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

164 Ulla-Britta Broman-Kananen
as Leporello, although he was a novice in relation to the other singers. 14 The
enlarged orchestra at Christiania Theatre was conducted by Johan Hennum
(1836–1894). 15 “[T]he whole production looked dignified and elegant, after
the same scenery by me which still is used in Stockholm with the exception
of the hell fires, which I was keen once and for all to extinguish at Stockholm’s
theatres”. 16 From this quotation we learn that Josephson not only
had turned to his old colleagues from the Stockholm opera, but also used his
own material and mises-en-scène from his period as director in Stockholm
as well.
Later in the season Signe Hebbe and Julius Saloman (1838–1892) joined
the company. The repertoire for the first year consisted of Faust, Le nozze
di Figaro, Norma, Alessandro Stradella, La Traviata, Guglielmo Tell, Der Freischütz
and Martha, as well as parts of Trovatore (with Röske-Lund as Leonora).
The Finnish coloratura soprano Ida Basilier (1846–1928) appeared
in the Christiania opera in her favourite role as Rosina in Il Barbiere di
Siviglia in November 1875.
The continuity of the opera at stake
The correspondence between Josephson and Arlberg illustrates how the
two of them made most of the important decisions at the opera about performers
and repertoire. Their shared past as well as their shared artistic
views made their cooperation strong, and the Board members began to feel
bypassed. A suggestion to engage the Swedish tenor Julius Saloman in the
middle of the season in February 1875 set off a series of discussions among
the Board members, concerning not only Saloman’s suitability for the company,
but also the very future of the opera company. For some time Josephson
had been searching for a reliable and professional tenor instead of the
Norwegian actor Hans Brun, the only tenor in the company, who barely
managed each role. In his search Josephson came across the young Swedish
tenor Julius Saloman (1838–1893), who had made a recent successful debut
in Stockholm in the title role of Alessandro Stradella (Nordensvan 1918).
Josephson asked the Board for permission to bring Saloman to the Chris-
14 Thorvald Lammers (1841–1922) had studied with Arlberg and later with Franscesco
Lamperti in Milano.The young Norwegian singers Rosa Asmundsen and Johanne Hoch
sang in Zerlina’s and Donna Elvira’s roles respectively. (Qvamme 2004, pp. 98–99.)
15 The orchestra normally consisted of 30 musicians (Blanc 1899).
16 “[H]ela uppsättningen tog sig värdigt och elegant ut, efter samma sceneri af mig som
ännu i Stockholm användes med undantag af helveteseldarna, som jag ifrigast en gång
för alla låtit släcka å Stockholms teater.” (“Ideal och verklighet.” Vol. XIII, p.61. )