Opera, but no queen

I wasn´t planning to go, but I changed my mind and I´m glad I did. Longyearbyen had visitors from the National Opera yesterday, to mark the beginning of a tour around some of Norway´s outskirts, before the grand opening of the new opera-house in Oslo on the 12th of April (which is, incidentally, the same weekend as my exhibition at Galleri Svalbard opens).

So the whole orchestra and 4 brilliant singers plus 5 excellent dancers performed opera-dainties at Huset last night. And a very enthusiastic audience were present - but no queen, because she got a cold and had to stay home in her castle (I presume).

I wasn´t planning to go, because I´m not so keen on opera music. But the atmosphere was so good, and the performers were so fine, and everyone was in such excellent mood that you couldn´t help but be carried away by it. So I´m glad I went. And when we got the Star Wars theme as an encore, I even felt rather friendly towards the new opera-building in Oslo. (But then again, why not Star Wars? It´s an excellent example of space opera, isn´t it?)


The new opera on the left.





Finally, after the Star Wars theme, when the audience wouldn´t stop applauding, the conductor looked a bit desperate - before he grabbed the concertmaster and fled the scene. Which definitely ended the concert.



PS - We´re going back up to Huset again tonight, to see a sneak preview of the film "Far north", which was filmed partly here at Svalbard. But more about that later.