When Björk’s album Vespertine was released in 2001, it came as a bombshell. The singer, who up to then could reliably be found in the Electronic & Dance section, had turned away from the usual Drum & খাদ sound and towards complex orchestral music. On Vespertine, choirs and violins murmured and Björk’s unique voice became the starting point for symphonic outbreaks and absences. So, it seemed to be only a matter of time until a classical সঙ্গীত genre would discover this particular jewel.
When the Nationaltheater Mannheim decided to work আরো closely with pop সঙ্গীত – the most vibrant style of সঙ্গীত today, which is (almost) never heard at an opera house – Björk’s Vespertine with its very new way of approaching pop সঙ্গীত seemed to be the perfect fit for this border-crossing project.
Vespertine is all about a great প্রণয় that is just starting, with the desire for total union, and at the same time the fear of losing your independence in it. But to identify a specific plot in it seemed the wrong approach, so the Nationaltheater Mannheim chose a team of directors capable of thinking in প্রতিমূর্তি – the Danish direction team Hotel Pro Forma.
“Himmelfahrt Scores” was adapting Björk’s Vespertine for the opera stage. The three composers of this collective may hail from completely different origins, but for each of them, Björk was a significant biographical and artistic reference. They approached a musical idol with fitting respect. In months of work, they incorporated the various levels that Björk had combined on the computer. They devised a very special orchestra, with its many possible tonal colors, the album was reproduced on stage.
When the initial test recordings with the soloists were available, the realization came at the latest: the thing would work. Björk’s গান গাওয়া lines had proved to be compatible with classical music. It was a crossing of frontiers. But it is also a kind of return home. Welcome to the opera, Björk Guðmundsdóttir!
Worldwide Album release April 12, 2019
When the Nationaltheater Mannheim decided to work আরো closely with pop সঙ্গীত – the most vibrant style of সঙ্গীত today, which is (almost) never heard at an opera house – Björk’s Vespertine with its very new way of approaching pop সঙ্গীত seemed to be the perfect fit for this border-crossing project.
Vespertine is all about a great প্রণয় that is just starting, with the desire for total union, and at the same time the fear of losing your independence in it. But to identify a specific plot in it seemed the wrong approach, so the Nationaltheater Mannheim chose a team of directors capable of thinking in প্রতিমূর্তি – the Danish direction team Hotel Pro Forma.
“Himmelfahrt Scores” was adapting Björk’s Vespertine for the opera stage. The three composers of this collective may hail from completely different origins, but for each of them, Björk was a significant biographical and artistic reference. They approached a musical idol with fitting respect. In months of work, they incorporated the various levels that Björk had combined on the computer. They devised a very special orchestra, with its many possible tonal colors, the album was reproduced on stage.
When the initial test recordings with the soloists were available, the realization came at the latest: the thing would work. Björk’s গান গাওয়া lines had proved to be compatible with classical music. It was a crossing of frontiers. But it is also a kind of return home. Welcome to the opera, Björk Guðmundsdóttir!
Worldwide Album release April 12, 2019