“The Norns project” is an Opera in concert form for female trio voices, percussion, piano, and violin written by Domenico Mannelli. It takes inspiration from the figure of the three women, who draw and decide the fate of men, present in Nordic mythology as the Norns, in that of ancient Rome with the name of Parcae, and in that of ancient Greece as Moirai.
The lyrics of the work are a montage of texts in Latin, ancient Greek, and ancient Icelandic. Fragments taken from the Poetic Edda, from Homer’s Odyssey, and poems by the ancient Roman poet Catullo are intertwined to tell a story. The Norns tell the hero’s journey through incomprehensible signs in search of his adequacy, of his place in the world, like an emigrant looking for his home by crossing geographical boundaries.
The music composition of the concert is indeed the synthesis of various sources of inspiration: ancient Greek music, medieval sacred music, popular music of different nations, and alternative rock from the present day.
Credits
Domenico Mannelli: Concept and composing
Conductor: Gunnar Sigfússon
Musicians
Singers: Johanne Baadsgaard Lange, Elisabeth Klein, Helene Tungelund
Violin: Anna Sakham Jalving
Percussion: Domiziana Del Mastro
Piano: Mads-Christian Paulsen