A composer´s point of view 

Many consider opera an anachronism. The performative opera form needs to be constantly renewed in order to be relevant to today’s society. What is seen both in Norway and other countries is that contemporary operas very often are met with indifference by the audience.

In this session the famous Norwegian composer and pianist Wolfgang Plagge investigates the concept of opera from the composer’s point of view:

• How do you compose musical drama?
• What role does the librettist play?
• How important is the collaboration with the soloists / performers in the earliest phase of the composition process?

He will bring some lesser known opera scores and some of his own works as a starting point for a 90 minute session. The first half will be a lecture and the last half a deep dive into scores and other sheet music material.

Wolfgang Plagge started playing the piano at the age of four and made a sensational debut only twelve years old. He also started composing at an early age and had his first work published when he was twelve.