Bergen is 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) and Harald Sæverud, and their literary compatriots Henrik Ibsen and Ludvig Holberg, Bergen also provided the backdrop for the landscapes of painter J C Dahl.
Today, Bergen has a lively cultural scene. Music and the arts are very popular and the public is well catered for with a number of venues and events. There is an active annual program of festivals that cover classical, rock and jazz music, theater and film.
Tickets for most
events are available direct from the venue or from
Ticketmaster (website:
www.ticketmaster.no).
Music: The
Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester (Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra) (website:
www.filharmonien.no), which dates back to 1765, gives frequent concerts in
Grieghallen (the Grieg Hall), Edvard Grieg plass 1 (tel: 5521 6100; website:
www.grieghallen.no), one of Norway’s foremost concert venues.
Edvard Grieg is the most famous composer to come out of Bergen, and the museum at
Troldhaugen (tel: 5592 2992; website:
www.troldhaugen.com) is no dead monument over him: rather, it hosts some 300 concerts a year in Troldsalen and actively promotes his music. Another popular composer is Harald Sæverud, whose piano pieces, ‘Tunes and Dances from Siljustøl’, celebrated the people, flora and fauna of the Bergen area. Occasionally, concerts are performed at the
Siljustøl Museum (tel: 5592 2992
or 5513 6000; website:
www.siljustol.no), former home of the composer, on Sunday afternoons. It is about 12km (8 miles) from Bergen by bus. The colorful and eccentric virtuoso violinist Ole Bull also lived near Bergen, in a fantasy palace he constructed on Lysøen Island.
Theater: Den Nationale Scene (tel: 5554 9700
or 5560 7080; website:
www.dns.no) has three theaters, staging Norwegian plays, musicals and light entertainment. The theater’s history is intimately linked with that of Ibsen who was appointed resident ‘stage poet’ in 1851. The ‘Scandinavian Molière’, Ludvig Holberg, was born in Bergen in 1684.
Bergen Internasjonale Teater (BIT) stages both Norwegian and international plays and dance performances up to three times a month in
Teatergarasjen, which is located at Nøstegaten 54 (tel: 5523 2235; website:
www.bit-teatergarasjen.no).
Dance: Carte Blanche (tel: 5530 8680; website:
www.ncb.no) stages classical ballet and experimental dance at
Teatergarasjen, Nøstegaten 54 (tel: 5523 2235; website:
www.bit-teatergarasjen.no).
Fana Folklore (tel: 5591 5240; website:
www.fanafolklore.no) recreates a rural festival with a concert of old folk tunes in the 800-year-old Fana Church and from June to August provides traditional Norwegian festive food, followed by folk music, lively dancing and singing.
Bergen Folklore (tel: 5555 2006) performs traditional Norwegian folk dances and music in
Schøtstuene, Ovregaten 50.
Film: Bergen Kino (tel: 5556 9050; website:
www.filmweb.no/bergenkino) runs the two multiplex cinemas
Magnus Barfot (five screens), Magnus Barfotsgate 12, and
Konsertpaleet (13 screens), Neumannsgate 3. All films are shown in their original language, with Norwegian subtitles.
Forum Kino is in Danmarksplass.
Literary Notes: Late 19th- and early 20th-century literature (with its themes of political democratization, social and cultural liberation and national independence) 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 theater stage manager in Bergen in 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. More recently, Bergen has inspired the novels of Gunnar Stålesen. Jon Fosse, currently Norway’s most important playwright and an acclaimed poet and essayist, lives in Bergen.
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