Song of Norway
Encyclopedia
Song of Norway is an operetta
written in 1944 by Robert Wright
and George Forrest
, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg
and the book by Milton Lazarus
and Homer Curran
. A very loose film adaptation
with major changes to both the book and music was released in 1970.
's Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
in 1944, with essentially the same cast as seen later on Broadway. After successful runs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the show opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York on August 21, 1944, and ran for 860 performances. Lawrence Brooks
starred as Edvard Grieg
. It was also popular in London running for 526 performances at the Palace Theatre
, the first Broadway show to cross the Atlantic after the end of the Second World War.
in Troldhaugen
and Bergen
; as well as Copenhagen
and Rome
in and after 1860. It follows the fictionalized lives of three childhood friends: Edvard Grieg
(played in New York by Lawrence Brooks), Nina Hagerup (Helena Bliss
) and Rikard Nordraak
(Robert Shafer). The play tells of the early struggles of Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. Grieg dreams of being a great composer and these dreams are shared by his friend Nordraak and Grieg's sweetheart, Nina. Grieg is lured to Italy by the great prima donna Louisa Giovanni, but he finds he cannot create amid all the glitter and excitement and so returns to Norway and his beloved Nina to write his music.
The original Broadway cast featured Irra Petina
as fictional opera singer Louisa Giovanni. The show featured dances, both ballet and Norwegian folk dances, choreographed by George Balanchine
and performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
. Maria Tallchief
, one of the featured dancers, married Balanchine during the run of the show.
The melody of the Norwegian National Anthem
, Ja, vi elsker dette landet was actually written by Rikard Nordraak to lyrics written by the Norwegian national poet, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
. Although Nordraak was in fact the composer who wrote the national anthem, he was portrayed as a poet in the show because it was believed “two composers would be confusing”.
The original Broadway cast recording was released by Decca Records
on 6 78-rpm 12 inch discs. Irra Petina was under contract to a competing record label (Columbia), so her part in the “original cast” was sung by Kitty Carlisle, who never actually played the part on Broadway. Decca later released a 33 rpm single disc LP, with some edits to fit the single-disc medium. In 2004 Decca finally dug the master tapes out of the vault and released the full original album on CD. Columbia Records
made a recording in 1959 of the Jones Beach
production (which opened in June 1958), which was released on CD by Masterworks Broadway.
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
written in 1944 by Robert Wright
Robert Wright (writer)
Robert [Craig] Wright was an American composer-lyricist for Hollywood and the musical theatre best known for the Broadway musical and musical film Kismet, for which he and his professional partner George Forrest adapted themes by Alexander Borodin and added lyrics...
and George Forrest
George Forrest (author)
George Forrest was a writer of music and lyrics for musical theatre best known for the show Kismet, adapted from the works of Alexander Borodin.-Biography:...
, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
and the book by Milton Lazarus
Milton Lazarus
Milton Lazarus was an American playwright and screenwriter. He began his career as a Press Agent before pursuing a career as a writer. He wrote the book for the Broadway musicals Shoot the Works , New Faces of 1936 , and Song of Norway...
and Homer Curran
Homer Curran
Homer F. Curran was an American theatrical producer who had a profound impact on the development of professional theatre on the West Coast of the United States during the first half of the 20th century. Born in Springfield, Missouri, he was educated at Stanford University. After graduating, he...
. A very loose film adaptation
Song of Norway (film)
Song of Norway is a 1970 film adaptation of the successful operetta of the same name, directed by Andrew L. Stone.Like the play from which it derived, the film tells of the early struggles of composer Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music...
with major changes to both the book and music was released in 1970.
Stage production
Song of Norway was originally developed and presented in Los Angeles by Edwin LesterEdwin Lester
Edwin Lester was an American theatre director, impresario, and producer. He was the longtime general director of the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera, which he founded in 1938. He also co-founded the LACLO's affiliate organization, the San Francisco Civic Light Opera, with Homer Curran in 1939...
's Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
Los Angeles Civic Light Opera
The Los Angeles Civic Light Opera was an American theatre/opera company in Los Angeles, California. Founded under the motto "Light Opera in the Grand Opera manner" in 1938 by impresario Edwin Lester, the organization presented fifty seasons of theatre before closing due to financial reasons in...
in 1944, with essentially the same cast as seen later on Broadway. After successful runs in Los Angeles and San Francisco, the show opened at the Imperial Theatre in New York on August 21, 1944, and ran for 860 performances. Lawrence Brooks
Lawrence Brooks
Lawrence Brooks is an American singer and actor who had an active career performing in musicals and operettas throughout the United States during the 1940s through the 1960s. He drew particular acclaim for his portrayal of Edvard Grieg in the original 1944 Broadway production of Robert Wright and...
starred as Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
. It was also popular in London running for 526 performances at the Palace Theatre
Palace Theatre, London
The Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in the City of Westminster in London. It is an imposing red-brick building that dominates the west side of Cambridge Circus and is located near the intersection of Shaftesbury Avenue and Charing Cross Road...
, the first Broadway show to cross the Atlantic after the end of the Second World War.
Story line
The show is set in NorwayNorway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
in Troldhaugen
Troldhaugen
Troldhaugen was the home of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and his wife Nina Grieg. Troldhaugen is located in Bergen, Norway and consists of the Edvard Grieg Museum, Grieg’s villa, the hut where he composed music, and his and his wife's gravesite....
and Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
; as well as Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in and after 1860. It follows the fictionalized lives of three childhood friends: Edvard Grieg
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...
(played in New York by Lawrence Brooks), Nina Hagerup (Helena Bliss
Helena Bliss
Helena Bliss is a retired American actress and singer. A talented soprano, she actively performed in musicals, operettas, and operas in the United States, both on stage and on television and radio, from the 1930s through the 1950s...
) and Rikard Nordraak
Rikard Nordraak
Rikard Nordraak was a Norwegian composer. He is best known as the composer of the Norwegian national anthem.-Biography:...
(Robert Shafer). The play tells of the early struggles of Edvard Grieg and his attempts to develop an authentic Norwegian national music. Grieg dreams of being a great composer and these dreams are shared by his friend Nordraak and Grieg's sweetheart, Nina. Grieg is lured to Italy by the great prima donna Louisa Giovanni, but he finds he cannot create amid all the glitter and excitement and so returns to Norway and his beloved Nina to write his music.
The original Broadway cast featured Irra Petina
Irra Petina
Irra Petina was an actress and singer, as well as a leading contralto with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She was called the "floperetta queen" by critic Ken Mandelbaum.Born in St...
as fictional opera singer Louisa Giovanni. The show featured dances, both ballet and Norwegian folk dances, choreographed by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
and performed by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
. Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief
Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:...
, one of the featured dancers, married Balanchine during the run of the show.
The melody of the Norwegian National Anthem
Ja, vi elsker dette landet
is the national anthem of Norway. It is commonly referred to as just "Ja, vi elsker" . The lyrics were written by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson between 1859 and 1868, and the melody was written by his cousin Rikard Nordraak in 1864. It was first performed publicly on 17 May 1864 in connection with the 50th...
, Ja, vi elsker dette landet was actually written by Rikard Nordraak to lyrics written by the Norwegian national poet, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
. Although Nordraak was in fact the composer who wrote the national anthem, he was portrayed as a poet in the show because it was believed “two composers would be confusing”.
Music
Songs include Prelude & Legend (based on Grieg's A Minor Concerto) Freddy and His Fiddle (based on Norwegian Dance No.2), Now (based on Second Violin Sonata and Waltz), Strange Music (based on Wedding in Troldhaugen), Midsummer's Eve (Scherzo in E), and I Love You (Ich Liebe Dich).The original Broadway cast recording was released by Decca Records
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
on 6 78-rpm 12 inch discs. Irra Petina was under contract to a competing record label (Columbia), so her part in the “original cast” was sung by Kitty Carlisle, who never actually played the part on Broadway. Decca later released a 33 rpm single disc LP, with some edits to fit the single-disc medium. In 2004 Decca finally dug the master tapes out of the vault and released the full original album on CD. Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
made a recording in 1959 of the Jones Beach
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater
Nikon at Jones Beach Theater is an outdoor amphitheatre, located at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, New York. It is one of two major outdoor arenas in the New York metropolitan area, along with PNC Bank Arts Center...
production (which opened in June 1958), which was released on CD by Masterworks Broadway.