Opera Café: Woman and Comrade

Siv Trine Haldaas, screenwriter, composer and performer, presents a taste of a brand new work that is in progress.
The musical theatre Woman and Comrade (with lyrics/music by Siv Trine Haldaas,) is a portrait of Augusta Aasen (1878-1920) from Osen, one of the country's early champions of labor politics and women's issues.

Cast: Siv Trine Haldaas composer/mezzo-soprano/actress,

Alex Robson, violin/primarius,

Anders Larsen, violin,

Ole Wuttudal, viola,

Karoline Brevik, cello.

The script is based on Arild Bye's biography Augusta Aasen – Viljen. Striden. Reisen. En livshistorie 1878-1920 (Foreningen Gamle Steinkjer, 2020).

The music, performed by a string quartet and mezzo-soprano, is part of the story as a co-star, closely woven with the text. It outlines both the emotional undertones of the story and the dramatic ones, with references to the political currents that formed the backdrop for Augusta Aasen's lifelong dedication.

Organized by the Norwegian Opera Friends Association and Skeive Stemmer Operakompani. The concert series is supported by the Norwegian Directorate of Culture and Sparebank1 smsn

Operakafé presents curated quality concerts in informal settings, where the audience gets up close to outstanding opera singers. We challenge both the audience and performers with a varied program and highlight queer, unique and marginalized voices. In this way, we create a low-threshold meeting place that contributes to dialogue, knowledge and interest in opera, and that reaches a wide audience.

In collaboration with Skeive Stemmer, we provide space and work for queer artists and stories. Queer performers and audiences have long been part of the opera community, and we want to give space to stories that reflect their experiences. The audience gains insight into the music and the singer's artistry through personal anecdotes and historical perspectives.

Operakafé has developed into an arena for artistic collaborations across genres, without hierarchy and status quo. We want to reflect the diversity of society, and the audience today ranges from 18 to 90 years old. Generational meetings and meetings across culture and identity have become a natural part of our expression.