How Norway’s 1998 upset win over Brazil inspired a comic opera

4 min readJul 5, 2026 12:11 PM IST

L-R: A still from Norge-Brasil, ein fotballopera and Norway beating Brazil in 1998 WC. (Credit: arekalvo.no/X)

When Norway beat Brazil at 1998 World Cup, writer and satirist Are Kalvø zeroed in on one iconic image from the game. The famous frame showed a very skinny Tore André Flo of Norway trying to break free from a stocky Brazilian Junior Baiano. In the grainy photograph Flo was agape, eyes flailing as Baiano held his shirt from behind like a leash. The referee would award Norway a penalty that would give them a historic 2-1 win over the multiple World Champions.

It was pure theatre and Kalvø was inspired. Years later, in 2012, he turned the moment into a comic opera called ‘Norge – Brasil, an opera’. It would get nominated for that year’s Hedda Awards for Best Production.

As the two teams meet once again at this World Cup in the round of 16, the opera is reviving memories – and reminding Brazil that Norway are unconquered by them yet. They have never beaten them, even in friendlies. Brazil might not find it funny but Norway does.

“When you watch the match (1998) between Norway and Brazil with the intention of making an opera, you see how incredibly many big and dramatic stories there are during a football match,” Kalvø told Sceneweb, a performing arts hub. “In the last 15 minutes of this match alone, there are at least ten stories that could have been fantastic to dramatize,” he said.

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Sceneweb recalls the group game when “Norway went bananas.” Oslo’s main street Karl Johan, which has seen Viking Rows this year, had fans dancing on them. Ordinary folks jumped into fountains and broke into songs. It was the first time anyone had seen the poker faced penalty taker Kjetil Rekdal, smile. “Everything was possible this evening,” Sceneweb writes.

All of it made it to the opera, though the Flo-pass was the centerpiece and the alert referee lionised as a hero. With a comic slant, footballers drenched in sweaty jerseys, ski masks, and the ball in the crosshairs made up a unique opera setting, as reported by NKR.

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The referee pointing to the spot for the penalty after the shirt-tug received a crescendo by Helge Førde, a jazz band intimate with south American culture, playing New Orleans gospel jazz, while hailing from Langevag. “You know that in opera there are a lot of emotions. We are going to try to show what can happen during a football match, and there can be a lot of things,” the band told NKR.

Kalvø was unapologetic about taking creative liberties, saying, “It has been very tempting to let completely different things happen in this story than in the match, so yes, it happens. It is very nice to have the power to rewrite history in retrospect. That power should be used when you have the chance.”

The opera was directed by stage director Kari Standal Pavelich who hadn’t watched the 1998 game but saw this as an opportunity to blend two folk cultures. “It is no longer just the fancy, but ordinary people who go to the opera. Now we hope to bring in both football fans and those who like opera, and I think we will have a fantastic show,” she told NKR. “And it is not just about football. We are trying to recreate the society of Norway and the rest of the world in 1998”

Kalvø admitted to being an opera ignoramus himself, though he knew straight away that Norway beating Brazil was Norse-lore. He would channelise a different US President from back in the day though. “I am, as Barack Obama would have said, humble about this task. I have great respect for people who know something I don’t. I don’t know much about opera at all, I contribute with football, nonsense, nonsense and words,” he told NKR.

Shivani Naik is a senior sports journalist and Assistant Editor at The Indian Express. She is widely considered one of the leading voices in Indian Olympic sports journalism, particularly known for her deep expertise in badminton, wrestling, and basketball.

Professional Profile

Role: Assistant Editor and Columnist at The Indian Express.

Specialization: While she covers a variety of sports, she is the primary authority on badminton for the publication. She also writes extensively about tennis, track and field, wrestling, and gymnastics.

Writing Style: Her work is characterized by "technical storytelling"—breaking down the biomechanics, tactics, and psychological grit of athletes. She often provides "long reads" that explore the personal journeys of athletes beyond the podium.

Key Topics & Recent Coverage (Late 2025)

Shivani Naik’s recent articles (as of December 2025) focus on the evolving landscape of Indian sports as athletes prepare for the 2026 Asian Games and beyond:

Indian Badminton's "Hulks": She has recently written about a new generation of Indian shuttlers characterized by power and physicality, such as Ayush Shetty and Sathish Karunakaran, marking a shift from the traditionally finesse-based Indian style.

PV Sindhu’s Resurgence: A significant portion of her late-2025 work tracks PV Sindhu’s tactical shifts under new coaching, focusing on her "sparkle" and technical tweaks to break out of career slumps.

The "Group of Death": In December 2025, she provided detailed tactical previews for Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty’s campaign in the BWF World Tour Finals.

Tactical Deep Dives: She frequently explores technical trends, such as the rise of "backhand deception" in modern badminton and the importance of court drift management in international arenas.

Legacy and History: She often revisits the careers of legends like Saina Nehwal and Syed Modi, providing historical context to current Indian successes.

Notable Recent Articles

BWF World Tour Finals: Satwik-Chirag have it all to do to get through proverbial Group of Death. (Dec 2025)

The age of Hulks in Indian badminton is here. (Dec 2025)

Treadmill, Yoganidra and building endurance: The themes that defined the resurgence of Gayatri and Treesa. (Dec 2025)

Ayush Shetty beats Kodai Naraoka: Will 20-year-old be the headline act in 2026? (Nov 2025)

Modern Cinderella tale – featuring An Se-young and a shoe that fits snugly. (Nov 2025)

Other Sports Interests

Beyond the court, Shivani is a passionate follower of South African cricket, sometimes writing emotional columns about her irrational support for the Proteas, which started because of love for Graeme Smith's dour and doughty Test playing style despite being a left-hander, and sustained over curiosity over their heartbreaking habit of losing ICC knockouts.

You can follow her detailed analysis and columns on her official Indian Express profile page. ... Read More

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