Cabaret - the next big musical at the Göteborg Opera!

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome! Great show numbers, captivating upbeat music and a highly relevant storyline. The Göteborg Opera starts its 2020/2021 season with a legendary landmark musical - Cabaret!

The musical Cabaret revolves around Sally Bowles, a star cabaret performer at the nightclub Kit Kat Club and Clifford Bradshaw, a young struggling American writer. The musical is set in the early 1930’s Berlin. The Kit Kat Club is a safe place for pleasure-seeking individuals who live out their indulgent dreams under the watchful eye of the Conferencier. Clifford finds himself drawn into this free world of extravagance. Everything is possible, everything is allowed. But happiness is a fragile thing. Nazism is growing stronger, threatening those who have become very near and dear to Clifford. The end of their free-living existence is fast approaching.

The Göteborg Opera's production of Cabaret is a homage to the era of the original musical: Berlin in the 1930’s. Responsible for the production is a British team headed up by Stage Director James Grieve:

“It is a huge honour to be invited to direct one of the all-time great works of musical theatre in one of Europe’s finest and most prestigious opera houses. Cabaret is an enduring and potent story of individualism and expressionism in the face of encroaching fascism. Our Cabaret will be a riot of colour and song and dance. A celebration of diversity, individuality and the power of art and music to release people from oppression and express themselves freely. At a tumultuous time for Europe, it feels vital to revisit wild, raucous Weimar Berlin and the inimitable characters and timeless songs of Cabaret.”

Cabaret is a musical filled with flair, sensuality, darkness and despair. Among the most famous songs are ‘Willkommen’ and the title song ‘Cabaret’.

Anders Ottosson, Acting Artistic Director, Opera/Drama:

“Cabaret is a fantastic musical that unites a strong political narrative with engaging human relationships. James Grieve and his team have the insight and expertise needed to transfer the tenderness of Cabaret onto the Göteborg Opera’s Main Stage whilst conveying the relevant themes of the musical.”

Cabaret, which premiered on Broadway in New York in 1966, is based on Christopher Isherwood's autobiographical book Goodbye to Berlin (1939). It is one of the world’s most played multiple award-winning musicals, adapted for the big screen in 1972 with Liza Minnelli taking home an Oscar for her performance as Sally Bowles.

Auditions at the Göteborg Opera will take place throughout the autumn of 2019.
Premiere scheduled for September 2020. Tickets released: Spring 2020. Musical performed in Swedish. 

For press matters, please contact press@opera.se, +46 31 10 80 35

Authors and team

Book by Joe Masteroff. Based on the play by John van Druten and stories by Christopher Isherwood. Music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Original produced and directed on the New York stage by Harold Prince. Performing rights organisation: Nordiska ApS – Köpenhamn

Conductor: David White
Direction: James Grieve
Choreography: Rebecca Howell
Set Design and Costume Design: Lucy Osborne
Lighting Design: Oliver FenwickSound Design: Tom Gibbons