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Culture Norway’s historic domination by its neighbours, Denmark and Sweden, has created a strong determination to support its indigenous culture in dance and language, as well as encouraging contemporary arts in Norway. As a result, many music and theatre companies are state subsidised, including outreach companies, which present performances in remote communities and schools. The film industry is subsidised and is therefore thriving and award winning. Oslo is well served with theatre, dance and musical productions, which can be found in the monthly tourist information brochure, What’s on in Oslo, listing cultural events in Norwegian. Tickets to virtually all performances in Oslo, from concerts to sporting events, can be purchased at any post office. Tickets can also be ordered from Billet Service (tel: 8103 3133), to be picked up at the post office later or can be mailed to addresses abroad. Music: The Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra presents two concerts weekly (except in July and in the first part of August) in the Konserthuset, Munkedamsveien (tel: 2311 3100), in the centre of the city. The Norwegian Opera, Storgaten 23 (tel: 2331 5000, bookings 8154 4488; website www.operaen.no), also in the centre of town, has daily performances of operas and ballets, from the beginning of September through to May. The Radio Orchestra and the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra present concert series in various venues in the city. The old Aula of the University of Oslo, Karl Johansgate (tel: 2285 7359), has excellent acoustics, making it one of the most sought after venues for musical events. Also popular is Gamle Logen, Grev Wedels Plass (tel: 2233 4470), composer Edvard Grieg’s concert hall, now restored to its original glory. The State Academy of Music, Gydas vei (tel: 2336 7000), presents the most extensive programme of concerts in Oslo, most of which are free, although some are not open to the public. The Oslo Cathedral Choir sings both contemporary and traditional pieces, giving occasional concert performances, as well as participating in services. The Cathedral Choir is the premier church music group, although most churches have choirs, which present choral programmes throughout the year. Theatre: The ornate, hundred-year-old National Theatre of Oslo, Stortings plass 15 (tel: 2200 1600), presents mainly Norwegian plays, including the works of Norway’s most famous writer, Henrik Ibsen, whose statue stands in front of it. It is worth taking the guided tour if there are no performances on. The International Ibsen Stage Festival takes place here every two years. The National Theatre has two stages in this historic building and another in the Torshovteatret, Vogts gate 64, in the east of Oslo, where the company presents more experimental work. The other major company in Oslo is the Norwegian Theatre, Kristian IV’s Gate 8 (tel: 2247 3800), which performs in the second form of the Norwegian language, new Norwegian. Oslo Nye Teater, Rosenkrantzgate (tel: 2234 8680, website: www.oslonye.no), presents a wide variety of genres on its four stages, Hovedscene, Centralteatret, Cafescenen and Dukketeatret (puppet theatre). Dance: In common with much of central Europe, Norway has a strong tradition of folk dance, featuring mazurkas and polkas. In the summer there are twice weekly performances of folk dancing at the Konserthuset, Munkedamsveien (tel: 2311 3100). On Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday in July and August, a traditional ‘Norwegian Evening’ including folk dance, is staged at the Norsk Folkemuseum, on Bygdøy (see Sightseeing). The Norwegian National Ballet performs at home, at the Norwegian Opera, Storgaten 23 (tel: 2331 5000, bookings 8154 4488; website www.operaen.no), and tours extensively, featuring top Norwegian dancers and guest performers from abroad. It presents a varied repertoire, featuring both traditional and contemporary pieces. Film: There are numerous cinemas in Oslo including an Imax Theatre, Holmensgaten 1 (tel: 2311 6600; website: www.imax.no). Films in Norway are shown in the original language with subtitles. Tickets cost NOK60. Alternative and classic films are shown at Cinemateket, Dronningens gate 16 (tel: 2247 4500). Cross My Heart and Hope to Die (1994), directed by Marius Holst, won the Blue Angel prize at the Berlin festival in 1995. Set in Oslo, the film explores adolescent angst and the temptations to evil in everyday life. Norway’s incredible landscapes have featured in a number of films, including Pathfinder (1987), directed by Nils Gaup and nominated for an Oscar in 1988. Cultural events: ULTIMA Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Tollbugata 28 (tel: 2242 9999), takes place in October, in venues all over Oslo, including the Oslo Concert Hall, Munkedamsveien 14 (tel: 2311 3111; website: www.oslokonserthus.no), the Norwegian State Opera, Storgaten 23 (tel: 8154 4488; website: www.operaen.no), the Old Masonic Hall (Den Gamle Logen), Grev Wedels plass 2 (tel: 2233 5470), Black Box Theatre, Aker Brygge Stranden 3 (tel: 2201 4020; website: www.blackbox.no), Cinematek, Dronningens gate 16 (tel: 2247 4500), and Oslo Cathedral Stortorvet 1. The festival features new works by Norwegian and international composers, presented by the best of Norwegian musicians and a number of international conductors and performers. The Oslo Jazz Festival, based at Tollbugata 28 (tel: 2242 9120), features major international artists and attracts big crowds in August. In recent years, the Norwegian Wood Rock Festival, Frogner Park (tel: 8155 0333), in June, has featured major artists, such as James Taylor, Emmylou Harris, Simple Minds, Bryan Ferry and Bob Dylan. Comprehensive events information is available online (website: www.oslopro.no – see ‘hva sker’). Literary Notes Literature thrives in Norway, although a comparatively small amount of it has been translated into English. Among the best known Norwegian writers who lived and worked in Oslo are Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, one of the ‘four great ones’ of 19th-century Norwegian literature. He studied at Oslo University and, in 1859, went to work for a short while on Aftenbladet. His popularity came from Trust and Trail (1857) and his early work concentrated on detailed descriptions of Norwegian rural life. He was the first Norwegian writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1903. His great friend and rival, Henrik Ibsen, never received that honour, although posterity has been kinder to him. Like Bjørnson, he was not a native of Oslo but moved there in 1850, writing two plays, Catilina, a tragedy, and The Burial Mound, in that first year. He had hopes of studying to become a doctor, however, after failing the university entrance examinations in 1851, Ibsen moved to Bergen to work in a small theatre. By 1857, he was back as director of the new Norwegian (Norske) Theatre and then later of the Christiania Theatre. In 1864, Ibsen received an award for foreign travel from the government and travelled abroad for the next 27 years, returning to Norway only for brief visits. In the 1870s, he worked with composer Edward Grieg on the premiere of Peer Gynt (1867). He returned permanently to Norway in 1891 and died in Oslo on 23 May 1906. Knut Hamson was the second Norwegian writer to receive the Nobel Prize, in 1920. Originally from the Central Valley, he moved to Oslo in 1878, where he lived in poverty for a while, before going off to wander the United States of America. His first real success was his novel The Hunger (1890), about a young writer working and starving in Oslo. But it was The Growth of the Soil (1917), an account of how the human world and nature are united in a mystical bond, that won him the Nobel Prize. His later life was shadowed by his support of the Nazis. In contrast, Sigrid Undser, who grew up in Oslo and wrote her early novels there, was a member of the resistance and an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime. Her work was banned by the Nazis and she was forced to flee in exile to America, until the war was over. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. The latest of Oslo’s writers is Jostein Gaarder, who received the Norwegian Literary Critics award in 1990 for The Solitaire Mystery. But it is his novel, Sophie’s World (1991), translated into 40 languages and subsequently filmed, for which he is best known. |
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