Programme 2011 is launched

‘I am really proud of this year’s programme. We have succeeded in bringing many of the most sought-after musicians in the classical tradition to Bergen and the programme also includes new, interesting and exciting theatrical productions. We will also be making completely new use of some of the city’s most distinctive venues,’ says Festival Director Per Boye Hansen.

He believes that Bergen forms the perfect backdrop to the festival. Here, concerts are held in the homes of Edvard Grieg and Ole Bull, and the city has both a vibrant nightlife and wild and beautiful scenery.

New theatrical productionsBergen International Festival is famous for its new theatrical productions, and has attracted considerable international attention for productions such as Vegard Vinge and Ida Müller’s version of Ibsen’s The Wild Duck a few years ago. The festival has also invited a number of prominent directors this year.

The Swiss director Christoph Marthaler and his team have created a new musical production based on Greenland’s history and life there today. The production ‘±0’ is an exploration of both Greenland’s unique culture and its current situation, which is characterised by the threat of climate change and major social problems. Bergen International Festival is co-producer and one of the production’s first ports of call on an extensive European tour.

From Iceland comes the success Gerpla, which is directed by Baltasar Kormákur, who in this production takes a humoristic dig at the idealisation of Norse culture. Norwegian director Eirik Stubø is responsible for the opening opera Oedipus Rex by Igor Stravinsky, the libretto for which has been reworked by Norwegian playwright Jon Fosse.  Chinese productions of plays by Jon Fosse and Henrik Ibsen provide a new perspective on Norwegian theatre, and director Tore Vang Lid (one of the young directors invited to take part in the Salzburg Festival in 2009) has produced a new version of the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann’s Before Sunrise.

The Israeli choreographer Sharon Eyal has specially produced a production for Carte Blanche, Norway’s national contemporary dance company, and the French-Tunisian dancer Héla Fattoumi will perform at this year’s Festival with her controversial solo production about Muslim clothing. 

A wide-ranging musical programmeThis year’s music programme consists of concerts by well-known names such as Evgeny Kissin, Andreas Scholl, Patricia Kopachinskaja, Phantasm and Khatia Buniatishvili. In addition, the festival has invited a ‘supergroup’ of string players in connection with the new project ‘The Flame of Ole Bull’, which includes more than twenty concerts, discussions and master classes. Among others, Bergen will be visited by Ida Haendel (82), a legend in the world of music, and Norway’s most prominent string players, including Vilde Frang and Truls Mørk, will also be in town. The public will also have a chance to get acquainted with up-and-coming young musicians in connection with a Nordic soloist competition.

¬‘In addition to his brilliant artistry on the violin, the Norwegian violinist Ole Bull had a flair for developing talent and for international folk music, and all these aspects of Ole Bull will be reflected in the project “The Flame of Ole Bull”,’ says the Festival Director, emphasising that Bergen International Festival aims to be a door opener for new forms of artistic presentation and wishes to explore the interfaces and connections between different genres.

What happens when music is performed in new surroundings? In a grass-covered hall? Between folding screen and cinema screen? The Norwegian composer Henrik Hellstenius is curator for four concert performances at which more than thirty musicians explore various themes. The performances showcase a number of contemporary international composers in new settings. The city’s old jail will be the venue for a unique experience when the public is invited to stay overnight in its cells and enjoy a series of artistic performances.