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9 unusual facts about Royal Swedish Opera


Isa Quensel

In 1939 she created the title role in the world premiere of Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Die Kathrin at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Jeanna von Lantingshausen

In 1790, Gustav III had her officially banished from court and all places in which it was possible for her to come in contact with members of the royal house, such as the Royal Swedish Opera.

Julie Alix de la Fay

She arrived in Sweden in 1782, where she joined the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.

Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg

Singers who have started in Rheinsberg can be heard at the New York Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Salzburg Festival, other various international opera houses such as Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm, Tokyo Opera House, Vienna State Opera, Sydney Opera House, Zürich Opera House and most German opera houses.

Louis Jean Desprez

He traveled frequently to Italy and was associated with Piranesi in Rome, when he came to the attention of Swedish King Gustavus III, who offered him a two-year contract as director of scenic decorations at the new Stockholm Opera founded by the King two years earlier.

Royal Swedish Opera

The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side of Gustav Adolfs torg across from the former Arvfurstens Palats, now Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

The old opera was demolished in 1892 to give way to the construction of a new Opera by Axel Johan Anderberg and it was finished seven years later, inaugurated by King Oscar II with a production of a Swedish opera (that tradition having been quite firmly established during the 19th century), Franz Berwald's Estrella de Soria.

It lies on the North side of the Norrström river and is connected to the Royal Palace through the Norrbro bridge.

In November 2011, the Dutch conductor Lawrence Renes was named the next chief conductor of the company, as of the 2012-2013 season, with an initial contract through the 2016-2017 season.


Bernd Purkrabek

Since then he has worked for major opera houses such as Deutsche Oper Berlin, Royal Swedish Opera, De Nederlandse Opera, Grand Théâtre de Genève and Teatro Real in Madrid, as well as at the Glyndebourne Festival.

Göran Gentele

He soon turned to directing, working for a time at the Royal Dramatic Theatre and then at the Royal Swedish Opera, where his more notable productions included Gian Carlo Menotti's The Consul and Karl-Birger Blomdahl's Aniara.

Grant Gershon

Gershon has appeared as guest conductor with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Minnesota Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, Juilliard Opera Theatre, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Gustav Mahler Chamber Orchestra and the Finnish chamber orchestra Avanti!, among others.

Håkan Hagegård

Hagegård studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and has performed on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall, the London Royal Opera House, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Sydney Opera House, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Vienna State Opera (Così fan tutte conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt), and the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.

Karin Forseke

Public directorships include non-executive director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) Board, Eniro AB and the Royal Swedish Opera.

Kungliga Hovkapellet

Since 1773, when the Royal Swedish Opera was founded by Gustav III of Sweden, the Kungliga Hovkapellet has been part of the opera's company.

Sager House

The Sager House lies between: Rosenbad, the Government Chancellery (on the west); and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (the former Arvfurstens Palats) and the Royal Swedish Opera on Gustav Adolfs torg (on the east).

Soffi Schønning

In 1928 she joined the roster of artists at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm where she made her debut as Gilda in Rigoletto under the baton of Armas Järnefelt.

Sophie Hagman

At some point, Hagman was employed to look after the children to Louis Gallodier, dance master of the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.

Thérèse Elfforss

Therese Öberg was born to factory-worker Anders Öberg in Stockholm and enrolled as a student of Sophie Daguin in the Royal Swedish Ballet at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1837.

Varujan Kojian

From 1973 to 1980 he was the guest conductor at the Royal Opera in Stockholm and during the same years was also working as an associate conductor for the Seattle Symphony.


see also

Dagmar Möller

Dagmar Möller studied with Désirée Artôt in Paris and made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1887.