En diva vender tilbake
If it hadn't been for Opera Sør's production of *The Green Knight*, it's by no means certain that the world would have had the chance to see Nina Gravrok as Tosca.
When Puccini’s timeless classic is staged this fall, Nina Gravrok will take on the role of the opera diva Floria Tosca. It is a role that suits her perfectly.
– It just comes naturally! I’m a bit of a diva at home, and my husband likes to call me his diva. But even though life as an opera singer may seem glamorous, it’s actually really hard work. That dress that looks so nice from a distance? It stinks!
The Game of Chance
Gravrok is really looking forward to bringing her family here, back to where it all began. Kilden very own Tosca actually began her singing career here in Southern Norway. She originally came to study jazz piano at Agder Folk High School in Søgne. Things went so poorly that she decided she had to switch instruments. So she applied to HiA for the basic program in drama and music, was accepted into the latter, with voice as her primary instrument and Birte Myhrstad and Hilde Norbakken as her teachers. Next came the conservatory, the music program that was then located on Kongensgate, just a short walk from the apartment where she lived in Tangen.
“I applied to both programs and happened to get into the classical program. ‘Well, I guess I’ll do that then.’ Everything was just a matter of chance back then,” she laughs.
“All those feelings are ones I’ve experienced myself. Instead of thinking about what it’s like to be jealous, I just feel it—and then I am.” Nina Gravrok, opera singer
Waiter 2 and Sister Black
She describes her college years as being heavily focused on social life: the student choir Spilloppus, where she even served as conductor; dice games at Javel; and late nights at Charlie’s Bar, often ending with a midnight swim in Baneheia. What prompted her to start practicing was Opera Sør and Agder Theater’s production of Paal-Helge Haugen and Bjørn Kruse’s newly written opera *Den grøne riddaren* (*The Green Knight*), in which some of the students participated.
– I played the role of Servant 2. I was supposed to sing the line “Everyone’s asking! Everyone’s asking!” I made the most of it. The actress playing Sister Black came up to me and said, “You’ve got a bit of an operatic voice, don’t you!” Then she encouraged me to apply to the opera academy! And I got in! No one could believe it! Was I really that good?
International standard
Now, nearly 15 years later, the answer is obvious. Nina Gravrok from Narvik has established herself as one of Norway’s leading sopranos, and in recent years has performed as Donna Elvira in Mozart’s *Don Giovanni*, Elsa in Wagner’s *Lohengrin*, and the title role in Puccini’s *Tosca*, to rave reviews. In addition, she is a highly sought-after concert singer. She has also performed on major stages abroad, something that Opera Director Frøydis Lind predicts she will do more of.
“We’ve selected young singers of international caliber whose voices complement each other. Several of them already have successful careers abroad,” says opera director Frøydis Lind.
At the top of the list was Nina Gravrok, who had already performed the role at the Norwegian Opera & Ballet. For Gravrok, it was an easy decision to accept the role, and for once, she could avoid the daunting task of rehearsing a new part: translating the Italian text word for word, and learning the words, the music, and the pronunciation.
“It’s not like in theater, where you start the first day with table reads. That’s why it’s great to know that I know the role and can bring everything I’ve learned to the table,” she says.
Ingrid Forthun, directorUsing intuition as a tool
But who, then, is Floria Tosca?
“It’s a matter of discussion with the director, but usually Tosca is jealous and passionate. She is strong, decisive, and has a big heart. And she loves Cavaradossi more than anything in the world,
says Gravrok.”
Like the character she plays, Nina Gravrok is also in a relationship with an artist; her husband, Mads Wighus, is also an opera singer, and audiences in Southern Norway may remember him from Kilden’s production of *The Magic Flute*, in which he played the role of Papageno. Nina insists that she doesn’t bring her private life or personal conflicts onto the stage; rather, she tries not to overthink things, but instead lets her intuition guide her on stage.
“All those feelings are ones I’ve experienced myself. Instead of thinking about what it’s like to be jealous, I just feel it—and then I am. But it’s important to have a direction you can believe in yourself,” she says.
Real #MeToo
This approach to working—from the inside out—also appeals to director Ingrid Forthun.
The director must bring human thoughts and emotions to life together with the actor or singer. After all, the actor or singer must stand there on stage and embody their character, identify with them one hundred percent, believe in what is being said or sung, and live it fully. Only then can they touch us deeply. Nina is such an artist—she is both a very good singer and a good actor. She offers genuine emotional struggles and thus has the ability to touch us deeply, says Forthun.
The director vividly remembers his first encounter with opera, at a time when different conventions governed what a singer was expected to do on stage.
“Back then, I thought opera was pretty awful. It was so stiff! Opera singers are trained completely differently today,” she says.
Both director Ingrid and diva Nina believe that the themes in Puccini’s opera are sadly relevant today.
“It’s really about abuse of power. The whole *Tosca* is basically a #MeToo story. You could set it in any society. Some powerful figure who wants to exploit women—it happens everywhere,” says Nina Gravrok.
Text by Kristin Øygarden
Photo by Jacob Buchard
TOSCA premieres onpremieres on September 8 and runs through September 22.
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