​ It’s time to look forward to the coming season

Right in the middle of an unpredictable time of virus and cancelled performances, we still need to look forward and hope for a new season of performing arts at the Göteborg Opera. The new opera Mytomania, about a fraudulent surgeon and new productions of Verdi's Nabucco and Mozart's Don Giovanni. The musical Cabaret, set in the explosive Berlin of the Weimar Republic, and new dance works by four of the Nordic region’s leading choreographers. All this and much more is what we are awaiting in the 2020/2021 season.

Henning Ruhe, Artistic Director Opera/Drama:

“Complex relationships with freedom and power are a central theme in the upcoming season’s productions at The Göteborg Opera. In Mytomania by Paula af Malmborg Ward and Kerstin Perski, we meet the devious and manipulative surgeon Francis. In Cabaret, freedom in Berlin is undermined by Nazi violence. Don Giovanni’s depravity results in his downfall, while in Nabucco, religion becomes a potentially deadly power instrument. Norma is torn between sentiment and duty – and just how free is the heroic Siegfried? Musical drama is packed with powerful stories and characters. Through the music, they seduce us into a maelstrom of emotions. So... Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome to a new season of powerful musical drama.”

Katrín Hall, Artistic Director Dance:

“Dance has an unfailing power and capacity to touch hearts and explore relevant themes. And GöteborgsOperans Danskompani is on a continuous quest to break new, innovative ground. Next season The Göteborg Opera welcomes four of the Nordic region’s greatest choreographers – each of them presenting a world premiere. Jo Strømgren shares a double bill with Athens-based Christine Gouzelis and Paul Blackman. This is followed by an innovative work by Kenneth Kvarnström, accompanied by live music and performed by one of the Nordic region’s leading music artists. In spring 2021, we welcome award-winning Johan Inger and Norwegian Alan Lucien Øyen back to the Main Stage. We start each creative process from scratch without knowing where it will take us. That’s the beauty of world premieres – both for us and for the audience.”

Operas and Musicals

Willkommen, Bienvenue, Welcome! Next season’s big musical production Cabaret is set in bustling Berlin in the fragile final period of the Weimar Republic. The show features a versatile ensemble and there will be a limited number of audience seats on the stage. Director: James Grieve. Conductor: David White. A musical by Fred Ebb, John Kander and Joe Masteroff. Swedish translation by Rikard Bergqvist. Premiere 5 September 2020.

In celebration of Gothenburg's 400th anniversary, the Göteborg Opera will present a new opera on the Main Stage. Mytomania by Gothenburg-based composer Paula af Malmborg Ward and librettist Kerstin Perski centres around Francis, a manipulative celebrity surgeon. While his patients die, he pursues a love affair with the couples therapist who is supposed to be saving his marriage. Perhaps she is the drama’s real protagonist? The singers, for whose voices the opera was written, are: Kerstin Avemo, Joachim Bäckström, Ann-Kristin Jones, Åke Zetterström and Ingrid Tobiasson. Director: Clara Svärd. Conductor: Andreas Hanson. World premiere 20 February 2021.

Verdi’s opera Nabucco – with its hit tune Va pensiero (“Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves”) – is a tale of violence, oppression, reconciliation and the longing for freedom. Italian director Jacopo Spirei sets the story in a contemporary context. Conductor: Giancarlo Andretta. Mats Persson takes the role of Nabucco, while Abigaille is sung by sensational Russian soprano Zoya Tsererina. Premiere 31 October 2020.

Mozart's opera about the unscrupulous rogue Don Giovanni is a balancing act between pure gold and oppressive darkness. Director John Fulljames, artistic director at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, sets the story in an elegant hotel. Conductor: Ville Matvejeff. Mattias Ermedahl takes the title role, while the three vengeful women are sung by Kerstin Avemo, Ann-Kristin Jones and Mia Karlsson. Premiere 8 May 2021.

Get ready for Siegfried, the third opera in Wagner’s monumental work The Ring of the Nibelung. The Göteborg Opera is giving one opera per year from this huge work, which conveys a strong environmental message.The title role is sung by stellar American tenor Daniel Brenna. The woodbird is sung by Sofie Asplund while Brünnhilde is sung by Ingela Brimberg. Our productions of the previous operas in the cycle, Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, will be shown as screenings in conjunction with Siegfried. Conductor: Evan Rogister. Director: Stephen Langridge. Premiere 29 November 2020.

“Takes your breath away” wrote the DN newspaper about the Göteborg Opera’s production of Norma in 2017, directed by Stéphane Braunschweig. Swedish court singer Katarina Karnéus received the Svenska Dagbladet Opera Prize in 2018 for her portrayal of the title role. A long-awaited revival of Bellini’s bel canto masterpiece on 5 March 2021. Conductor: Myron Michailidis.

The season kicks off with six performances of Max Webster’s acclaimed production of Puccini’s La bohème set in 1970s Paris. Ida Falk Winland (Mimì) and Sofie Asplund (Musetta) appear in their respective roles for the first time. Rodolfo is sung by South Korean tenor Jung Soo Yun. Conductor: Henrik Schaefer. Revival premiere 30 August 2020.

Dance

It would have been just another day for the Canadian Mounted Police – if it wasn’t for the fact that all the horses seem to have run away. Norwegian choreographer Jo Strømgren is back with new pithy absurdities. The dance double bill Out of time also presents a new work by Athens-based choreographers Christine Gouzelis and Paul Blackman. The dancers move back and forth through time, aided by an ingenious stage design. World premiere 2 October 2020.

With 12 Songs, Finnish choreographer Kenneth Kvarnström presents well-known pop music in a new guise together with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, The Göteborg Opera Orchestra, guest musicians and one of the Nordic Region’s leading music artists. The secret celebrity’s identity will be revealed when the tickets go on sale. Costumes: Astrid Olsson. Conductor: Hans Ek. To be double billed with two revival premieres on alternate evenings: Contemporary Dance by Hofesh Shechter and Au Revoir by Wang Ramirez. World premiere/revival premiere 23 January 2021.

Inger & Øyen bring you two new dance works. Swede Johan Inger and Norwegian Alan Lucien Øyen both have long lists of prestigious international productions and awards under their belts. Their works Falter (Inger) and If we shadows have offended and Kodak (Øyen) have already been given at The Göteborg Opera. Now each of them returns to present a new work performed by GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. World premiere 31 March 2021.

Jo Strømgren's acclaimed dance piece The Ministry of Unresolved Feelings returns with a mix of absurd humour and poignant gravity. Revival premiere 19 October 2020. On tour in Västra Götaland until 29 April 2021.

Concerts

Celebrating 100 years of opera in Gothenburg! When the Stora Teatern theatre became home to the Gothenburg Lyric Ensemble in 1920, Gothenburg finally got its own opera. The Göteborg Opera Orchestra will celebrate at the venue where it was born with a concert that includes pieces from the inauguration programme. Premiere 9 September at Stora Teatern. Also to be performed in Trollhättan, Skövde and Halmstad.

Beethoven Marathon. Beethoven's nine symphonies – all in one day! The Göteborg Opera and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra will celebrate the master’s 250th birthday with three concerts. Conductors: Eva Ollikainen and Christoph Eschenbach. 26 September 2020.

Let the voice be heard – a concert of music by female composers from the 19th century until the present day – celebrates the female voice and the 100th anniversary of the first Swedish parliamentary election in which women were allowed to vote. On the programme: Elfrida Andrée’s Cantata at the International Congress for Women’s Suffrage, and the anthem of the women’s suffrage movement, March for the women by Dame Ethel Smyth, in which the whole audience can join in and sing. The Göteborg Opera’s soloists, Women's Chorus and Orchestra. Conductor: Henrik Schaefer. 7 March 2021.

At Your Concert, the audience selects the pieces to be performed by the singers, musical artists and the Göteborg Opera Orchestra. More information about the procedure will be published later. Part of Gothenburg’s 400th anniversary celebrations. Conductor: Patrik Ringborg. 3 and 5 June 2021.

Regional performances

Champagne Tears is a mini operetta that explores the life of composer and satirist Jacques Offenbach, accompanied by his scintillating music. Offenbach will be played by Åke Zetterström, who also makes his directing debut. Carolina Sandgren portrays Offenbach's most beloved enemy, the prima donna Hortense Schneider. Premiere in Skövde on 12 September 2020. Then touring at venues in Västra Götaland, including The Göteborg Opera Small Stage.

Boye & Hörberg is a musical story of two much-loved female authors and pioneers. Both were born in Gothenburg just over 30 years apart. Based on texts by Karin Boye and Barbro Hörberg, created and performed by musical artist Ingahlill Wagelin. World premiere 29 January 2021. To be performed at The Göteborg Opera in Skövde and Göteborg, and on tour in Västra Götaland.

Winter choral concerts. The Göteborg Opera Chorus goes on tour with classic Christmas songs, art songs and operatic pieces. Conductor: Martin Nagashima Toft. Premiere 28 November in Skövde. Then touring in Västra Götaland.

Late summer concert with opera gems and tasters of the upcoming season. Soloists with piano accompaniment. Dramaturge Göran Gademan will guide us through the programme. Tour in Västra Götaland starting on 12 August.

The thought-provoking mini-musical Rakel and the Oracle, for children from 6 years, will go on tour in Västra Götaland. Revival premiere 25 April 2021.

Jo Strømgren's acclaimed dance piece The Ministry of Unresolved Feelings returns with a mix of absurd humour and poignant gravity. Revival premiere 19 October 2020. On tour in Västra Götaland until 29 April 2021.

Children & young people

Tinsel and Tumult is a new family musical featuring classic Christmas tunes. The premiere of the opera house’s sparkling Christmas show is suddenly hijacked by magical powers backstage. Can Christmas be saved? Conductor: Lars Kvensler. Director: Mattias Palm. Premiere 11 December.

Hashtag life, hashtag you’re good enough. Filter is a new musical exploring school students’ thoughts about personal identity in today’s social media-dominated world. Two people get trapped in a lift together and gradually exchange confidences. By Jacob Andréas, Rudina Hatipi and Micaela Sjöstedt. Workshops in various schools in the region, and premiere in April 2021 on the Göteborg Opera Small Stage.

Sing along!/ Existence is a firework display of songs for the whole family! First audience sing-along to well-known melodies Göteborg Opera Children's Chorus and Orchestra. Followed by Existence, a new choral work by John Barber, Hazel Gould and Susanna Lindmark, performed by Göteborg Opera Youth Chorus in collaboration with the Arctic Light youth choir from Norrbottensmusiken. Conductors: Susanna Lindmark ad Ida Rosén Hamrå. 15 May 2021.

In Recreate: The Ministerium, young people aged between 13 and 21 create a new work based on Jo Strømgren's Ministry of Unresolved Feelings. First performance 16 August 2020.

Family Foyer is a fun event where children and young people can dance, sing, listen, create and learn more about all the art forms offered at The Göteborg Opera. Baby dancing is among the activities. 14 November 2020 and 7 February 2021.

Skapa

Skapa is a Göteborg Opera initiative focusing on participation and inclusion. The Göteborg Opera Community Choir (formerly the International Choir) and the Children’s and Youth Choruses are regularly involved in the project. After the initiative’s successful launch this season, more Skapa days will be held for everyone who is curious about music, singing, musical drama and dance. Skapa days will be held on 23 October–1 November 2020 and 5–14 March 2021. Some of the activities: Friday Chill Out Time, Relaxed Performances, Open Stage, the musical drama collage Autumn Night Music and the Youth Biennial in collaboration with Kulturskolan Angered.

Ticket release dates

• Subscriptions can be purchased at our ticket office from 30 March.
• The big ticket release will take place on 27 April. Then everyone will be able to buy tickets for performances from August 2020 through January 2021.

Press images here: https://en.opera.se/press/bilder/sasong-2020-2021/

For more information about each production, premiere dates and more: https://en.opera.se/press/2020/nu-blickar-vi-framat-mot-nasta-sasong/

For press and interview enquiries, please contact press@opera.se, +46 31 10 80 68, +46 31 10 80 35