Open borders: Prague picks Norwegian boss

The former head of Norway Opera will take over at Prague’s iconic National Theatre next summer, it was announced today.

There may be linguistic and cultural difficulties ahead.

Per Boye Hansen said: I have the deepest respect and admiration for your vast artistic heritage. Composers like Smetana, Dvořák, Martinů and Janáček represent an unique part of opera history, quite amazingly considering the relatively small country and language group they belong to. Both the opera company at Prague National Theatre Opera and State Opera, in order to achieve the desired level of international competitiveness, need to be strengthened throughout. I do feel highly motivated to use my experience and competence in order to increase the opera’s reputation and strengthen its position.’

Hansen was terminated in Oslo in 2015 amid long-running turbulence at Norway’s rickety opera house.