Fram – an opera between dream and reality
Hilde Andersen, Synne Skouen, Oda Radoor / Photo: Adam Olsson
Present-day drama centred on old age and Nansen
In the opera Fram, we follow the aging social anthropologist Ameli, who has discovered that life is moving towards the end. She hates the fact that everything has become a daily struggle, that she can no longer manage on her own. Fridtjof Nansen and his ship Fram suddenly appear in her dreams and she gains renewed vitality through this alternate reality.
Synne, as I understand it, the ‘Nansen project’ haunted you for quite a few years?
“The first time I contacted the Oslo Opera House about Nansen was right after I worked on Kjersti Alveberg’s ballet Volven in 1991. Our request was turned down. The second time I submitted it was with Marit Tusvik as the librettist to Operatoriet, a workshop for trying out new work. And it was performed there. At the time, there was actually interest in developing it into a full-fledged opera, but I had come to the realisation that I did not want to write an historic opera. I wanted a present-day story.
So, Oda made the very smart move to make the aging social anthropologist Ameli the main character, who dreams about Nansen during the final stages of her life. Oda imagined that dying was probably just as exhausting as walking to the North Pole – and that propelled us into the present day.”
What prompted the link between an elderly woman, Nansen and Fram?
“Hilde, Synne and I found ourselves talking a lot about our parents at one point, about dying,” says Oda. “I then lost my father and started thinking about how exhausting it must be to grow old. Synne also talked about Fram, about the library inside the ship, the paintings on the walls, the barrel organ and accordion. I pictured a sort of cultured home that sailed off to the North Pole and that reminded me of the type of home my grandparents’ generation lived in: these wonderful, old wooden houses with floors that creaked like in a boat and that no one ever wanted to leave.
For many, growing old is painful and exhausting. And I suddenly envisioned the Fram expedition: the sense of heaviness in your legs and body, the experience that your body is working against you, which made me think about the crew on the Fram as they forged a path through the frozen wasteland. So, expedition was the link here! And I borrowed some of the text from Nansen’s Farthest North (Fram over Polhavet).”
When dreams become a tool
In the opera, Ameli drifts in and out of dreams and does not always relate to actual reality in the same way as, for example, her son Andreas does.
Oda remembers her own father excitedly telling her about the good dreams he had towards the end of his life.
“When I pointed out that what he was telling me never actually happened, he said, ‘This is something that helps get me through the day, so what’s the problem?’”
Hilde elaborates on the meaning of the dream for the main character.
“Dreams are necessary for our health. In Fram, we see how Ameli becomes physically strong and vitalised in her dream. She dares to shoot a bear, sleeps with Nansen, and fulfils what she was unable to accomplish in life. This allows her to let go of life and die. And she would not have been able to do so without having experienced everything she achieves in her dreams.”
Hilde, how do you and Hege Høisæter portray this woman, who journeys through different levels of consciousness?
“Instead of acting confused or senile, her state of mind is shown through her actions. It is much more interesting to see that Ameli is afraid of not being able to keep up or make things happen, that she has physical pains. She then drifts into a dream. She dreams that the ship arrives and a little while later, she finds herself on the ship. And it is a very vivid experience for her.”
When realism crosses over into poetry
The plot is very concrete and realistic here: Ameli is at home, cannot find her glasses, is no longer able to manage on her own. But then the dream also becomes reality – and the music and sound effects imply and emphasise and move it all forward.
How do you address the tension between poetry, dream and brutal realism in terms of text, music and direction?
“We see the world through Ameli’s eyes, so everything that happens is real,” says Oda.
Hilde describes how during a rehearsal, Hege stood staring at a picture of her house inside the Fram. She suddenly turned and looked directly into the auditorium.
“It was fantastic; all of a sudden, she was abruptly pulled back into her awake reality, suddenly wondering where she was and what had happened. It was very powerful. At that moment, she communicated to the audience that she understood that all of this was a dream, that it was a way to prepare to die.”
The director was impressed by all three leading roles:
“We knew that Frode Olsen would be perfect for the role of Fridtjof Nansen. He is truly a great and experienced performing artist. And he looks a bit like Nansen, too! The tenor, Eirik Grøtvedt, is young and has already made a name for himself as both an actor and singer. The interaction between him and Hege is so genuine and brave on both their parts. It is truly touching for me to see how they develop the scenes they share.”
Are there different layers to the music to indicate that she is at home, at the nursing home or in a dream?
The composer explains, “The ship has its own music, and when Nansen says ‘dream with me’, it’s his music. There are different musical themes that are intended to support the action and setting.”
Hilde adds, “I’ve also worked a bit against the music, trying not to lose energy when there are lots of falling movements, but to sometimes think contrapuntally, so that it does not become too sorrowful, but it ends up that way anyway.”
“I’m a minor key composer, after all,” says Synne with a little smile.
Dynamic partnership
To what extent do you influence the direction as a composer, Synne? I’m thinking here in terms of stage direction, understanding and interpretation. And how early in the process do you get involved?
“We got together to discuss the text during workshops over the course of two years, so when I sat down to write the music, I had already been deeply involved throughout the different stages.”
“But Hilde also described the scenes for Synne while composing, so we’ve worked parallel to each other in a way,” adds Oda.
Hilde continues, “I can tell Synne that ‘it actually takes some time to get the entire ship on stage, so is there enough music for that entire scene?’ She then adds a bit of music to make it work.”
“Yes, I even brought more music with me here today,” laughs Synne.
When the conductor’s away, the singers will play
It is very exciting that the music is honed and also adapted to the direction – and not only the other way around! Is that common when creating opera today?
“Just like in the previous opera, Ballerina, there is no conductor in Fram. It’s not very common on an opera stage, but I wanted a genuine chamber work,” says Synne. “That means that instead of a conductor, it may be a viola that indicates the length of a piece of music before something new happens.”
“But this requires enormous concentration on stage. After all, everyone is dependent on each other here,” explains Hilde.
Synne adds, “It also limits the complexity of the music. The music can’t be very compact, but needs to be more dynamic, more transparent.”
Oda eagerly asks, “That’s fascinating, Synne, what exactly do you mean by that?”
“It means that if you have music with a highly compact structure, in other words when everything has to be very synchronised and with complex chords and lots of instruments playing together, you are dependent on a conductor to get all of the instruments to the same place at the same time. But you can’t have that kind of music without a conductor.”
Synne laughs, “I like to joke around that this means you have to make very simple music, but I am a simple composer, so it fits me like a glove. You have to write music that is so open that it clears the way for the direction. Everything has to happen dynamically between all those involved.”
“The musicians are also on stage,” explains Hilde, “and it’s essential that everyone can communicate with each other. The violinist has to notice when Ameli sighs, for example, to know when to play. Or the percussion players. They need to see where they are and to respond to what they see.”
“The musicians play from my handwritten musical score, so they don’t see only their own voice, but the entirety, and their place within the whole.”
But Synne is not content with music from the stage.
“It became clear to me early on that we couldn’t recreate the grand soundscape of the Arctic with a string quintet, accordion, choir and percussions; we needed a symphony orchestra. That’s why I also wanted to use electroacoustic sounds, to have that as the setting for the acoustic music. I created these elements together with Mats Claesson in his studio. We hear barking dogs, ice sounds, ocean sounds and ship sounds.”
Nursing home residents, polar bears and an accordion on the cast list
In addition to the leading characters Ameli, Nansen and the son Andreas, we also encounter a number of choir singers. They are both Nansen’s crew and the elderly at the nursing home. What kind of function do they have?
“I wanted to create something that could include a men’s choir, which could act as a sort of protagonist and not just a group that supports the plot,” says Oda. “That’s why I created an opportunity for each individual choir singer, a sort of soloist function.”
Hilde continues, “After all, I work with them as a group, but there are some settings, such as at the nursing home, where the focus is absolutely on individuals, and in some scenes, we simply have them stand there in all their loneliness and longing.”
Next to the nine men is Ida Løvli Hidle and her accordion. She plays a slightly different and more active role than the other musicians, and her instrument helps to create unexpected soundscapes.
Hilde enthusiastically describes how something new and unanticipated is always taking place on stage, and how she discovered to her delight how the accordion can add even more than Synne wrote into the score.
“During a rehearsal, we were working on a scene in which a mobile phone was supposed to ring. Ida suddenly made a sort of phone sound on her accordion and it was just fantastic! ‘Yes, we need to include that,’ I said, the acoustic element, I love it!”
Synne looks at Hilde with satisfaction and says, “Then that’s exactly how we’ll do it! It’s probably much better than what we’ve made for the speakers!”
There are not only people and musicians in this opera, but various animals also play important roles. How did a bird, seal and polar bears end up in the plot?
“Nansen obviously encountered quite a few animals during his expeditions,” says Oda, “and he and his crew conducted research on them, took pictures of them or ate them.”
In Fram, the dancer and singer Silje Aker Johnsen portrays a bird, seal and polar bear. She also plays the role of Ameli’s daughter-in-law.
Delicate interaction, eye contact and inner conflict
“I like the chamber format,” says Synne. “I’m mostly interested in the interpersonal aspects, much more than the sense of grandeur that can be experienced on a large stage. In Volven, I had a full orchestra and choir and audio tape and all that. That’s absolutely marvellous, of course, but something completely different.”
She pauses for a brief moment before declaring with a smile, “If this turns out to be dreadful, it’s the composer who should be shot because there are only fantastic people in this opera!”
