A Magnificent Opera
–Frozen Seas and Soaring Music in Majestic Herr Arnes penningar
Peter Nordahl’s orchestra surges with the power of the ocean.
A solitary viola timidly introduces a haunting motif which the string section slowly continues to braid and weave, reminiscent of fugue artistry à la Béla Bartók. Peter Nordahl soon cranks up the volume, adding a modern timbre to his musical tapestry.
Peter Nordahl wields a lavish palette, blending the film score’s love for cymbal glissandos and swift arpeggios with a freer, more expansive tonality. His orchestra resounds with power, not as in the crashing of ocean waves, but in the surging tides of emotion.
–Dagens Nyheter, Camilla Lundberg
The music swells with emotion
Composer Peter Nordahl masterfully conjures atmospheres of eerie stillness, of shifting musical landscapes and striking crescendos, employing innovative orchestrations and rich tonal colors to bring texture and depth to the sweeping musical drama. At times weighty and ominous, at others light and playful, the music breathes movement and drive into the unfolding narrative.
-Barbro Westling, aftonbladet
Magnificent, Breathtakingly Beautiful
and Deeply Moving New Opera
That composer Peter Nordahl and author Sara Bergmark Elfgren—both newcomers to the world of musical theatre—have managed to create such a cohesive opera is nothing short of sensational. Their powerful, breathtakingly beautiful, and terrifyingly haunting musical drama breaks down our defenses and opens our senses to new depths.
Peter Nordahl’s music skillfully paints emotions and moods, elevating the text so that we truly understand, on a deep level, the story being told. There are heart-wrenchingly beautiful arias, dialogue scenes steeped in melancholy and tension, seductively intricate melodies, and choral passages that surge wildly, like the sea.
-ingegerd rönnberg, Kulturbloggen
The music instills fear in a chilling tale of love
At Folkoperan, the music trickles in a melodic rivulet along the orchestra, expanding and merging into a shared body of water, only to freeze into a long, drawn-out note as the atrocity at Solberga parsonage unfolds.
The element of horror is not emphasized in the staging, but by the music: the tonality becomes delicate and ethereal as Sigrid glides forward, while Sir Archie’s pangs of conscience echo in the breaking of spring ice – metallic screeches and creaks.
-Loretto Villalobos, Svenska Dagbladet
Nordahl’s music is highly effective
…with tightly woven and lush harmonies that closely mirror the shifting emotional tones.