Ibsen's Home
“Today, a century after the playwright's death, Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906) is recognized both as a world-class dramatist and as Norway's finest author. When his plays were first staged, however, they were widely rejected as shocking and scandalous because they stripped bare the hypocrisy of Victorian notions of morality, religion, power, the role of women, and much else. Without Ibsen, the landscape of modern drama might appear very different because many of the issues that we now regard as acceptable subjects for contemporary theater were introduced to the stage for the first time in Ibsen's work.
Restored in 2006, the Ibsen Museum in Kristiania is one of three Ibsen museums in Norway. All three provide insights into the life he led. Great care has been taken to recreate Ibsen's apartment as authentically as possible and, after a lengthy restoration program and intense archeological research, the library, dining room, and parlors are open to the public. The original furniture now stands in place and the interior is decorated as though the author still lived there. Ibsen actually resided in the apartment for the last eleven years before his death. A visit to Ibsen's home takes the visitor backstage to gain a glimpse of the author's private life.
The Ibsen Museum also houses a comprehensive exhibition that celebrates the work of this extraordinary writer, the most widely performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. The museum regularly hosts talks, events, readings, and performances to explore Ibsen's work. It was in the study, carefully preserved at the museum , that Ibsen wrote two of his most famous plays: "John Gabriel Borkman" (1896) and "When We Dead Awaken" (1899). The latter play, his final work, is an introspective, psychological drama that explores old age and the final moments of life.”
Restored in 2006, the Ibsen Museum in Kristiania is one of three Ibsen museums in Norway. All three provide insights into the life he led. Great care has been taken to recreate Ibsen's apartment as authentically as possible and, after a lengthy restoration program and intense archeological research, the library, dining room, and parlors are open to the public. The original furniture now stands in place and the interior is decorated as though the author still lived there. Ibsen actually resided in the apartment for the last eleven years before his death. A visit to Ibsen's home takes the visitor backstage to gain a glimpse of the author's private life.
The Ibsen Museum also houses a comprehensive exhibition that celebrates the work of this extraordinary writer, the most widely performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. The museum regularly hosts talks, events, readings, and performances to explore Ibsen's work. It was in the study, carefully preserved at the museum , that Ibsen wrote two of his most famous plays: "John Gabriel Borkman" (1896) and "When We Dead Awaken" (1899). The latter play, his final work, is an introspective, psychological drama that explores old age and the final moments of life.”