Love me to death

Text from the organiser:

The young singers in WOYS bid farewell with five newly composed murder ballads – along with other crime and passion from the opera stage.

Join an operatic night out of the ordinary, where old texts meet new music, world premieres meet classics, and the gruesome meets the beautiful – performed by rising talents together with the Opera Orchestra under the baton of Edward Gardner.

Five voices – five composers

The five singers in the Opera’s talent programme each perform a newly written aria, tailored to their voice by five Norwegian composers. All the works draw inspiration from the age‑old tradition of murder ballads – songs that have fascinated and unsettled audiences for centuries.

True crime in musical form

Murder ballads typically tell the story of a killing – a blend of folk‑style true crime, moral cautionary tale and poetic song. They mirror society’s darker sides as well as human vulnerability and the power of storytelling. In this concert, they are brought to life anew through five distinct Norwegian interpretations.

Opera history as a crime scene

The new murder ballads are paired with excerpts from opera history – full of drama, passion, betrayal, jealousy, murder and revenge. The opera stage becomes a crime scene where raw, intense and hauntingly familiar stories unfold through music.