Narrative and performative modalities in the Swedish opera-in-the-round

Drömmen om Thérèse

Abstract

The Swedish opera Drömmen om Thérèse (Dreaming about Thérèse) attracted national and international attention in the 1960s for its inventive approaches as an opera-in-the-round. Although this staging influenced the music’s functions, so far the music of this opera has been evaluated in accordance with the hegemony of narrative opera. Drömmen om Thérèse, however, offers an example of a contemporary fascination with exploring the spaces between borders, for instance, high versus popular culture and event performance versus recording. This article shows how the performative level of music in opera here acquires a particular quality through the incorporation of the devices of pluralism of styles, music in space and instrumental theatre. Rather than intoxication, the narrative-disrupting effect consists of a theatrical alienation. A relationship between performance and audience based on intimacy, equality, and reflection contributes to this effect.