“a brilliant new pop opera; the arrival of a new and vital voice from the frozen north; the most impressive new piece to come out of Scandinavia” (TIME magazine, May 1989)

Which Witch was originally commissioned for the Bergen International Arts Festival in 1987, and got an overwhelming reception from critics and public alike.

The concert versions have had a tremendous following, attracting more than 275,000 people in nine countries, testifying to the fact that rock and opera can be naturally united into a satisfying whole even for the most discerning audiences. This has been paralleled by the sales of more than 110,000 albums, together with a Norwegian Grammy award for the studio album.

Which Witch is a free adaptation of an incident from the witch-hunter's handbook, the 15th century Malleus Maleficarum, and has been created by Ole A. Sørli in close cooperation with Benedicte Adrian and Ingrid Bjørnov.

Adrian and Bjørnov have together and separately composed the music, with Bjørnov doubling as musical director and keyboardist, and Adrian performing in the role of Maria Vittoria. Producer Sørli wrote the original manuscript, and has been executive director for the project. The lyrics of the early concert versions were written by Helen Hampton and Roger Avenstrup, in collaboration with Adrian, Bjørnov and Sørli.

Before this all-consuming project, Adrian and Bjørnov were performing and recording as a pop/rock/opera duo, Dollie de Luxe. Their records and performances up until 1996 have been produced by Sørli, and it is this trio's combination of rock music and classical elements that has created “great melodic beauty and taut rhythmic drive” (TIME magazine).

In 1989, the industrial giant Norsk Hydro gave Which Witch Norway's biggest cultural sponsorship, thus making it possible to follow long term artistic and commercial objectives in the development of the project.

October 1992 saw the highlight so far with the premiere of the operamusical at the Piccadilly Theatre in London. Altogether 76 performances were given for a total audience of 37,000 before the show had to close in December.

The libretto for the West End production was written by its director Piers Haggard, with Kit Hesketh-Harvey as lyricist. Set design was by Richard Hudson, costume design by Mark Bailey, choreography by William Tuckett, lighting design by Mark Henderson, sound by Bobby Aitken and orchestrations by Martin Koch.

On March 1st, 1993 the London Cast Album was relased, followed by TV broadcasts of a documentary of the West End production. This all led up to a 1993 summer concert tour that was the biggest ever music event in Norway, setting box office records everywhere.

Following summer concerts in 1994 of a Norwegian version, Which Witch has only been performed in semi-professional theatre and concert productions. In addition to this, a TV production of the West End final performance has been shown on Danish, Norwegian and Czech television (2002).





Project credits

In addition to the project’s main sponsor, Norsk Hydro a.s, the following product sponsors have also contributed considerably: Yamaha, Norway (musical instruments); Honda, Norway (company cars); Apple, Norway (computer equipment); British Airways, Norway (travels).