Theatre
The Death of Balder
Balders Død
Johannes Ewald · 1775
Synopsis
In a fir forest in the mountains of Norway, the demigod Balder pines for Nanna, daughter of Gevar, a mortal who prefers Prince Hother, of the line of the Skioldungs. Thor tries in vain to bring his friend back to reason. Victor in a first combat, Balder has spared Hother, who wanders unarmed and despairing among the rocks; but Loke, in disguise, stirs up the rivalry, and three valkyries give Hother a weapon capable of striking a son of Odin.
Context
The text was composed from May to November 1773 at the inn of Rungsted, where its author had been placed in March and lived two happy years; the inn became Rungstedlund, the home of Karen Blixen, who paid tribute to the poet in her essays. It appeared in the eleventh volume of the Essays of the Society for the Fine and Useful Sciences, dated 1774-1775, corrected on the remarks of one of its members, A. G. Carstens, with plates by Johannes Wiedewelt. The stage gave it on 30 January 1779 to music by Johann Ernst Hartmann, written for two orchestras and three choirs. Sung pieces are interspersed in the dialogue, among them the trio of the valkyries, a formula destined for a long fortune in Denmark.
Who it is for
A sung tragedy in three acts, in eleven-syllable verse interspersed with airs. No French translation; George Borrow's English version is available online.
Prizes and reception
Hailed from its publication as the great classical drama that Danish theatre had lacked; the 1779 premiere was a success.
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