Olav Anton Thommessen The Hermaphrodite
Eir Inderhaug, Isa Katharina Gericke (sopranos). Anna Elisabeth Einarsson (mezzo). Nils Harald Sødal (tenor). Espen Fegran (baritone). Ketil Hugaas(bass). Oslo Sinfonietta dir. Christian Eggen (voice)
Aurora ACD5049 (104 minutter)
Olav Anton Thommessen composed his 2-act chamber ballet-opera The Hermaphrodite in stages between 1970 and 1980. Constructed from seven independent chamber cantatas, when heard together the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The beautifully balanced vocal cast (including the conductor) collectively narrate the libretto—with its themes of secret revelation, betrayal, redemption and forgiveness, love in all its joy and despair—and sing the Hermaphrodite him/herself and supporting characters with mercuro-venereal delicacy. The Oslo Sinfonietta are excellent, the percussion sextet shining brightest of all.
Listened to without the visual dimension, Thommessen’s richly worked music may seem a little forbidding, but on repeated acquaintance its expressive lyricism, instrumental exhilaration—try the percussion writing at the end of Mutually—and integrated development impress strongly. Despite its sectional construction, there is a clearly focussed dramatic thrust throughout. One of the finest Norwegian theatrical scores since Nordheim’s ballet The Tempest.
Guy Rickards
Klassisk Musikkmagasin 2016:3
(Published with permission from Klassiskmusikk.com)