The transition from novel to opera lies at the heart of Heroin Chic, a collaboration between composer Solveig Sørbø and writer Maria Kjos Fonn. Fonn adapted her own novel into the libretto, giving Sørbø the text for a two-act work exploring addiction, sexuality, fractured identity and the desire to move beyond physical existence.
The story centres on Elise, a young woman caught between her mother’s idealised view of her and her own increasingly troubled inner world. After leaving home, she becomes involved with rocker Joakim and moves deeper into drug use and self-destruction. A further character, D, represents her destructive subconscious, bringing an internal psychological force into the opera’s cast of figures.
Sørbø’s musical response spans 90 minutes and draws together contemporary classical music, avant-garde elements and popular-cultural influences. Its instrumentation includes a prominent percussion section and cimbalom, alongside an extensive soprano role for a child singer. The work received its Romanian concert premiere in February 2025, followed by a sold-out Norwegian concert premiere at Parkteatret in Oslo in February 2026.
The complete recording, made live to tape at Jar Church with producer and engineer Trond Kjelsås, will be released on 16 October 2026 through Solsnu and distributor Diger. Featuring Ensemble Oslo, conductor Hans Petter Mæhle and five soloists, it will be issued digitally, on double CD and on double vinyl. The release offers another way to encounter Fonn’s narrative through Sørbø’s score, including an ending that leaves Elise’s ultimate fate open to interpretation.
