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Sebastian Fagerlund – Gunilla Hemming – Karl Ove Knausgård

Morgonstjärnan – The Morning Star

Duration
2 H, incl. an interval (estimated duration, specified during the premiere week)
When
30.1.2026
Where
Main Stage
Genre
Opera
On sale date
All performance dates and the ticket sales schedule will be announced in spring 2025.
Language
Swedish. Surtitles in Finnish, Swedish and English

A world premiere at the Finnish National Opera

A strange star rises above the city of Bergen. At first, few people take notice, but little by little, its regular appearance grows impossible to ignore. What happens to the human mind when the world changes in ways beyond our comprehension or control?

In The Morning Star, the story by legendary Norwegian author Karl Ove Knausgård meets the music of Sebastian Fagerlund, one of the most acclaimed composers of his generation. Gunilla Hemming has written a compelling libretto based on Knausgård’s novel.

The Morning Star is a startlingly prescient work for our time. It invites us to get to know a series of modern-day characters who are trying to make sense of the world and deal with the personal chaos in their lives – alcoholism, career disappointment, crises of faith and despair. At the very moment we, as a species, need to change and take greater responsibility for our actions, there is a collapse of collective meaning and action. The lives of the characters in this opera carry a critical warning for our own time and place.

The Morning Star will premiere at the Finnish National Opera on January 30, 2026. The production will be conducted by Hannu Lintu, Chief Conductor of the Finnish National Opera, and directed by Thomas de Mallet Burgess, Artistic Director of the Finnish National Opera.

Performance dates, cast details, and ticket sales schedule will be announced in spring 2025.

“The story of The Morning Star, with its collision of the unfathomable, mystical world and modern society, has been a great source of inspiration for me. The story of fear, curiosity, uncertainty, anger, and love is timeless. It holds a mirror to us, providing a deep and powerful reflection of our society and life.”

– Sebastian fagerlund, Composer

THE FIRST OPERA BASED ON A WORK BY KNAUSGÅRD

Sebastian Fagerlund, composer

Sebastian Fagerlund has established himself as one of the most important European composers of his generation. He is particularly well known for his large-scale works, his profound and powerful expression and his masterful orchestration.

In recent years, Fagerlund has gained significant international recognition, with commissions from leading orchestras, conductors, and musicians worldwide.

The Morning Star is his third opera. Fagerlund’s previous opera Höstsonaten – Autumn Sonata, based on Ingmar Bergman’s film of the same name, premiered at the Finnish National Opera in 2017 and was an international success.

Photo: Simon van Boxtel

Gunilla Hemming, librettist

Gunilla Hemming is a playwright based in Helsinki. After working as a dramaturge for the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle’s Radio Theatre, she has been a freelance playwright, translator, and screenwriter since the 1990s.

Hemming has written dozens of radio plays, television series, and scripts for children’s animations, as well as fifteen stage plays performed at Lilla Teatern, Svenska Teatern, and the Helsinki City Theatre, among others.

The adaptation of Ingmar Bergman’s Autumn Sonata was Hemming’s first opera libretto. Her latest libretto is for Tove Teuvalla, a new opera composed by Uljas Pulkkis, which premiered in summer 2024.

Karl Ove Knausgård, author

Karl Ove Knausgård is one of the most renowned and acclaimed contemporary authors in the Nordic countries. He rose to international fame with his six-volume autobiographical novel series My Struggle.

Knausgård, who has won multiple awards, has twice been nominated for the Nordic Council Literature Prize.

The Morning Star at the Finnish National Opera is based on his novel Morgenstjernen. It is the first of Knausgård’s works to be adapted into an opera.

Photo: Sølve Sundsbø

Creative team

MUSIC Sebastian Fagerlund
LIBRETTO BASED ON A NOVEL BY KARL OVE KNAUSGÅRD Gunilla Hemming
CONDUCTOR Hannu Lintu
DIRECTOR Thomas de Mallet Burgess
SETS Leslie Travers
COSTUMES Tracy Grant Lord
LIGHTING DESIGN Matthew Marshall
MOVEMENT DIRECTOR Sue Mythen

Synopsis


On a late, sweltering August evening, a giant star appears above the city of Bergen. The star triggers strange, mystical behavior in nature and animals. People begin to experience visions, and it seems as though the boundaries between life and death, and reality and unreality, are starting to blur.

As the opera progresses, the poignant fates of the six main characters are gradually revealed, layer by layer. Pastor Kathrine struggles with conflicts between her faith and her personal life, and journalist Jostein searches for a story that will make him famous once again. University professor Arne tries to escape the challenges of his wife’s mental illness, while senior nurse Solveig finds love. Jostein’s wife, nurse Turid, attempts to juggle the chaos of her own life, while Arne’s friend Egil is suddenly forced to care for a young son he feels no connection with.

PERFORMANCES, TICKETS AND CAST INFORMATION

The Morning Star will premiere on 30 January 2026. Other performance dates, cast details, and the ticket sales schedule will be announced in spring 2025.

Morgonstjärnan – The Morning Star is supported by Svenska kulturfonden.