''King Harald's Saga'', ''Grand opera in three acts for unaccompanied solo
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
singing eight rôles (based on the
saga
Sagas are prose stories and histories, composed in Iceland and to a lesser extent elsewhere in Scandinavia.
The most famous saga-genre is the (sagas concerning Icelanders), which feature Viking voyages, migration to Iceland, and feuds between ...
'
Heimskringla
() is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland. While authorship of ''Heimskringla'' is nowhere attributed, some scholars assume it is written by the Icelandic poet and historian Snorri Sturluson (117 ...
' by
Snorri Sturlson, 1179-1241)'' is a
monodrama
A monodrama is a theatrical or operatic piece played by a single actor or singer, usually portraying one character.
In opera
In opera, a monodrama was originally a melodrama with one role such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau's '' Pygmalion'', which w ...
by
Judith Weir
Dame Judith Weir (born 11 May 1954) is a British composer. She served as Master of the King's Music from 2014 to 2024. Appointed by Queen Elizabeth II, Weir was the first woman to hold this office.
Early life
Weir was born in Cambridge, Englan ...
, commissioned by
Jane Manning
Jane Marian Manning OBE (20 September 193831 March 2021) was an English concert and opera soprano, writer on music, and visiting professor at Guildhall School of Music & Drama and the Royal College of Music. A specialist in contemporary classi ...
and premiered on 17 May 1979. The score was published by Novello in 1982, and lasts under ten minutes, making it one of the shortest operas, and is possibly unique in having no instrumental accompaniment.
Synopsis
Act 1
King Harald of Norway sings of his exploits: "Whereas my brother the blessed and holy man Olaf said: Love thine enemies, I say: sever their limbs until they cause no trouble." A distant fanfare announces the arrival of Earl
Tostig, an English traitor who urges Harald to invade his homeland.
Act 2
Harald's dead brother
Saint Olaf
Saint Olaf ( – 29 July 1030), also called Olaf the Holy, Olaf II, Olaf Haraldsson, and Olaf the Stout or "Large", was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. Son of Harald Grenske, a petty king in Vestfold, Norway, he was posthumously given the ...
appears in a dream to warn him the expedition is ill-fated, but Harald gives the order to depart. His two wives sing a duet of farewell.
Act 3
The Norwegian Army lands at
Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to:
People
* Scarborough (surname)
* Earl of Scarbrough
Places Australia
* Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth
* Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong
* Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...
, singing a chorus of praise for their leader which is interrupted by a messenger warning of the approaching army of
Harold II of England
Harold Godwinson ( – 14 October 1066), also called Harold II, was the last crowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. Harold reigned from 6 January 1066 until his death at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066, the decisive battle of the Norman ...
. A surviving soldier narrates Harald's death in the
battle of Stamford Bridge
The Battle of Stamford Bridge () took place at the village of Stamford Bridge, East Riding of Yorkshire, in England, on 25 September 1066, between an English army under Harold Godwinson, King Harold Godwinson and an invading Norwegian force l ...
.
Epilogue
An Icelandic sage watches the corpses being brought back to Oslo: "I could have told him it would end like this."
References
{{Authority control
1979 operas
Operas
Operas set in the 11th century
Operas set in England
One-act operas
English-language operas
Operas by Judith Weir
Cultural depictions of Harald Hardrada
Fiction about dreams
Cultural depictions of Harold Godwinson