Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Music at the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> in Stockholm…
works that from an artistic perspective do not deserve to be neglected.
[…] Another inconvenience resulting from the lack of an orchestra, especially
for concerts, is the dependence on the Royal <strong>Opera</strong>’s so-called
“spectacle days”, and a third is the great costs involved in arranging concerts.
(Rubenson 1857, pp. 217-218) 33
117
The lack of time to take on external engagements affected not only the
number of concerts the orchestra gave but also the repertoire, given the
lack of time to rehearse new pieces.
Ludvig Norman, who was the head conductor and musical director at the
Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> between 1861 and 1885, made every effort to extend
the concert repertoire there. Between 1878 and 1885 he was the driving
force behind a series of concerts focusing on symphonic music, which was
a new venture for the Royal <strong>Opera</strong>. Given his position, he had immense
influence on music and concert life in Stockholm, and could affect both the
repertoire and the number and types of concerts on offer.
Norman was educated at the Music Conservatory of Leipzig. Shortly
after his return he presented his visions of musical life in Stockholm in an
NTM article from 1853 (Norman: 1853). In his view the city’s music resources
– a good orchestra with a talented conductor (the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong>
Orchestra under its conductor Jacopo Foroni), competent singers at the
opera and a large number of music lovers and amateur musicians – sufficed
to accomplish great things. The solution was to combine all these forces in
performances of grand vocal works such as the oratorios of Mendelssohn. It
is clear that his influences came from Leipzig in his visions of musical life,
and the repertoire he suggested for these joint efforts. He maintained that
if this was to work it should be firmly rooted in the music resources of the
Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong>, reinforced by amateur musicians. This also confirms
the pivotal position of the Royal <strong>Opera</strong>. Here, Norman’s and Rubenson’s
views parted a little, the latter being much more convinced that it would be
better to separate concert performance from the Royal <strong>Opera</strong> and to form
a special organisation to control it (Rubenson 1859). Norman’s views seem
33 “En menlig inverkan på programmernas uppställning utöfvar äfven Kongl. hofkapellet.
Den stora staden Stockholm äger nemligen, som bekant, blott denna enda orchester att
tillgå som concertbiträde. Dennes tid är dock så upptagen af theatergöromål. Att föga
återstår till concertrepetitioner. Deraf de alltför tätt på hvarandra följande repriserna
af samma kända, oftast äfven godgända orchestercompositioner, men hvilka, just för
dessa egenskapers skull, borde lemna plats för andra, hvilkas åsido-sättande kan
ur konstnärlig synpunkt anses som en försummelse. […] En annan olägenhet som
medföljer bristen på en särskildt concertorches-ter, är beroendet af Kongl. Theaterns
s. k. spektakeldagar. En tredje är den stora kostnad hvarmed concertgifvande är
förenadt.”