Classical music strongly represented among the Hedda nominees
When the Hedda Award is presented on the main stage of Nationaltheatret on 14 June, classical music and opera are well represented among the nominees. Two of the three nominees in the category Best Stage Performance – Musical Theatre come from the world of opera, while both Bergen Nasjonale Opera and Operaen i Kristiansund are nominated in the category Best Musical Theatre Production.
Magnus Staveland as Peter Quint
Magnus Staveland is nominated for his performance in Britten's The Turn of the Screw at Den Norske Opera & Ballett. Staveland sang both the Prologue and the sinister ghost role of Peter Quint in this chamber opera, directed by Peer Perez Øian. The Turn of the Screw is a classic ghost story, but something deeper lurks beneath the surface - a work charged with hidden tensions, both sexual and social, in which Britten's music creates a claustrophobic and psychologically ambiguous atmosphere.
Sofia Nesje Enger as Mélisande
The Norwegian soprano Sofia Nesje Enger (b. 1995) completed her master's degree at Operaakademiet i Oslo in 2024. In autumn 2025 she sang Mélisande in Bergen Nasjonale Opera's new production of Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande, directed by Alan Lucien Øyen, with the French tenor Julien Behr in the title role of Pelléas. It was a role debut - and it was noticed. One reviewer described her lyric soprano as rich and beautiful in tone, with a light and appealing vibrato that suited Debussy's speech-like melodic lines exceptionally well.
Bergen opera nominated for best production
Pelléas et Mélisande is also nominated in the category Best Musical Theatre Production. Bergen Nasjonale Opera is behind the production - in collaboration with Bergen Filharmoniske Orkester and Edvard Grieg Korene. Alan Lucien Øyen directed the production.
Norwegian opera classic in a new opera and cultural centre
Edvard Fliflet Bræin's Anne Pedersdotter became the first opera staging at the new opera and cultural centre Normoria in Krisiansund.
The production was moreover nominated in the category Best Musical Theatre Production, and thereby ensured an explosive start for the new opera house.
The Hedda Award is presented for the 28th time on the main stage of Nationaltheatret on Sunday 14 June.
Photo: Monika Kolstad, (Pelleas et Melisande)
