Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig før generalprøven. - The director explains her role calmly before the dress rehearsal.

There is an adjective:
- den strenge regissøren = the strict director
Or you really mean “that director” (contrast/demonstrative):
- Jeg liker ikke den regissøren = I don’t like that director.

In this sentence, we just need “the director” in a neutral way, so Regissøren is correct and natural.

How do I know that forklarer means “is explaining” here and not just “explains”?

Norwegian doesn’t have a separate -ing form like English. The simple present covers both:

Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes.
= The director explains her role.
= The director is explaining her role.

Context decides:

If we’re describing something happening right now, English uses “is explaining”.
If we’re talking about a general habit, English uses “explains”.

You can add nå (“now”) for clarity if needed:

Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig nå. = is explaining (now).

Why is the noun rolle in the form rollen?

Again, this is the definite form:

en rolle = a role
rollen = the role

So rollen hennes literally is “the role of her” → her role.

Forms of rolle in Bokmål:

Indefinite singular: en rolle
Definite singular: rollen
Indefinite plural: roller
Definite plural: rollene

Why is the possessive written as rollen hennes and not hennes rolle?

In Norwegian, possessive pronouns (min, din, hans, hennes etc.) can go after or before the noun:

rollen hennes = her role (neutral, very common)
hennes rolle = her role (with more emphasis on her).

Placing the possessive after the noun (rollen hennes) is:

more neutral,
more common in everyday Bokmål,
often preferred unless you want to stress the owner.

Placing it before (hennes rolle) tends to highlight or contrast:

Det er hennes rolle, ikke din.
= It’s her role, not yours.

So the sentence could grammatically be:

Regissøren forklarer hennes rolle rolig før generalprøven.

…but Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes… sounds more natural and neutral.

Why do we use hennes and not sin in this sentence?

Sin / si / sitt / sine is the reflexive possessive, and it refers back to the subject of the clause.

Regissøren forklarer rollen sin.
= The director explains his/her own role.

In your sentence, hennes refers to some other woman, not to the director (the subject). For example, an actress:

Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig…
= The director calmly explains her (the actress’s) role…

So:

Use sin/si/sitt/sine when the owner is the subject.
Use hans/hennes when the owner is someone else (another person in the context).

Does rolig describe the role, the director, or how the director explains?

Here rolig functions as an adverb, describing how the explaining happens:

forklarer … rolig = explains calmly / in a calm way.

To make it describe the role, you would have to mark rolle with an adjective:

den rolige rollen hennes = her calm role

To make it clearly describe the director as a calm person while explaining, you’d normally rephrase:

Regissøren, som er rolig, forklarer rollen hennes før generalprøven.
= The director, who is calm, explains her role before the dress rehearsal.

In the original sentence, the most natural reading is:
It’s the manner of explaining that is calm.

Could I move rolig earlier, like Regissøren forklarer rolig rollen hennes før generalprøven? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can move rolig; it’s still grammatical:

Regissøren forklarer rolig rollen hennes før generalprøven.
Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig før generalprøven. (your version)

Both basically mean the same: the explaining is calm.

Subtle differences:

forklarer rolig rollen hennes
→ Slightly more neutral, classic word order:
Subject – Verb – Adverb – Object.
forklarer rollen hennes rolig
→ Puts a bit more end-focus on rolig (the calmness).

But in everyday speech, they are usually understood the same way.

Shouldn’t rolig as an adverb have a different form, like with -t? How do you make adverbs from adjectives here?

Many Norwegian adjectives form adverbs by using the neuter singular form, often in -t:

rask → raskt (quick → quickly)
klar → klart (clear → clearly)

However, quite a few adjectives have the same form as adjective and adverb, and rolig is one of them:

en rolig regissør = a calm director (adjective)
forklarer rolig = explains calmly (adverb)

So rolig is correct both as “calm” and “calmly”; you don’t add -t here.

What exactly does generalprøven mean?

Generalprøve is a theatre/performance term:

en generalprøve = a (final) dress rehearsal / full run-through
generalprøven = the dress rehearsal

It usually means the last full rehearsal before the premiere, with everything (costumes, lights, sound) as if it were the real show.

So før generalprøven = before the (final) dress rehearsal.

Why is it før generalprøven, not før den generalprøven?

In Norwegian, the definite article is normally built into the noun:

generalprøve → generalprøven (the dress rehearsal)

You don’t add den unless:

You are also using an adjective:
- før den siste generalprøven = before the last dress rehearsal
Or you want a strong “that” meaning:
- før den generalprøven, ikke den andre
  = before that dress rehearsal, not the other one.

Without such emphasis or an adjective, the natural form is just:

før generalprøven

Can this sentence also refer to the future, like “The director will explain her role calmly before the dress rehearsal”?

It can, depending on context, but it’s not the clearest way to express future.

Norwegian present tense often covers scheduled future:

Vi reiser i morgen. = We leave / are leaving tomorrow.

So your sentence could be understood as part of a schedule:

Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig før generalprøven.
→ The director explains her role calmly before the (upcoming) dress rehearsal.

If you want an unambiguously future meaning, you’d usually say:

Regissøren skal forklare rollen hennes rolig før generalprøven.
= The director is going to / will explain her role calmly before the dress rehearsal.

How do you roughly pronounce Regissøren forklarer rollen hennes rolig før generalprøven?

Very roughly, in a neutral Eastern Norwegian accent:

Regissøren ≈ reh-gee-SØR-en
forklarer ≈ for-KLAR-er (with a rolled or tapped r)
rollen ≈ ROL-len
hennes ≈ HEN-nes
rolig ≈ ROO-lig (g often soft, almost like “roli”)
før ≈ like British “fur” but with rounded lips
generalprøven ≈ yeh-neh-RAL-prø-ven (with g in general like English “ye” or soft “y” sound in many accents)

Exact pronunciation varies by region, but this gives you a workable approximation.