Haugtussa Reclaimed is a dramatized musical retelling of Arne Garborg’s Haugtussa, a clairvoyant young woman’s coming-of-age story, with Edvard Grieg’s song cycle of the same name at its center. Haugtussa Reclaimed expands the truncated narrative of Grieg’s 8-song cycle—piecing together Garborg’s larger, more empowered tale by adding thematically relevant works by Grieg—and serves as an even fuller showcase of Grieg’s nationalistic Romanticism. In venturing beyond the love story that comprises the bulk of Grieg’s setting, Haugtussa Reclaimed rounds out the protagonist’s full supernatural journey as depicted in its source material while also strengthening her agency, and attempts to rebuild Grieg’s Haugtussa as it might have been: a more theatrical experience that grapples with themes of good and evil, finding oneself, and the choices we make along the way.
event details
music by Edvard Grieg
texts by Arne Garborg, Bjørnson, Ibsen, Vinje, and more
when:
Saturday, November 21 at 7 pm
where:
Main Line Unitarian Church
816 S Valley Forge Road
Devon, PA 19333
[map]
tickets:
Tickets are available online (ticketing link coming soon) or at the door.
Cost is pay-what-you-can, with a suggested donation of $25
run time:
approximately 1 hour, 45 minutes including a 15-minute intermission
language:
· sung primarily in Norwegian with several songs in Danish and German
· presented with English supertitles
artists
Alyssa Brode as Veslemøy
Alyssa Brode is a versatile soprano who has won over audiences with her interpretations of song, musical theater, and operatic repertoire. Her artistic mission is to find the emotional core in music of all genres, whether by bringing to life wholly unique productions or breathing fresh energy into the standard repertoire (Musetta in La bohème, Gretel in Hansel and Gretel, Violetta in La traviata). Passionate about brand-new works, Alyssa was featured in the world premiere production of Girondines (Pierrette), participated in Theatre on the Verge’s New Musicals Festival, and created the role of Clover in Christman’s A Metamorphosis—a portrayal for which she was praised for her “endearing charm” and “glittery tones and demeanor” (OperaWire). In 2026, Alyssa has been fortunate to take on a host of concerts and cabarets (Opera on Tap, The Opera Project, Footlighters Theater) as well as full operatic and musical theater roles (Frasquita in Carmen; Alice Beane in Titanic), but her most cherished highlight of recent seasons has been curating her own programs of cross-genre repertoire: thirtysomething, her solo recital with Wilmington Concert Opera, and Open Your Mouth, the inaugural Incantra performance which raised funds for Reclaim Philadelphia while highlighting pressing social issues.
Irene Moretto on piano
Irene Nicolette Moretto is a Philadelphia-based pianist and harpsichordist who specializes in collaborative playing. She is the Music Director and accompanist for Presentation BVM Church in Wynnewood, PA where she leads the choir and organizes music for three weekly liturgies. Irene is an active piano teacher and has been on the faculty of The Baldwin School for eight years. She has attended festivals including the American Institute of Music Studies in Graz, Austria, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Festival in Toronto, Canada, and Piano Summer in New Paltz, NY. Her studies at Temple University brought her under the tutelage of Dr. Charles Abramovic and Dr. Joyce Lindorff. From this institution, she received a B.M. in Piano Pedagogy, M.M. in Piano Performance, and M.M. in Harpsichord Performance. Irene is especially passionate about vocal collaboration and has played for such groups as Willson Vocal Academy, Opera on Tap, Wilmington Concert Opera, and Delaware Valley Opera Company. Currently, she focuses on using her music to raise awareness and support research for Prader-Willi Syndrome. Irene’s favorite role by far is as mother to her joyful and humorous two-year old daughter, Áine Mirella.
project overview
Haugtussa is Edvard Grieg’s only song cycle, celebrated for its fusion of lush Romanticism and Norwegian folk idioms. Immediately enamored with Arne Garborg’s 71-poem collection of the same name, Grieg’s original intention was to adapt Garborg’s Haugtussa on a far larger scale, sketching 20 pieces including some choral settings and orchestral arrangements.
But in the end, the cycle that Grieg published for voice and piano was just a small sliver of both his plans and Garborg’s full story. In Garborg’s original, the young heroine Veslemøy embraces her clairvoyance at the cost of being othered by her community, triggering a journey of personal growth peppered with fantastical encounters. Though Grieg’s cycle is widely considered a musical masterpiece, it regrettably reduces its main character’s story to eight songs featuring little more than love and heartbreak.
Incantra founder Alyssa Brode conceived of Haugtussa Reclaimed to showcase the otherworldly elements that fell largely by the wayside in Grieg’s cycle, and to give Veslemøy a more empowered arc. She began by researching and mapping the poem-by-poem trajectory of Garborg’s book. Next, she scoured Grieg’s vast catalog of vocal works and chose thematically and stylistically relevant pieces to fill in the narrative gaps. By adding those to Grieg’s Haugtussa songs—those which he included in his cycle as well as his posthumously published sketches—she reassembled Garborg’s story as Haugtussa Reclaimed, shifting the focus of Veslemoy’s tale from her romance back to her larger supernatural journey.
By restructuring the story, and by presenting Haugtussa Reclaimed more theatrically than a traditional art song performance, this one-of-a-kind production lets audiences witness the full mysticism of the Haugtussa saga while still experiencing Grieg’s exquisite and rarely heard music.
Haugtussa Reclaimed is presented in collaboration with Main Line Unitarian Church as part of the illumine concert series.