The Mærsk Opera is a documentary collaboration by SUPERFLEX, composer Anders Monrad and journalist Nikolaj Heltoft. A film work in three acts, The Mærsk Opera is based on true events leading up to the opening of one of the most controversial buildings in Denmark’s recent history.
The charitable foundation of Denmark’s richest man, the late Mærsk McKinney-Møller, donated the Opera House as a “people’s gift” to the City of Copenhagen on condition of its placement on an axis from The Marble Church through the Amalienborg royal palace. A public debate about artistic integrity, tax deductions and the public's reception followed the building process and continues to this day.
A tale of power-brokering leading up to the building’s completion is told through a composition of documentary filmmaking, animation, and material realism, and from the perspective of improbable characters; industrious ants, sonically manipulated liquid, a drifting meteorite, competitive cliff-divers, and a dog named Lea.
The Mærsk Opera premiered at the 2017 CPH:DOX, Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival.
The opera score was first presented at the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Center as part of the Copenhagen Art Festival in 2012.
Director: SUPERFLEX
Composer: Anders Monrad
Libretto: Nikolaj Heltoft & SUPERFLEX
Duration: 70 min
Subtitles: English
Director SUPERFLEX
Composer Anders Monrad
Librettists Nikolaj Heltoft & SUPERFLEX
Producer SUPERFLEX Studio
FILM PRODUCTION
Assistant director Ribka M. Pattinama Coleman
Editors Copenhagen Brains, Ribka M. Pattinama Coleman
Color grader Dicki Lakha
3D animator Suzanne Soulier
Production coordinator Huynh Ngo Van Anh
Sound engineer Rasmus Winther Jensen
Mix cinema SDI Media
Camera assistant Thomas Woltmann
Hand actor Doug Leack
Dog Lea
Translator Margaret Malone
CAMERA OPERATORS
Johan Schnéevoigt
Catherine Pattinama Coleman
Huy Tran
Le Tran Trung
Michelle Ruiz
MUSIC PRODUCTION
Sound technician and mastering Mikkel Nymand
Conductor Jesper Nordin
Producer Jesper Lützhøft
SINGERS
Nina Bols Lundgren
Sophie Thing-Simonsen
Rebecca Forsberg
Emil Lykke
Adam Riis
Simon Duus
Morten Staugaard
Bo Nanfred
Morten Lassenius Kramp
MUSICIANS
Christian Westergård, piano
Rikke Sandberg, piano
Tanja Zapolski, piano
Hammond Manuel Esperilla, synth
Anders Monrad, synth
Rune Højmark, steel guitar
Ekkozone
Mathias Reumert, percussion
David Hildebrandt, percussion
Matias Seibæk, percussion
Mads Hebsgaard Andersen, percussion
Alexander Skjold, percussion
SUPERFLEX would like to thank
CPH:DOX
Tine Fischer
ATHELAS Sinfonietta Copenhagen
Edithouse
SDI Media
Simon Ellegaard
Caroline Sascha Cogez
Laura Na Blankholm
Danish Composers’ Society
Isabella Magnoni
Nanna Balslev Strøjer
Angela Adaix
Malene Natascha Ratcliffe
Soleyman Said
Gry Stangegård Schneider
Anna Barkne
Anne Hofmann Andersen
Mindaugas Reklaitis
Emil Ballegaard
Viktor Harald
KODA’s Fund for Social and Cultural Purposes
Produced with support from the Danish Arts Foundation
