Ålesund symfoniorkester Carmina Burana

Carl Orff’s
Carmina Burana

Conductor: Aage Richard Meyer

Soloists: Beate Mordal (soprano), Magnus Fremstad (tenor), Magnus Ingemund Kjelstad (baritone)

Featuring the Aalesund Opera Choir, the Volda University College Choir, the Ålesund Cultural School Children’s Choir, and the Ålesund Ballet School

Carl Orff’s *Carmina Burana* is one of the 20th century’s most popular and instantly recognizable choral works. Premiered in 1937, the work is based on a collection of medieval texts exploring the changing nature of life—love, spring and youth, the joys of drinking, fate, and transience. Through the use of a powerful choir, soloists, and a large orchestra, Orff creates music that shifts between the raw and rhythmic, the lyrical and the solemn. While the opening and closing movement, "O Fortuna," has become an iconic piece of music, the entirety of *Carmina Burana* encompasses a far greater musical range.

Soprano Beate Mordal is a sought-after Norwegian singer with a broad repertoire spanning opera, concert performance, and contemporary music. Originally from Molde, she trained at NTNU and the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, and has performed at several of Europe’s leading opera houses and festivals.

Tenor Magnus Fremstad hails from Ålesund but is now based in Oslo. He trained at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Academy of Opera at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. He works in opera, oratorio, and ensemble singing, with a repertoire ranging from the Baroque and Viennese Classical periods to Romantic opera.

Baritone Magnus Ingemund Kjelstad trained at the Norwegian Academy of Music and the Opera Academy in Copenhagen. He has made his mark on Norwegian and Danish opera stages in roles such as Guglielmo in *Così fan tutte*, Schaunard in *La bohème*, and Morales in *Carmen*.

Conductor Aage Richard Meyer has distinguished himself as an exciting conducting talent within the Norwegian music scene. He was among the first participants in the "Dirigentløftet" (Conductor’s Lift) talent program and has served as, among other roles, assistant conductor for the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. Meyer has conducted a number of Norwegian orchestras and worked with both operatic and symphonic repertoire.