Folkoperan is an

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

, at Hornsgatan 72 in the southern district of

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is the southern district of Stockholm City Centre. Overview The Södermalm district covers the island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''), which, however, is not fully separated from th ...

. It is one of

's most successful opera houses in terms of audience attendance, and is considered Sweden's most important stage for freelance

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

s and musicians.

History

Folkoperan was founded in 1976 by

Claes Fellbom Claes Fellbom (29 January 1943 – 19 April 2024) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, and composer, and a librettist and opera stage director. He was the founder and managing director of the company Folkoperan, which he led for 36 years. I ...

, Kerstin Nerbe, and Krister Fagerströmin. The opera house is located in a building which was designed by architect Höög & Morssing in elegant 1920s

Nordic Classicism Nordic Classicism was a Architectural style, style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. The style was also known as Swedish Grace architecture in Sweden. Until ...

. It was first erected by the cinema owner and builder John A. Bergendahl (1872–1958) at the site of the former Maria saluhall. At that time it was one of Stockholm's largest cinemas with 1,002 seats. As a theatre institute, Folkoperan receives annual funding from the Swedish Arts Council, the

Stockholm County Council Region Stockholm (''Swedish: Region Stockholm'') is the Regions of Sweden, regional public body responsible for Publicly funded health care, healthcare, public transport, and regional planning within Stockholm County, Sweden. Established on 1 Janua ...

, and the City of Stockholm. Over the years, Folkoperan has functioned as an antithesis to the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

in Stockholm. It has become much appreciated by the Swedish opera audience due to its unconventional productions and smaller, more intimate stage. Folkoperan celebrated its 25th anniversary with the new opera, '' Jeppe: The Cruel Comedy'', written and directed by

and composed by

Sven-David Sandström Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942 – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works. Life and career Sandström was born in Motala and studied art history and mus ...

(1942–2019).

References

Other sources

*Fellbom, Claes (2012) ''Född ur passion: Folkoperan, som jag såg den'' (Stockholm: Carlsson) *Berglund, Kurt (1993) ''Stockholms alla biografer: ett stycke Stockholmshistoria från 90-tal till 90-tal'' (Stockholm: Svenska turistföreningen)

External links

Folkoperan
(official site) {{authority control Opera houses in Sweden Swedish opera companies Buildings and structures in Stockholm Music in Stockholm 1976 establishments in Sweden Tourist attractions in Stockholm Theatres completed in 1976 Music venues completed in 1976 1970s establishments in Stockholm