Northern Norwegian Stockfish Opera in Venice

This past weekend, the Northern Norwegian opera, the Querini Opera, premiered in Venice.

The Querini Opera tells the story of Pietro Querini, a Venetian nobleman and merchant traveler who ran aground on the island Røst in Lofoten, Northern Norway, in January 1432. Querini has been credited for the island's close relationship with Italy and the stockfish trade between the two countries. The opera is also popularly called "the stockfish opera," given the dried fish's central part of the show as one of the most important commodities in Northern Norway. 

The opera has been performed annually on the island of Røst since 2012 and had its Italian premiere on October 17th in Venice. The project is part of Bodø2024, in which the Nordland county capital becomes the European Capital of Culture for 2024.