Icons of Europe This fleur-de-lys represents the aims of Icons of Europe asbl. The fleur-de-lys figure has been used as an ornament or emblem by almost all civilisations of the old and new worlds.

Nightingale Opus 24

Avant-premiere in Lasne, Belgium on 11 October 2003
One-hour musical drama for piano, two sopranos, narrator
Chopin, Jenny Lind, Hans Christian Andersen, Queen Victoria
Music by Chopin, Bellini and two Scandinavian composers
Daniel Blumenthal, Biljana Staffansson, Ljiljana Jovanovic
Daniel Blumenthal in Act 3, In doubt. Ljiljana Jovanovic and Biljana Staffansson at the cocktail-buffet that followed the musical drama.
Act 4, Hope: "What a duet it will be!" (from The Nightingale story by Hans Christian Andersen, 1843). The audience was seated in two separate groups.
Act 5, Death: Ljiljana Jovanovic standing at the piano singing and playing for Chopin as Delfina Potocka did on 15 October 1849. >
Act. 5:
Miss
Jovanovic
solo
(Aria Finale)
<		 Delfina Potocka / the artificial bird singing and playing for Chopin / the emperor, who "lay cold and pale in his splendid bed".
Video clip (4 min.) | Free player
In a historical correct context, the narrator introduces each of the six acts with original quotes from letters Chopin wrote in 1848-1849 and from Hans Christian Andersen's story The Nightingale.  These quotes match each other to an extraordinary extent.		 The three artists with the playwrights, Cecilia and Jens Jorgensen.


Video clip *
The drama
The artists
Poster (pdf)
The romance
The symbolism
Nightingale story:
DK  |  EN  |  FR

COMITE d'HONNEUR:

The Ambassadors of:
Poland
Sweden
France
United Kingdom
Germany
Denmark

Audience feedback

Hans Christian Andersen wrote the Nightingale story in 1843 as a tribute to Jenny Lind - the woman he loved, but never could get.

It was emphasized in the 11 October programme that the musical drama and the new biography provide support in terms of advocacy and fund-raising for the global fight against tuberculosis.
Royal Danish Embassy
Brussels

With thanks to our sponsors

 

 Icons of Europe

VIDEO CLIP:  4 MINUTES (2.25 MB)
* If necessary, download and run the Free RealOne Player.
In case you start from the www.real.com site, click in the
upper right corner (not the Free Download 14 Day Trial).
Note the name of the file and when downloaded,
find it and click on it to complete installation.

When the video clip is playing, right-click the mouse on
the image and try the Theater Mode at Double Size.
For proper performance in any mode, first-time users
may have to review the video a second time.
A video cassette is available on request.