Photo: Anna W. Thorbjörnsson
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Best Summer Experiences in Sweden in 2024
Opera stars celebrate Birgit Nilsson in Verdi’s Masked Ball This summer, iconic opera singer Birgit Nilsson will be remembered with a weeklong jubilee in Båstad culminating in a world-class performance of Verdi’s Masked Ball at the tennis stadium’s centre court, with international opera stars such as Joyce El-Khoury and Michael Fabiano.
ing the Birgit Nilsson Days in Västra Karup’s church, where the soprano herself regularly performed.
By Malin Norman
der the guidance of Royal Swedish Court singer and leading dramatic soprano/ mezzo-soprano, Katarina Dalayman. Opera students from all over the world are invited to apply for the four-day open course, which ends with a student concert at the Ravinen Culture Centre in Båstad.
The week culminates with Giuseppe Verdi’s famous opera Masked Ball (Un ballo in Maschera), which has in fact been called “a Swedish national opera.” It is based on the true story of the assassination of King Gustav lll of Sweden, who was shot while attending a masked ball at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm. It entails everything for the perfect night at the opera; drama, love and death.
Birgit was keen to encourage the young generation and she established a national stipendium for young Swedish singers. This year’s recipient will be announced on Birgit Nilsson’s birthday 17 May, and the stipendium concert takes place dur-
The opera is directed by prominent stage director Staffan Valdemar Holm and will be performed at the centre court at Båstad’s tennis stadium, with room for 3,000 in the audience. 60 years ago, Birgit Nilsson made an acclaimed
Birgit Nilsson (1918–2005) was one of the greatest opera singers of the 20th century. Her superb voice and supreme stage presence were praised by critics and audiences alike, bringing her international recognition as the world’s leading dramatic soprano and a legendary interpreter of especially Wagner, Strauss and Puccini. The Birgit Nilsson Days is a summer festival celebrating her legacy, taking place 4-10 August on the Bjäre peninsula in southern Sweden. The week-long celebration begins with master classes un44
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Issue 166
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May 2024
Verdi’s Masked Ball at the centre court