Hjalmar Borgstrom: Fiskeren (The Fisherman)

Description

This opera encompasses a forced marriage, a pact with the devil, divine punishment, and forgiveness. The recording, initiated in 2008, has now taken its definitive form in this Simax release. Although Borgstrom wrote "Fiskeren" in 1900, it wasn't premiered until March 2003, with the newly established "Kristiansand Symfoniorkester".

Hjalmar Borgstrom, well-known and played from 1900 until his death in 1925, has gradually faded from the concert repertoire and been forgotten. He belonged to the generation after Grieg and was contemporary with Edvard Munch and Knut Hamsun, as well as composers like Halvorsen, Mahler, Debussy, and Sibelius. In addition to several orchestral works and a considerable amount of chamber music, Borgstrom composed two operas, "Thora paa Rimol" (1894) and "Fiskeren" ("DerFischer," 1900).

Between 1870 and 1920, during the "golden age" of Norwegian music history, approximately 30 operas and musicals were completed by Norwegian composers. Many of these, including "Thora" and "Fiskeren," have remained unperformed for a long time. In Borgstrom's case, it took over 100 years for his operas to have their premieres. In recent decades, more of these works have been brought out of obscurity, and many of them prove to be well worth rediscovering.

"a thrilling, excitable, theatrically astute and dramatically tight opera, particularly so during the storm that batters the entirety of Act 2." – Gramophone

"That Wagner is a deep influence is very obvious in The Fisherman. The presence of the sea invites comparison with Der fliegende Holländer, maybe also Tristan und Isolde. the music has great beauty, first and foremost in the orchestral writing. The playing of the [Norwegian National Opera Orchestra] is excellent." – MusicWeb International