Time to reveal our next season!

New staging of Death in Venice, La Bohème and Die Walküre. The musical Oliver! in a raw and updated version by Fredrik Benke Rydman. New dance works by the most exciting choreographers of our time. And much, much more! Welcome to the Göteborg Opera’s Season 2019/2020!

Stephen Langridge, Artistic Director Opera/Drama: *

"GöteborgsOperan has been listed as one of the top six opera companies in the world – at the time of writing we don’t know if we have made the number one spot - and this season we aim to continue our attempt to be both locally engaging and to build our reputation for excellence internationally. Amongst the extraordinary characters singing their hearts out this season you will meet artists and heroes, people who resist the status quo, and negative momentum of society. Figaro and Susanna refuse to allow a repressive hierarchy to invade their loving relationship – the twists and turns of their plots are hilarious and ultimately successful. Carmen refuses all restriction on her freedom, whether social or sexual, even if it costs her life. Wotan searches for a free hero to sort out the mess he’s made of the world (Carmen would be ideal, but she is in the wrong opera). We meet a group of idealistic young artists, living life experimentally below the radar, in La Boheme, more established artists – Tosca and Cavaradossi – battling for art and freedom in a totalitarian political environment – and an older artist, desperately trying to regain his lost, youthful creative energy in Britten’s masterwork, Death in Venice. And then there is the wonderful, brave Nancy in Oliver! whose sacrifice is heroic and selfless. Whatever your musical taste we can promise a passionate, stirring experience at GöteborgsOperan."

Katrín Hall, Artistic Director Dance:

"Our aim as a dance company is to lead the development of our genre with a strong voice and clear identity whilst at the same time, emphasising the importance of taking risks and challenging ourselves.’ This season, the audience will have the chance to experience new, poetic, powerful and exciting worlds. The distorted scene of Club Guy & Roni’s Love opens the season on the Main Stage together with Ohad Naharin’s Naharin's Virus. In spring 2020, we can promise our audience the experience of a lifetime when circus artist Yoann Bourgeois will spellbind us all during an evening of fascinating dance performed together with the hip hop dance duo Wang Ramirez."

Operas and Musicals

This season’s big musical - Oliver! -in a new adaptation by Fredrik Benke Rydman,a well known member of the dance company ‘Bounce’. The homeless Oliver Twist is thrown between hope and despair whilst living rough in London. Participants in this musical include three teams of altogether 60 child performers. The film version of the musical won 6 Oscars in 1969. Direction and choreography: Fredrik Benke Rydman. Co-Director Victoria Brattström. Conductor and Musical Director: Bjorn Dobbelaere. Music and text: Lionel Bart. Premiere 14 September 2019.

It is not difficult to fall in love with Puccini’s La Bohème about radiating youth that eventually fades and dies. This time in a new adaptation by a young British team - set in the 1970s Paris, a city full of intellectual bohemians and protest marches. The role of Mimì is performed by Kerstin Avemo whilst Rodolfo is performed by New Zealand’s rising star, Thomas Atkins. Conductor: Karen Kamensek. Director: Max Webster. Premiere 1 February.

With Die Walküre, we continue the journey towards destruction in Wagner's Ring Cycle. One opera every year with the finale performed in 2021. Having long prioritised environmental issues, Wagner’s Ring Cycle challenges the entire Göteborg Opera to take another step forward. The prologue Das Rheingold, as staged in the autumn of 2018, will be screened in connection to Die Walküre. Conductor: Evan Rogister. Director: Stephen Langridge. Premiere 1 December.

Death in Venice, based on Thomas Mann’s semi-autobiographical novella with the same name, was Benjamin Britten’s final opera. Gustav von Aschenbach is an author who, having been obsessed by the young and beautiful Tadzio, becomes plagued by writer’s block and inner battles between intellect and ecstasy. The main role is performed by tenor Paul Nilon from England in a production by Director David Radok and Set Designer Lars-Åke Thessman. Conductor is Steuart Bedford who also conducted the first performance in 1973. Premiere 4 April 2020.

Puccini's Tosca is a thriller-like triangle drama featuring deep love, a super strong heroine and a truly cruel villain. Director Lorenzo Mariano has here chosen to set the action in 1930s Italy, during the oppression of Mussolini’s dictatorship. A long-awaited revival. Conductor: Henrik Schaefer.

Bizet's Carmen has captivated audiences for nearly 150 years. Carmen Revival. DN (newspaper) wrote about the premiere in 2017: ‘This is opera at its absolute best!’ The independent, passionate factory worker Carmen is once again portrayed by Katarina Giotas. Don José is performed by Joachim Bäckström. Conductor: Patrik Ringborg. Director: Sir David McVicar/Marie Lambert.

The season begins with five performances of Stephen's Langridge's production of Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro after its revival in the spring of 2019. Sofie Asplund is once again seen performing the role of Susanna whilst the deceived Countess is performed by Ida Falk Winland. Conductor: Rory Macdonald

Mozart's comedy of errors Così fan tutte is here staged under the direction of Mattias Ermedahl, a long-standing soloist with the Göteborg Opera, who in recent years have also directed a number of productions. Premiere 14 March.

Dance

The evening Virus/Love includes the dance piece Naharin’s Virus, the third collaboration between the legendary choreographer Ohad Naharin and Göteborg Opera Dance Company. GöteborgsOperans Danskompani is the first dance company, besides Naharin’s own, to be allowed to stage and perform this piece. The world premiere of Love by Roni Haver/Guy Weizman (Director of the Year in the Netherlands 2018) portrays love among millennials. Swedish/World premiere 11 October.

The contemporary dance duo Wang Ramirez often combines styles such as hip hop and popping with martial arts, contemporary dance, physical theatre and acrobatics. The works of the choreographer, acrobat and dancer Yoann Bourgeois are more often than not based on close collaborations with both the performing dancers and engineers. Beyond promises an evening of amazing dance performances, in these choreographers' first pieces for a large dance ensemble like GöteborgsOperans Danskompani. World Premiere on 6 March.

With Autodance & Solo Echo, the audience is once again given the opportunity to experience and enjoy two highly acclaimed dance pieces by Sharon Eyal and Crystal Pite. Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s hugely successful piece Stoic will also be returning with two performances.

3D International is a dance collaboration between three countries and three companies: GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, the Scapino Ballet of Holland and Tanz Mainz Dance Company of Germany. The concept is a development of national dance collaborations called ‘3D’ that began in 2017/2018.

During the season of 2019/2020, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani will tour the Netherlands, Germany and France (La Villette in Paris) among others.

Concerts

The International Women's Day 2020 is celebrated with a Scandinavian premiere of the opera La Ville Morte, composed in 1909 by Nadia Boulanger who, among others, taught the likes of Stravinsky, Britten, Quincy Jones, Astor Piazzolla and Philip Glass. Conductor: Anna-Maria Helsing. Scandinavian premiere 8 March 2020.

Blue Planet in Concert, Planet Earth in Concert and Frozen Planet in Concert. Film screening of the BBC Earth’s multiple award-winning television series to the music of George Fenton who will also be conducting the Göteborg Opera Orchestra at the concerts.

1970 – The final concert depicts the end of an era with music by Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen, Miles Davis and others. Performances by the Göteborg Opera Orchestra and guest singers. Conductor, concept and arrangement: Hans Ek.

Regional performances

Mozart's comedy of errors Così fan tutte under the artistic direction of Mattias Ermedahl and a new adaptation of the mini-musical Rakel och Oraklet (Rachel and the Oracle) for children aged 6 - 8 will be touring Västra Götaland County with performances at the Göteborg Opera’s stage in Skövde (Skövdescenen) and the Small Stage (Lilla Scenen) in Gothenburg.

The Göteborg Opera Orchestra will also tour the county with its Symphonic Summer Concert and works by Mozart, Beethoven and Weber.

For the family

Rakel och Oraklet (Rachel and the Oracle.A new mini-musical by Per Larsson and Anders Wängdahl for children aged 6 to 8.

The musical A Christmas Tale by Tobias Ahlsell, David Lundqvist and Anders Wängdahl, based on Charles Dickens’ classic story, is making its return following two successful years. Conductor: Josef Rhedin, Director: Erik Ståhlberg

Skapa

The aim of the Göteborg Opera’s Skapa project is to make participation and creativeness accessible to everyone by offering regular activities such as a children's chorus, youth chorus, and the International Choir of the Göteborg Opera and Swedish Red Cross to name a few. The 2019/2020 season sees the introduction of Skapa (Creative) Family Days on the Small Stage where anything and everything can happen. The summer holiday musical Återskapa (Recreate): Whilst the recurring theme of Die Walküre is heroism, the month of September sees the arrival of the Youth Biennial Voices from Angered at the Göteborg Opera. February half-term holidays 2020, on the other hand, offers everyone a chance to participate in a turbo musical.

Ticket release dates

• Subscriptions will be available to buy from our Box Office as of 1 April.
• Priority ticket deals for agents, sponsors and subscribers will be available to buy as of 15 April for performances in August 2019 through to January 2020.
• Standard tickets for performances from August 2019 through to January 2020 will be released on 23 April.

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

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* The 2019/2010 Season has been planned by Stephen Langridge, Artistic Director until June 2019. The search for Stephen Langridge’s successor will continue throughout the spring of 2019.