one of the absolute favorites of BNO's opera director, who himself conducts the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, soloists and the Edvard Grieg Choir.

Norwegian and foreign soloists
Gullberg Jensen has engaged the directing group La Fura dels Baus, known among others for the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics in Barcelona, and handpicked both Norwegian and foreign soloists for Rusalka:

In the Grieghallen, the Swedish soprano Malin Byström, known from strong title roles such as Salome, Jenůfa and Tosca, will make her acting debut as Rusalka. Her great love is sung by Brandon Jovanovich, who has also played the prince both at The Metropolitan and the Wiener Staatsoper. And the energetic witch Ježibaba is from Bergen: Mezzo-soprano Hege Høisæter has extensive experience both from classical roles at Den Norske Opera & Ballett, and as a prominent performer of contemporary music.

The opera director conducts
Rusalka by Antonín Dvořák is a national treasure in the Czech Republic, and belongs to the opera's core repertoire, but in this country this romantic and melodious opera is still a rarely performed gem: In fact, it was Gullberg Jensen himself who conducted Rusalka when Den Norske Opera & Ballet performed the opera for the first time time in Norway in 2009, with Solveig Kringlebotn in the title role. This was also the start of the first season in the new opera building in Bjørvika, and the performance was broadcast live on NRK2.

Later, Gullberg Jensen conducted Rusalka both at the opera in Zurich, the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma and the Wiener Staatsoper.

World famous song to the moon
If the opera Rusalka is unfamiliar to you, it is still quite possible that you will nod in recognition to "Rusalka's song to the moon". This otherworldly aria comes already in Act 1, when the water nymph Rusalka sits and longs for love - before the witch Ježibaba comes and transforms her into a human. (Read about the whole plot here .)