Friday 27 October 2017

Composer Håkon Berge and writer Cecilie Løveid have commissioned a dramatic piece from the Swedish Navy's music corps, a cantata about the Battle of Vågen which took place in Bergen in 1665, a naval battle during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. The battle was fought between an English and a Dutch fleet. The Danish-Norwegian forces in the city joined the battle on the Dutch side, and this is the only time Bergenhus fortress has been in battle.

This is a modern, dramatic story about the dilemmas one faces in critical and dramatic situations related to the defense of national sovereignty: decisive choices that can lead to loss of life, misery and unrest, with many existential touch points.

To embody this drama, SFMK has brought along a bunch of eminent Norwegian soloists and Bergen's own professional choir, Edvard Grieg Kor.

The work is supported by the Norwegian Cultural Council.

Conductor: Ingar Bergby
Director: Håkon Berge and Tora Augestad
Soloists: Tora Augestad, mezzo, Magnus Staveland, tenor
Frank Havrøy, bass
Choir: Edvard Grieg Choir