OPERA

The Royal Swedish Opera presents world-class directors and soloists every year, offering both traditional classics and newly-written works.

The Royal Swedish Opera is Sweden’s national theatre for the operatic arts. Since its inception in 1773, the directors, set designers and singers have been stewards of the European operatic tradition, while also pushing the boundaries of the art form.

» more important than ever that opera and art portray the entire complexity of man« 

/ELLEN LAMM
Acting Artistic Director, Opera 

We start the autumn with two of the most popular works in opera history: Bizet's Carmen is about the right to love whoever you want, and in Puccini's Tosca, the main character and her beloved Cavaradossi share a defiant longing for freedom that is relentlessly compelling. 

Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa is a drama centered on two women, where the rage over a terrible crime ends in reconciliation, after all, and in a joint effort to build a new and better life. Here we see star soprano Nina Stemme in her first role at the Royal Swedish Opera in seven years, a role she has never sung here before. As her stepdaughter Jenůfa, we see Cornelia Beskow, who in 2017 sang Sieglinde opposite Nina Stemme's Brünnhilde in Die Walküre. 

Two of this autumn's productions are depictions of the dark side of society. Alban Berg's Wozzeck, the big opera premiere of the autumn, starring Peter Mattei and Malin Byström, is a strikingly current story. It is a study of a man in a vulnerable situation, forced to undergo a medical experiment, and the world around him is falling apart. Stephen Sondheim's engaging and very moving musical Sweeney Todd depicts two parallel events – one man's obsessive desire for revenge, and a tender love story between two young people. 

In our complicated present, it is perhaps more important than ever that opera and art portray the entire complexity of man and that music and song are available as a unifying force. 

Ellen Lamm
Interim artistic director, opera 

ROYAL SWEDISH OPERA'S SOLOISTS

The Royal Swedish Opera soloist ensemble consists of twenty singers who appear in our productions together with Swedish and international guests – this season welcomes Elin Rombo, Peter Mattei and Hanna Husáhr on the Main Stage.

Curious about our soloists?
YOU CAN FIND THEM HERE »

ROYAL SWEDISH OPERA CHORUS

Bears, vampires or three-legged grisettes … the Royal Swedish Opera Chorus master their art at the highest level while acting and dancing on stage. The chorus appeared at the first premiere in 1773 and has been a vital part of our institution ever since.

»Hearing the Opera Chorus perform takes your breath away« EXPRESSEN

Curious about our chorus members?
YOU CAN FIND THEM HERE »