-
DATES:May 21, 2026
-
TIME:7 p.m.
-
STAGE:Main stage
-
RUNNING TIME:approx. 1h 55 min
500 years of the Royal Swedish Orchestra offers a journey through classical music, opera and ballet - from the time of Gustav Vasa to the present day.
This performance is not currently playing
Subscribe to our newsletter for information about upcoming seasons, ticket sales and possible re-runs of performances. You can search for previous performances and casts in the Archive.
Subscribe to the newsletter →A gallop i breakneck speed through 500 years! In an entertaining way and with a lot of music, the Royal Swedish Orchestra tells the audience its own story: from the first steps during the reign of Gustav Vasa, via the journey from court music to opera orchestra, up to today's activities, where the Royal Swedish Orchestra is almost daily responsible for the music behind the opera and ballet performances.
The concert on May 21 (500 år med Hovkapellet) is an extended version of the Family Concert that is played on May 14.
Programme 500 Years with the Royal Swedish Orchestra
Excerpts from the following works
VINCENZO ALBERICI Sonata a 5
JOHAN HELMICH ROMAN Drottningholmsmusiken
CHRISTOPH WILLIBALD GLUCK Orfeo ed Euridice
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Die Zauberflöte (The Queen of the Night's aria »Der Hölle Rache«)
JOSEPH MARTIN KRAUS Funeral Music for Gustav III
GIOACHINO ROSSINI Il barbiere di Siviglia (Figaro's aria »Largo al factotum«)
PJOTR TJAJKOVSKIJ Swan Lake
RICHARD WAGNER Die Walküre (Ride of the Valkyries)
INTERVAL
HUGO ALFVÉN Midsommarvaka
DAVID BJÖRKMAN Fanfare
KARL-BIRGER BLOMDAHL Aniara
GYÖRGY LIGETI Le grand macabre
BRITTA BYSTRÖM Jordens hjärta/Eatnama vaibmu
WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART Die Zauberflöte (Papageno and Papagena duet)
GIOACHINO ROSSINI Il barbiere di Siviglia (ending of the overture)
With
The Royal Swedish Orchestra
Swedish Armed Forces Music Corps
Opera soloists Jens Persson Hertzman, Minna Tägil & Marie-Louise Granström
Conductor André Callegaro
Masters of ceremonies Marianne Eklöf & Anton Lundqvist
The Orchestra on Swedish public service TV
Hovkapellet - 500 years of music
It all started in 1526 when Gustav Vasa, as newly crowned king, wanted to mark his 'glorious elevation' by hiring 12 'pipers and trumpeters'. Today, around 100 musicians are needed to perform operas, ballets and concerts. At this specially recorded TV concert for the orchestra's 500th anniversary this year, the Royal Swedish Orchestra plays music from the 500 years the orchestra has existed. The Opera's music director and Royal Court Kapellmeister Alan Gilbert holding the baton for this festive concert.
The world's oldest orchestras
The world's five oldest orchestras that, several centuries after they were founded, continue to play today. SVT visits five European cities where music has always been at the center, where the greatest musicians of all time have sought out and many of history's most famous composers have been invited to premiere their works. One of these is Stockholm and the Royal Swedish Orchestra.
