Festival Stage

14.08.23

Get ready for an intoxicating mix of sea shanties, dance tunes, folk ballads and musical theatre. Bjarte Eike and Barokksolistene will bring their wild and exhilarating show to the Festival Stage and joining them is award-winning soprano, Mary Bevan.

Imagine you are in a pub in mid-17th century London. It might be a bit difficult on a summer evening outside in Copenhagen – but let’s try anyway! At the time, England's Puritan leader, Oliver Cromwell, had closed all the theatres in London, as he believed they housed inappropriate wartime entertainment. So, what were all the unemployed actors and musicians to do?  Well...they went to the pub of course!

Norway's Bjarte Eike and Barokksolistene have seduced audiences and critics across Europe and the US with their The Alehouse Sessions – an incomparable interpretation of the 400-year-old musical tradition that pairs the drama of the stage with Henry Purcell's baroque compositions, Scandinavian folk songs and a solid shot of improvisation. An enthusiastic critic from The Spectator wrote of a concert at London's Temple: "You haven’t lived until you’ve heard a hall full of pinstriped QCs bellowing like dockers!”

So grab this opportunity to be rocked at the Copenhagen Opera Festival, where the award-winning British soprano Mary Bevan joins the nine-member orchestra with powerful songs and an explosion of charisma.