Terje Vigen
Terje Vigen (2017) was a musical theatre production by Kilden Theatre, based on the epic poem by Henrik Ibsen. The production was performed in the theatre's outdoors venue Fjæreheia.
Birgit Amalie Nilssen directed it.
Øyvind Boye Løvold sang and Tomas Young danced the title role.
Information
(Objekt ID 80815)| Object type | Production |
| Premiere | July 4, 2017 |
| Produced by | Kilden Theatre |
| Based on | Terje Vigen by Henrik Ibsen |
At the webpage of Kilden the following, among other things, is written about Terje Vigen:
"The early 1800es was a rough period for all of Europe, but particularly for our predecessors in Southern Norway. The English grain blockade led to famine, and in the poem about Terje Vigen, Henrik Ibsen pays tribute to all men and women who sacrificed blood and tears to save their families.
We all know the first line. 'There once lived a man, very grizzled and grey, on the furthermost reef there could be'.** Some repeatedly revisit the poem. Others read it once during their adolescence at school, and have forgotten what it is really about. Or musical about Terje Vigen is both for those of you who love the poem, and those of you who will hear it for the first time.
For what is it with Terje Vigen that makes some of us return to him again and again, as individuals and as a nation? The poem of Terje Vigen tells the story of a whole life in twenty minutes. Henrik Ibsen's language is rich and strict. With his uniquely sharp pen and insanely strong linguistic economy, the writer has managed to capture one of humanity's greatest dilemmas within a few lines. When Kilden has chosen to turn the poem into a musical, the aim is to give space to all that is told between these lines.
Diving into Terje Vigen's story is diving into ourselves. Terje Vigen is forced to choose between revenge and forgiveness. A choice we all have to make several times in our lives. Is it only through saving others that we can save ourselves?
The music Ketil Bjørnstad has composed on commission form Kilden ranges from the simple songs to the epic and monumental. The composer personally sits by the grand piano every evening, with a full band conducted by competent Bjørn Ole Rasch. The theatre's own head, Birgit Amalie Nilssen, directs the production."
KILDE:
Kilden Teater, 25.11.2017, kilden.com, https://www.kilden.com/forestilling/terje-vigen-en-musikal/
**Quoted from John Northam's translation.The Norwegian original sounds: 'Der bodde en underlig gråsprengt en på den yderste, nøgende ø'.
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Henrik Ibsen | – Playwright |
| Birgit Amalie Nilssen | – Direction |
| Ketil Bjørnstad | – Composition |
| Ketil Bjørnstad | – Musician |
| July 4, 2017 – Fjæreheia, steinbruddet i Grimstad | Opening night |
"When Kilden Theatre now stages Terje Vigen in Fjæreheia, with 45 performers and six musicians live onstage, everything is in place for a grandiose experience with strong local bonds. It is involving, but it is also more sentimental than it needs to be, and Terje (Løvold as a singer, Young as a dancer) seems self-absorbed. Kilden's Terje Vigen isn't the story of one family's tragedy, or attempts at surviving in crisis, but the story of one man's consciousness."