About Hulda
In Hulda, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s literature meets the music of one of the key classical European composers, César Franck. The Belgian-French composer César Franck (1822-1890) composed a full-length opera based on Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson’s play “Halte-Hulda” between 1879 and 1885.
The action takes place on the Romsdal coast in the 11th century, and virtually no one knows the opera today. It has been undeservedly forgotten for more than a hundred years. The score of the opera was rediscovered at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, and the only time the opera has been staged in its entirety in recent times was at Theater Freiburg, in the “Opera Discoveries” series in 2019.
The Lillehammer Opera Foundation, which consists of Lillehammer Symphony Orchestra and Lillehammer Opera Choir, is the owner of the project, which is led by a steering committee consisting of the current board of the Lillehammer Opera Foundation and a representative of the Maria Bjørnson Foundation.