In 1910, the Norwegian-American immigrant composer Gerard Tonning (1860-1940) debuted his first opera, the Norwegian-language Viking drama Leif Erikson at the Moore Theatre in Seattle. With financial help from the Sons of Norway Leif Erikson Lodge and the local Norwegian immigrant community, this retelling of Leif Erikson's voyage to Vinland in the year 1001 came to life on stage, only to be forgotten again for the next century.

For more information about this opera, see the article below!

The Northwest Edvard Grieg Society (in collaboration with Puget Sound Concert Opera) will present a series of concerts in October 2025 that brings Steven Luksan's reconstruction of the opera Leif Erikson back to the stage for contemporary audiences.

These performances are part of a broader initiative - "Crossings200" - recognizing the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Norwegian mass migration to North America. October 9th is officially "Leif Erikson Day", and it's also exactly 200 years to-the-day from when the sailing ship Restauration landed in New York harbor, carrying 53 Norwegians to their new lives in the New World. We reflect upon centuries of migration to North America and its impact on subsequent generations as we resurrect this opera in 2025.

Image Credits: 

Banner Image - Viking Ship on Lake Washington via HistoryLink.org: https://www.historylink.org/file/20773

Portrait of Tonning: Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Tues., September 12th, 1905

The curtain rises to reveal the banquet hall of Erik the Red, the viking lord who was banished from Iceland and made for himself a new settlement in Greenland. 

The year is about 1000 AD, and Christianity has taken hold in Norway. Iceland and Greenland, whose settlers largely came from Norway, feel pressure from the Norwegian king to convert to this new religion and abandon the ways of the old Norse gods. The Norse people living on the desolate islands of the North Sea feel caught between two worlds: Should they look to Thor or Christ for guidance? Should they sail east to Norway to trade for lumber, or west towards the rumored natural riches of Vinland? 

As Leif, son of Erik the Red, contemplates a westward journey, his past comes back to haunt him, and his "will they, won't they" relationship with Gudrid the Far Traveller is put to the test. Based on 14th-century Icelandic sagas, this opera offers a unique retelling of the rich history of the Norse people of the Viking Age.