''Arnljot'' is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

by the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

composer

Wilhelm Peterson-Berger Olof Wilhelm Peterson-Berger ( 27 February 1867, Ullånger — 3 December 1942, Östersund) was a Swedish composer and music critic. As a composer, his main musical influences were Grieg, August Söderman and Wagner as well as Swedish folk id ...

. Written in 1906, it premiered April 13, 1910, and was revised in 1956. The origin to ''Arnljot'' is a melody that Wilhelm Peterson-Berger created when he first visited

Jämtland Jämtland (; no, Jemtland or , ; Jamtish: ''Jamtlann''; la, Iemptia) is a historical province () in the centre of Sweden in northern Europe. It borders Härjedalen and Medelpad to the south, Ångermanland to the east, Lapland to the north a ...

in 1898. When he journeyed over

Storsjön Storsjön (, lit. "The Great Lake") is the fifth largest lake in Sweden, with an area of and a greatest depth of . It is the largest lake in central Sweden, located in the province of Jämtland in modern Jämtland County. From Storsjön runs the ...

he was inspired by the nearby mountains, Oviksfjällen. The

consists of three parts and the historical foundation of the opera is the character ''Arnljot Gelline'' that is mentioned in

Snorri Sturluson Snorri Sturluson ( ; ; 1179 – 22 September 1241) was an Icelandic historian, poet, and politician. He was elected twice as lawspeaker of the Icelandic parliament, the Althing. He is commonly thought to have authored or compiled portions of the ...

saga is a series of science fantasy role-playing video games by Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu at Square (video game company), Square. It has since continued across multiple platforms, ...

about '' Olav Haraldsson (den Helige, Rex perpetuus Norvegiae)'' and the writings on Frösöstenen, the rune stone that is placed on

Frösön Frösön (, ; " Frey's island"), (Old no, Frøys øy) is the largest island in the lake Storsjön, located west of the city Östersund in Jämtland, Sweden. During most of recorded history Frösön was the regional centre of Jämtland, and it is t ...

. Out of these components, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger wrote his drama.

Performance history

The original performance of ''Arnljot'' as an opera was put on on April 13, 1910, at the

Royal Theater Royal Theatre or Royal Theater may refer to: Venues Australia * Royal Theatre, Canberra Belgium * Royal Theatre of La Monnaie, Brussels * Royal Park Theatre, Brussels * Royal Flemish Theatre, Brussels Canada * Royal Theatre, Victoria, Briti ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

.History of the Royal Swedish Opera
(retrieved Sep 11, 2007) However, Wilhelm Peterson-Berger had already two years earlier allowed amateurs to perform parts of the texts and music on Frösön on a midsummer night eve. Nearly 3.000 persons witnessed this amateur performance of the Arnljot play. Today, each summer the ''Arnljot'' play (the opera is performed as a play, but the texts and music remains the same) staged in an outdoor environment on the island of Frösön, close to where the actual premiere took place in 1908. The background of the stage is a panoramic view over Storsjön and Oviksfjällen; thus, when the audience hears the introduction tune of the opera, they see the same view as Wilhelm Peterson-Berger did when he created the opera. 2012 is the 73rd summer with Arnljot on Frösön since 1935.

Famous passage from the drama

The quote below serves as an inspiration for the present-day

independence movement Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

(an established cultural institution) that exists in the Swedish province of Jamtland. "Listen Jamtar ('Jämts') to what I have to say for a while. Not even eighty winters have passed since Jamtland was still free and in charge of its own business. Back then, no taxes was given away to foreign kings. Why we settled being enslaved, at first under Norway and then under Svitiod reference to Sweden are something that I have never understood. This country, being protected by forests, bogs and mountains, is difficult to raid and easy to defend. There are plenty of fighting men among us and more such men can be brought here if paid by goods. Therefore, I now advise you - end this dispute of which kingdom we belong. Let us refuse all foreign attempts to make us a county, no matter who demands this from us. Let us again seize our former freedom and elect a chief for all of our country, a king who will lead our struggle if the struggle is needed to defend our homes and our land." / Sigurd in Slandrom, one of the chieftains in Jämtland supporting Arnljot as king, at the "

thing Thing or The Thing may refer to: Philosophy * An object * Broadly, an entity * Thing-in-itself (or ''noumenon''), the reality that underlies perceptions, a term coined by Immanuel Kant * Thing theory, a branch of critical theory that focuses ...

" on Frösön, act I, June 1025.

Recordings

*Arnljot (excerpts) Erland Hagegard,

Karin Langebo Karin Hillevi Langebo-Lilliebjörn (1927–2019) was a Swedish soprano opera singer, harpist and voice teacher. She made her stage debut in 1956 at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre as Ninetta in Mozart's opera buffa ''La finta semplice''. In addit ...

, Edith Thallaug, Bjorn Asker, Kage Jehrlander, Male Chorus from the Stockholm Philharmonic Choir, Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra conducted Okko Kamu. Sterling 1CD

References

{{Reflist Operas 1908 operas 1910 operas Swedish-language operas Operas by Wilhelm Peterson-Berger