Mikael Gustaf Lennart Samuelson (born 9 March 1951) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used b ...

baritone opera singer, actor, and composer. Samuelson, born in

Njutånger Njutånger is a locality situated in Hudiksvall Municipality, Gävleborg County, Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdo ...

Hälsingland Hälsingland (), sometimes referred to as Helsingia in English, is a historical province or ''landskap'' in central Sweden. It borders Gästrikland, Dalarna, Härjedalen, Medelpad and the Gulf of Bothnia. It is part of the land of Norrland. ...

, central Sweden, is the son of the musician and music arranger . Mikael Samuelson has been considered one of the greatest Swedish musical performers and composers, especially for his versions of the songs of

Evert Taube Axel Evert Taube (; 12 March 1890 – 31 January 1976) was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians and the foremost troubadour of the Swedish ballad tradition in the 20th c ...

and

Fred Åkerström Fred Åkerström (27 January 1937 – 9 August 1985) was a Swedish folk guitarist and singer particularly noted for his interpretations of Carl Michael Bellman's music, and his own work of the typically Swedish song segment named ''visa''. The ...

Career

Samuelson studied singing, conducting, and violin at

Musikhögskolan A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

in the 1970s, and he is a well-known face in the Swedish musical and theatre industry. During his youth, he performed at Norrlandsoperan and sang the parts of Papageno in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a '' Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inc ...

'' and the title role in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' ( opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It pre ...

'', among others, with outstanding results. In the 1980s, he moved to the

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

and in Stockholm, singing the parts of Escamillo in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the Opér ...

'' and Tevje in ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 190 ...

''.

Major roles

His breakthrough was playing the part of the Phantom in the Swedish version of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

's ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'', during 1989-1995. Samuelson sang and portrayed the character for over 2000 performances and received the honourable Swedish theatre Award "

Guldmasken Guldmasken (English: '' Golden Mask'') was awarded annually for private theatre productions in Swedish theatres. The award was the Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifica ...

" in 1991. In the early 1990s, he was also known for his role as one of the main characters in the Swedish TV series ''

Rederiet ''Rederiet'' (''High Seas'' or ''The Shipping Company'') was a (318 episodes) Swedish soap opera that aired on Sveriges Television between August 1992 and April 2002. The cast featured many popular and renowned Swedish actors. The 45-minute epis ...

'' ("High Seas"), a long-running drama show about a shipping company, which conducts passenger traffic on the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and fr ...

between Stockholm and

Åbo Turku ( ; ; sv, Åbo, ) is a city and former capital on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River, in the region of Finland Proper (''Varsinais-Suomi'') and the former Turku and Pori Province (''Turun ja Porin lääni''; 16 ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bo ...

. Samuelson played the ship's captain-later-turned C.E.O. Rolf Dahlén, son of the ship's owner, between 1992 and 1994. He left the show in the end of the fifth season, his character being killed off in a car crash. In the late 1990s, he had major roles in musicals like ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th c ...

'', ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'' and ''The Showboat'' for which he earned prize nominations and good critical receptions. From December 1999 to March 2000, Samuelson sang and performed popular songs and poems written by

Lars Forssell Lars Hans Carl Abraham Forssell (14 January 192826 July 2007) was a Swedish writer and member of the Swedish Academy. Forssell was a versatile writer who worked within many genres, including poetry, drama and songwriting. He was married from 1951 ...

, together with the two vocalists Barbro "

Lill-Babs Barbro Margareta Svensson (9 March 1938 – 3 April 2018), known by her stage name Lill-Babs, was a Swedish singer, actress and television host. From the early 1950s until her death in 2018, she was one of Sweden's best-known and popular singers. ...

" Svensson and Evabritt Strandberg in a show called "Showtime - A Tribute to Lars Forssell". In 2006, he played Herr Eriksson in the film ''En liten tiger'', and opposite

Lena Strömdahl Lena Marie Strömdahl (born 17 July 1947 in Lidingö, Sweden) is a Swedish actress. Filmography Film *''Werther'' (1990) - Martha *''Honungsvargar'' (1990) - Festdeltagare *''T. Sventon och fallet Isabella'' (1991) - Miss Rita Gustavsson-Rinaldo ...

, who had portrayed his wife Yvonne in ''Rederiet''. In 2007, Samuelson showed his comedic side playing the role as Magnus in the Swedish comedy film ' ("My Wife's First Lover"), for which he became well-known. During the spring of 2008 he played the lead role in the Swedish version of ''

Jekyll & Hyde ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' is a 1886 Gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson. It follows Gabriel John Utterson, a London-based legal practitioner who investigates a series of strange occurrences between his old ...

''. The musical ended on December 30, 2009. Samuelson starred in

The Göteborg Opera The Gothenburg opera house ( sv, Göteborgsoperan) is an opera house at Lilla Bommen in Gothenburg, Sweden. The Artistic Director for opera is Henning Ruhe since 2019, while Katrín Hall leads the ballet and dance company. History The Gothenb ...

's production of the musical '' La Cage aux Folles'' in its run from September 7, 2013 to March 9, 2014. In his film career, Samuelson is best-known for his role as the Investigator in 's 1987 thriller movie ''Res aldrig på enkel biljett'' ("Never travel on a one-way ticket"). His character searches for the truth in the world, about love, sex, madness and cruelty. His other films include ''Min frus förste älskare'' (2006), ''En liten Tiger'', (2006), ''Aladdin'' (1992), ''Kronbruden'' (1990), ''Spårvagn till havet'' (1987), and ''Kärleken är allt'' (1986). In his theatre career, he has played the policeman Rapp in

Vilhelm Moberg Karl Artur Vilhelm Moberg (20 August 1898 – 8 August 1973) was a Swedish journalist, author, playwright, historian, and debater. His literary career, spanning more than 45 years, is associated with his series ''The Emigrants''. The fou ...

's comedy ''Marknadsafton'' and other plays.

Records

In 1988, he released the album ''Music of

Carl Michael Bellman Carl Michael Bellman (; 4 February 1740 – 11 February 1795) was a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, poet and entertainer. He is a central figure in the Swedish song tradition and remains a powerful influence in Swedish music, as well ...

'' with recordings of 10 of ''

Fredman's epistles ''Fredmans epistlar'' (English: ''Fredman's Epistles'') is a collection of 82 poems set to music by Carl Michael Bellman, a major figure in Swedish 18th century song. Though first published in 1790, it was created over a period of twenty years ...

'' and 3 of '' Fredman's songs''. In 1990, he won the for his interpretations of Sweden's national bard. In 1996, he released the record "Midvinter" where he sang well-known Christmas songs in his own style, accompanied by cellist

Svante Henryson Svante Henryson (born 22 October 1963 in Stockholm, Sweden) is a composer, cellist, bass guitarist and double bassist, active within jazz, classical music, and hard rock. Biography Childhood and studies Svante Henryson grew up in Umeå in nor ...

and pianist Lennart Simonsson.

Awards

In 1990 he won a Guldmasken Award for Best Leading Actor in ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pie ...

''. In 1993, he won the Fred Åkerström prize for his music with guitarist

Mats Bergström Mats Johan Bergström (7 March 1961) is a Swedish guitarist and composer principally focused in the genre of chamber music. Borne in Gävle, Sweden, he received his MFA from the Royal College of Music, Stockholm in 1982, and did post-graduate stu ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Mikael 1951 births Living people Swedish classical composers Swedish male classical composers Swedish male actors Swedish male singers Swedish opera singers Swedish television personalities