Lord of the Rings in Oslo

Lord of the Rings in Concert, Frognerparken, Oslo (All photos: Norwegianblogger)


Saturday the biggest park in Oslo, Frognerparken, was filled with ten thousands of people for a Lord of the Rings Concert. Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Anbjørg Lien, Sølvguttene, Oslo Bach Choir and others joined forces to give a two-hour performance of Howard Shore's score from the Lord of the Rings movies. I walked into the park a few minutes after they started to play, and walking underneath the big, old trees, with the sun shining and partying, picnicking people everywhere, felt like entering into an enormous party at Hobbiton. And then, to have the film music all over the place made the setting complete. The music was great, the orchestra was great, and the setting was fantastic. The concert could possibly have been cut down a little bit more - some parts felt a little repetitive, but in the great atmosphere Saturday, that didn't matter. During the last minutes of the concert, the sky opened and the rain poured down. That's Norway at this time of the year I guess - always difficult with open-air festivities. In spite of this: A great afternoon!
In the evening A-ha played for 120 000 people, but I joined a friend to a play at the National Theater. It was called "Demokrati" ("Democracy") and is written by Michael Frayn. The play is about the German chancellor Willy Brandt, and his assistant Günter Guillaume, who after four years was revealed to be a spy for East Germany. An interesting plot for a play, and I was definitely impressed by it!