Die München "Ø" Trilogie (Episoden 13("The Temptations of St. Anthony"), 14("The Mark Ø")and 15("Die Nacht der Welt")), Neo-Hippie-Interventionistische-Anti-Internet-Peripherie-Welttournee-Roadshow und Meta-Opr "The Followers of Ø" feat. Der Heilige Geist
A coproduction of the Munich Biennale with Norwegian Opra Oslo
Sponsored by the Arts Council Norway; The Composers' Remunerations Fund; Music Norway; and the Fund for Performing Artists
Composition and performance: Trond Reinholdtsen
With: Snorre Hvamen, Tobias Schülke, Kai Johnsen, Amund Sjølie Sveen, Harald Kolaas
above you see THE «Ø» NEO-HIPPIE-INTERVENTIONISTIC-ANTI-INTERNET-PERIPHERIE-WORLDTOURNEE - ROADMOVIE - all the videos hier
In 2009 Trond Reinholdtsen founded his own opera house "The Norwegian Opra" to construct a utopian situation of absolute artistic freedom as, in today's world and contemporary music climate, it is essential to gain TOTAL CONTROL OVER ALL ASPECTS OF THE PRODUCTION APPARATUS. In practice this meant that the opera director was also the composer, main diva, orchestra, director, light designer, restaurant chef, propaganda minister, ticket master, audience, leader of the Worker's Union etc etc. It all amounted to a radical withdrawal from official contemporary music and social life in general, into a private paradisiacal echo chamber with no critical or pragmatist input from the corrupted "Outside". In the latest phase of the history of the institution a new potentially infinite series of opra episodes titled "Ø" has been produced in the cellar of the opera house villa, now situated in the countryside of Sweden, as filmed performances. This epic structure is centered around three posthumanlike characters doing experiments in alchemy, political theory and modernist art in preparation for the totally world changing "Event". After nearly three years of introverted incestous activity the Norwegian Opra crew of superstars will now break their isolation and embark on a 14-day European periphery tour with three new spectacular episodes in the trunk of their Opra Van. Every day a documentary road movie opra, depicting the struggle to build a new European collectivity around "Ø" and to dismantle the internet, will be produced and screened at appropriate venues in the Munich public sphere as the suspense is slowly building. When the increasingly hairy and smelly group of travelleing dilletant-geniouses finally arrives at the famous cutting-edge Biennale, a whole army of so called "Followers" have surprisingly joined the party under the parole "Vom Privatsache bis Weltreligion" and join in for a totalumwälzende ritualistic operatic sermon reminicent of the early days of the Apostles.
Trond Reinholdtsen Composition and performance
Trond Reinholdtsen, born in 1972 in Norway, studied vocals and composition at the music academy in Oslo. Moreover, he attended master classes taught by Gerald Bennett; Jonathan Harvey; Brian Ferneyhough; Helmut Lachenmann; and Salvatore Sciarrino. His music has the characteristics of an essay and is based on conceptual strategies, the enthusiasm for semantics, and the critical examination of genres and institutions of new music. He integrates documentations, recitations, and performances into his works, and he also frequently chooses narrative or propagandist forms. In recent years he has invested a substantial portion of his artistic energy into the project "The Norwegian Opra." Reinholdtsen cultivates a close collaboration with the ensemble asamisimasa, which performed the world premiere of his programmatic work "Music" at the Donaueschinger Musiktage in 2012. In 2015 he purchased a new opera house in Olsäter, Sweden, where he started filming a series of operas under the name "Ø." Six episodes were shown in 2015 at the Ultima festival; at Donaueschinger Musiktage; Gessnerallee Zürich; and Live Arts in Bologna. In 2016 and 2017 he composed new works for the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra; Ellen Ugelvik; asamisimasa; and Jennifer Torrence.
Cast & credits
Composition and performance: Trond Reinholdtsen
With: Snorre Hvamen, Tobias Schülke, Kai Johnsen, Amund Sjølie Sveen, Harald Kolaas