Bergen is very proud
of its long-established cultural tradition. In addition to internationally
acclaimed musicians, such as the late Edvard Grieg
(composer of the Peer Gynt Suite), Harald
Sæverud and their literary compatriots Henrik
Ibsen and Ludvig Holberg, Bergen also
provided the backdrop for the landscapes of J C Dahl.
Today, Bergen has a lively cultural scene with music and the arts
all very popular and the public is well catered for with a number
of venues and events. There is an active programme of festivals
that cover classical, rock and jazz music, theatre and film. Bergen
Tourist Information promotes Bergen as ‘Kulturby’
(City of Culture).
Tickets for most events are available direct from the venue of from
Ticketmaster.
Music
The Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester (Bergen Philharmonic
Orchestra), which dates back to 1765, gives concerts every Thursday
between September and June and occasionally on Friday and Saturday
in Grieghallen
(the Grieg Hall), Edvard Grieg plass 1 (telephone number: 5521 6170).
Edvard Grieg is the most famous composer to come
out of Bergen, but another popular composer is Harald Sæverud
whose piano pieces, Tunes and Dances from Siljustøl,
celebrated the people, flora and fauna of the Bergen region. Concerts
are performed at the Siljustøl
Museum (telephone number: 5592 2992 or 5513 6000), former home
of the composer, on Sunday afternoons during July. It is 12km (8
miles) from Bergen on bus route 30. The colourful and eccentric
virtuoso violinist Ole Bull also lived near Bergen,
in a fantasy palace he built on Lysøen Island.
Theatre
Den
Nationale Scene (telephone number: 5554 9700) has 3 theatres,
staging Norwegian plays, musicals and light entertainment. The theatre’s
history is intimately linked with that of Ibsen
who was appointed resident ‘stage poet’ during 1851.
The ‘Scandinavian Moliére’,
Ludvig Holberg, was born in Bergen in 1684. Bergen Internasjonale
Teater (BIT) stages both Norwegian and international plays
and dance performances up to 3 times a month in Teatergarasjen,
which is located at Nøstegaten 54 (telephone number: 5523
2235).
Dance
Carte Blanche stages
classical ballet and experimental dance at Danseteatret, Sigurdsgate
6 (telephone number: 5530 8680).
Fana Folklore
(telephone number: 5591 5240) recreates a rural festival with a
concert of old folk tunes in the 800-year-old Fana Church
and during June, July and August provides traditional Norwegian
festive food, followed by folk music, lively dancing and
singing.
Bergen Folklore
(telephone number: 5558 8010) stages a one-hour programme of traditional
Norwegian dances and music in Bryggens Museum every Tuesday and
Thursday at 2100 hrs, from mid-June to late August.
Film
The success of films such as Nils Gaup’s Pathfinder
(1987) and Berit Nesheims’s The Other Side
of Sunday (1997), have led critics to talk of a new ‘Norwave’.
All films in the 2 major cinemas are shown in their original language,
with Norwegian subtitles (telephone number: 5556 9050 – reservations
for both cinemas). Konsertpaleet (13 screens) is
at Neumannsgate 3. Forum
Kino is in Danmarksplass.
Literary
Notes
Late 19th and early 20th century literature has been inextricably
linked to the political and social development of Norway. The 1903
Nobel Laureate for Literature, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson,
wrote his modern saga drama Lama Hulda while working
as a theatre stage manager in Bergen during 1857-8.
The powerful novels and the life of Amalie Skram,
who lived in Denmark but was born in Bergen in 1846, provided the
basis for a 9-hour-long theatrical performance in the city in 1992,
as well as the material for the 1984 opera Amalie.
Recently, Bergen has inspired the novels of Gunnar Stålesen
who was born in the city in 1947. |
