Henrik Ibsen Rosmersholm


(5 stars; 1 reviews)

Henrik Ibsen Rosmersholm Translated by Frank McGuinness Adapted and directed by Peter Kavanagh The action takes place at Rosmersholm, an old manor house belonging to John Rosmer  near a small town on a fjord in Western Norway,1886. Ibsen's most complex play sees a society in turmoil through the lens of pastor John Rosmer and Rebekka, his social-revolutionary companion. Rosmer is recovering from the suicide of his unstable wife, Beata. Now Rebekka, replacing her in his affections, urges him to surrender his privileged place in conservative Norwegian society. A local elite plot to make him hold to the status quo. Can Rebekka prevail? John Rosmer: Nicholas Farrell Rebekka West: Helen Baxendale Professor Kroll: Ronald Pickup Ulrik Brendel: Karl Johnson Peder Mortensgaard: Philip Jackson Mrs Helseth: Christine Absolom Music: Composed and arranged by Marius Munthe-Kaas Music supervisor, Giles Perring Gro Hole Austgulen (violin), Elin Kleppa Michalsen (violin), Anna Cecilia Johansson (viola), Olav Stener Olsen (cello) Drama on 3 First broadcast: Sun 15th Jan 2017 21:00 on BBC Radio 3 'Quite contemptible' — 'Must nauseate any properly constituted person' — ''Morbid, impracticable rubbish' ... these were among the comments which greeted the first production of Rosmersholm in England in 1891: yet the architecture of the play is superb, and Ibsen's anticipation of later psychological theories remarkable. The play has a quality of infinity and we do not reach certainty, but did not Ibsen say: 'It is the dramatist's business to ask questions rather than answer them.' Rebekka West, the visionary, passionate heroine of 'Rosmersholm' inspired the English novelist to adopt that name.

This recording is part of the Old Time Radio collection.