Press

The Göteborg Opera season 2010/2011.

Donizetti for the first time, more baroque opera, an emphasis on performances for children and teenagers, brand new dance productions and Gunilla Backman as a faded Hollywood star in the musical of the season.

In a musical presentation on the Main Stage, journalists and other guests invited for the occasion were given a taste of the upcoming season. On stage were, amongst others, mezzo soprano Ulrika Tenstam, tenor Tomas Lind, concert pianist Roland Pöntinen, musical theatre artist Gunilla Backman, The Göteborg Ballet and The Göteborg Opera Children’s Chorus.

The season includes four new opera productions: The Rake’s Progress by Stravinsky, Don Carlos by Verdi, Alcina by Handel and Lucia di Lammermoor by Donizetti. Former Head of Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theatre of Stockholm) Staffan Valdemar Holm directs Don Carlos, and Yannis Houvardas, who has previously successfully directed Parsifal and The Woman Without Shadow at The Göteborg Opera, directs Alcina. The extremely successful production of Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin returns with Carolina Sandgren as the new Tatyana. Audiences will also be given a chance to see a concertante production of Rossini’s comical The Italian Girl in Algiers, where Ann Hallenberg sings the principal role and First Guest Director Giancarlo Andretta conducts.

The singers of this opera season include famous Swedish sopranos, such as Kerstin Avemo, Ingela Bohlin, Agneta Eichenholz, Annalena Persson and Ida Falk Winland. Swedish mezzo soprano celebrities, such as Ann-Kristin Jones, Katarina Karnéus and Ulrika Tenstam, also take part in productions.

Also being performed is Fru Mozart (Mrs Mozart), a newly written music theatre production in a smaller format, written by The Göteborg Opera dramaturge Göran Gademan and with music by W.A. Mozart himself, amongst others. Carolina Sandgren plays Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus. The production will also tour the region.

For the performance year of 2010/2011 The Göteborg Opera has put a special emphasis on providing entertainment for its younger audiences. The Göteborg Opera composer Thomas Lindahl has written a new musical drama for children, Min mamma är en drake (My Mum is a Dragon), based on the novel by Pija Lindenbaum. In the role of young boy Åke, we will hear Jacob Wistrand, while the role of his mum is sung by Ulrika Tenstam. The production has its world premiere on the Skövde Stage and will then tour the region. Thomas Lindahl has also created the musical arrangement for Babar, a musical tale for primary school pupils. In addition, two family concerts will be given on the Main Stage; special productions for teenagers will be performed on the Small Stage; and Sagofoajén (Story telling in the Foyer) will still be available for the youngest audience members.
The Göteborg Ballet continues to be at the forefront of contemporary dance. Head of Ballet Johannes Öhman took the chance, during today’s presentation, to give us a glimpse into some of his plans for the next two years.

– Our vision for the next two performance years includes a focus on female choreographers, including Sasha Waltz, for the 2011/2012 season, he said.

The 2010/2011 season includes all of seven new dance productions by internationally famous choreographers such as Rui Horta, Jo Strømgren and Stijn Celis. One of the productions, Eroica¸is the joint creation of The Göteborg Ballet, The Göteborg Opera Orchestra and world famous Swedish pianist Roland Pöntinen. Beethoven’s music is the overriding theme for the production, and the choreography has been created by Marco Goecke and Lukáš Timulak, two new acquaintances for our dance company.

On the Small Stage, dance and theatre meet in the new creation Raderna emellan (In Between the Lines) by The Göteborg Ballet dancer Patrick Migas. The production will also tour the region. Dancer Fernando Melo has created a new production for the Main Stage in Melo/Horta. The annual ballet workshop will take on new form due to its cooperation with Pustervik, and the seasonal student company NUDANS will continue to perform on the Small Stage. Two dance productions will make return performances, amongst them Black Biist by Wim Vandekeybus, and several international dancers will do guest performances. For those who long for classical ballet the Royal Ballet from Stockholm has been invited for a guest performance, consisting of four performances of Swan Lake, toward the end of the season.

The Göteborg Opera main programme for the season 2010/2011 is available as a pdf –file.