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Baroque opera and newly written drama at Drottningholm
This season, Drottningholms Slottsteater will be presenting a baroque opera and a newly written drama. The international opera star Ann Hallenberg will be singing in Handel’s Ariodante, while Johan Rabaeus will be starring as Beethoven in the premiere of a new play performed in collaboration with Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theatre).
Drottningholms Slottsteater is over 250 years old and is today not only a site of world heritage but also a living theatre. Alongside these two major productions, the season also includes a family show, presentations by writers and performers, and a seasonal opening for all, free of charge. Plus the usual guided tours on various themes for young and old alike.
“We’re delighted to be able to offer the public both opera and drama,” says artistic and managing director Sofi Lerström. “We’re putting on the wonderful baroque opera Ariodantewith the very best of the opera world on stage, and, in a unique and long-awaited collaboration with Dramaten, a newly written play by Niklas Rådström, with a great deal of music that suits our theatre down to the ground.”
Ariodante premiers on 3 August, with Ann Hallenberg, who is also the theatre’s Artist in Residence, in the title role. The highly acclaimed British conductor Ian Page will be leading the Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra, and the internationally esteemed and prize-winning Nicola Raab will be directing. 5 September sees the premiere of a gripping comedy entitled The Deafness by Niklas Rådström. With a string quartet from the Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra and performances by Johan Rabaeus (as Beethoven) and Andreas T. Olsson (as his nephew), we promise an evening of humour, conviviality and languishing music.The production is a collaboration with Dramaten. For younger audiences, the family musical The Royal Academy of Transformation will be having its early premiere on 24 May. After its first outing at Drottningholm last summer, it will be returning to give audiences another chance to see Julia Dufvenius and her duo of musicians in this fanciful play about transformation. For four-year-olds and up.
Esprit! is Drottningholms Slottsteater’s entertaining and enlightening event in new formats. It includes the seasonal opening on 6 June, a day of festivities and music inside and outside the theatre. Entrance is free and there is plenty of room for the picnic blankets.
Esprit! also offers pre-performance introductions, often given by well-known cultural personages. Among many others, journalist and author Göran Greider will be talking about Beethoven and revolution through art and music, and music critic and writer Camilla Lundberg about the gender roll anarchy of baroque opera.
Apart from the performances, Drottningholms Slottsteater offers a wide range of guided tours, starting this April with its multilingual daily tours. During the season, there will be special tours on such diverse subjects as 18thcentury wallpapers and the history of passion. There will also be family tours for our younger visitors.
The Royal Academy of Transformation
Premiere 24 May
Following performances on 25, 26, 31 May and 1, 2 June.
By: Tuvalisa Rangström
Performers: Julia Dufvenius and musicians Jonas Dominique and Mikael Augustsson
With the kind support of the Jacob Wallenberg Foundation.
Ariodante
Premiere 3 August
Performed every other day until 17 August.
Music: Georg Friedrich Handel
Conductor: Ian Page
Director: Nicola Raab
Choreography: Caroline Finn
Lighting and stage design: Linus Fellbom
Costumes: Gesine Völlm
Makeup and wigs: Sofia Ranow
Performers: Ann Hallenberg, ChristopheDumeaux, Martin Vanberg, Johannes Weisser, Roberta Mameli, Francesca Aspromonte and others.
Dancers.
Drottningholm Theatre Orchestra.
With the kind support of the Friends of Drottningholms Slottsteater through the Henrik Nordmark Trust and theBarbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation.
The Deafness
Premiere 5 September
Performed at Drottningholm Slottsteater 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 15 September.
Music: Ludwig van Beethoven
Playwright: Niklas Rådström
Performers: Johan Rabaeus, Andreas T. Olsson and others.
Musicians from the Drottningholm Court Theatre: Maria Lindal, Anders Åkered, Joel Sundin, Magdalena Mårding
A joint production with Dramaten.
For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact: Elin West, press officer at Drottningholms Slottsteater, 0733 50 26 25, elin.west@dtm.se
Press photographs and further information may be obtained from:www.mynewsdesk.com/se/drottningholms-slottsteater
Drottningholms Slottsteater has remained intact since 1766 and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the only theatre of its kind in the world that still uses original hand operated stage machinery.
