New directors’ team to head the Norwegian Opera & Ballet

The unanimous Board of Directors at the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet have announced that Ingrid Lorentzen has been appointed as the new director of the Norwegian National Ballet and Per Boye Hansen the new director of the Norwegian National Opera.

Both will start in their new positions on 1 August 2012 and serve for a period of five years. As directors of respectively the National Ballet and the National Opera they will be in charge of selecting the repertoire and will join the leadership team of the National Norwegian Opera & Ballet.

Administrative director Tom Remlov has led the committees which presented their recommendations to the Board, and says in a press release:

"Ingrid Lorentzen is a well-loved and highly respected artist who has helped create the success the National Ballet is now enjoying, and who has also been an inquisitive and active stakeholder in Norwegian cultural and social life. Per Boye Hansen has a solid foundation in the opera world, is ambitious and broad experience and knowledge, has a solid international base and a flawless sense of quality and audience appeal."

Through her 14 years as a dancer in the National Ballet Ingrid Lorentzen has made her mark in both the classical and modern repertoire.

"Never has the Norwegian National Ballet had a better point of departure and a greater potential than now" says Ingrid Lorentzen, who aims to create a signature that will set the Norwegian National Ballet apart from other leading companies.

Per Boye Hansen has worked in the opera world for more than 30 years. He comes to the opera director post after having served as the director of the Bergen International Festival since 2005.

"For me this is really a dream come true. I’m so grateful to have been given this opportunity to help influence the development of the opera in Norway" concludes Per Boye Hansen.

The two will complement the artistic trio in which John Helmer Fiore is Music Director.

(NRK/Press release)