Operaforestillingen Anne Pedersdotter

In 2026, the Kristiansund Opera presents Edvard Fliflet Bræin's powerful and gripping opera "Anne Pedersdotter" - a major work in Norwegian opera history and a dramatic portrait of a woman caught between evil and good, hate and love.

In Bræin's opera, we meet Anne, who is married to the elderly priest Absalon. He has a son from a previous marriage, Martin, who is the same age as Anne.

When she develops an intense and forbidden relationship with her young stepson Martin, rumors begin to swirl. Suspicions and gossip grow - not only about their love bond, but also about witchcraft and sorcery.

While Anne struggles with her own feelings and guilt, the society around her builds up to a climax of fear and hysteria. What begins as a human conflict develops into a witch trial without mercy - where morality, religion and power ultimately lead to tragedy.

Bræin's dramatic and expressive music elevates this story to a powerful musical and emotional level. The composer paints Anne's inner life with both darkness and beauty – and lets the audience feel the passion, the pain and the inevitable fall.

The opera is based on Hans Wiers-Jenssen's classic play from 1908, and is inspired by the real Anne Pedersdotter, the widow of the famous priest Absalon Pederssøn Beyer, who was convicted and burned as a witch in Bergen on April 7, 1590.

Anne Pedersdotter is an opera that sheds light on historical injustices, but also asks timeless questions: What happens when society loses the ability to distinguish between sin and love, fear and facts? Edvard Fliflet Bræin himself said, "We recognize the people of that time in ourselves. We still have witch trials. "Only the masks are different."

The Kristiansund Opera's production of this Norwegian masterpiece will be one of the highlights of 2026.