Background
Martin Andreas Udbye was born in Trondheim, Norway to Ole Jonsen Tollrorskar Udbye (1785-1856) and Birgitte Øien (1781-1866).
Martin Andreas Udbye was born in Trondheim, Norway to Ole Jonsen Tollrorskar Udbye (1785-1856) and Birgitte Øien (1781-1866).
In 1851, Udbye took a trip to Leipzig, where he concentrated on organ and composition. The following year he was back in his hometown, where he was hired as a music teacher at the Trondheim Cathedral School. Largely self-taught, he produced an impressive output of diverse and complex works including the first Norwegian opera, Fredkulla.
Participant of Norway"s first opera was promoted locally in Trondheim during 1858 and met with enthusiasm.
Udbye"s first attempt to present Fredkulla to the Norwegian national audience was thwarted in 1877 when the Christiania Theatre, where it was scheduled to be performed, closed due to fire. The opera was forgotten until Norsk Rikskringkasting reconstructed material and produced a concert version on the radio to commemorate its centennial in 1958.
The opera was performed as part of the celebration of the 1,000 year anniversary of the founding of Trondheim during 1997. His other stage works include three operettas: Hr.
Perrichons reise (1861), Hjemve (1864), and Junkeren og flubergrosen (1867).
He also composed several choruses, three string quartets (1851-1855), an orchestral sketch entitled Lumpasivagabundus (1861), a fantasy on Scandinavian melodies for violin and orchestra (1866), 20 piano trios, and 100 organ preludes among other works. The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, edited by Stanley Sadie (1992). and