Royal Swedish Opera

The "Kungliga Teatern" ("Royal Theatre") or Royal Swedish Opera is the national stage for opera in Sweden. The building lies in the center of Stockholm, on the eastern side of Gustav Adolfs torg. The opera company was founded by King Gustav III and its first performance, "Thetis and Phelée" with Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin, was given on January 18, 1773; this was the first native speaking opera performed in Sweden.

But the first opera house was not opened until 1782 and served for a century before being replaced at the end of the 19th century. Both houses were officially called the "Royal Opera", however the terms "The Gustavian Opera" and "The Oscarian Opera", or the "Old" and "New" Opera are used when distinction is needed.

The Gustavian Opera

The original Stockholm Opera House, the work of architect Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz was commissioned by King Gustav III, a strong adherent of the ideal of an enlightened absolutism and as such was a great patron of the arts. The Swedish Opera company had first been located in Bollhuset, but there was a need to separate the Opera from the theatre and give them separate buildings. Construction began in 1775 and the theatre was inaugurated on 30 September 1782 with a performance of the Danish composer Johann Gottlieb Naumann's "Cora och Alonzo". It was also the place for public masquerade balls, events inspired from the famous opera-balls in Paris, which was open for everyone wearing a mask at a cheap cost and somewhat ill-reputed.

The building was very imposing with its center Corinthian tetrastyle portico supporting four statues and topped by the royal crown. The four-tiered auditorium was oval in shape, had excellent acoustics and sight lines. The sumptuous foyer contained neoclassic medallions and pilasters.

It was in the foyer of the opera house where the king met his fate: during a masquerade on March 16 1792, he was shot by Jacob Johan Anckarström, and died several days later. (In turn, this event inspired the opera "Un Ballo in Maschera" by Verdi). Following the assassination, the opera house was closed until 1 November 1792, when it was opened again, which by some was considered schocking. The son of Gustav III, King Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden, did not like the Opera, possibly because of the murder of his father, and disliked the fact that the scene of his father's murder was used as a place of fun, and when a frivolous play was performed for his queen Frederica of Baden in 1806, he decided to close it down; it remained closed until 1809, and when the king was deposed, it took until May 1812, before it was organised enough to be fully opened again.

The Oscarian Opera, the "Operan"

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".

The new house bears the letters "Kungl. Teatern", literally "Royal Theatre" (which caused the later-founded Royal Dramatic Theatre to add the distinction "dramatic" to its name), and is now simply called the "Operan". It is a majestic neo-classical building with a magnificent gold foyer and elegant marble grand staircase leading to a three-tiered auditorium somewhat smaller than the old theatre. It presently seats 1,200.

See also

*Drottningholm Palace Theatre
*Gothenburg Opera
*Malmö Opera and Music Theatre
*Norrland Opera
*Confidencen - Ulriksdal Palace Theatre
*Royal Swedish Ballet
*Joseph Martin Kraus
*Jenny Lind
*Jussi Björling
*Birgit Nilsson

References

*Beauvert, Thierry, "Opera Houses of the World", The Vendome Press, New York, 1995. ISBN 0-86565-978-8
*Zeitz, Karyl Lynn, "Opera: the Guide to Western Europe's Great Houses", Santa Fe, New Mexico: John Muir Publications, 1991. ISBN 0-945465-81-5
* Georg Nordensvan, "Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare". (Swedish)

External links

* [http://www.operan.se/ Kungliga Operan] - Official site