Folkoperan is an

opera house An opera house is a theatre building used for performances of opera. It usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and building sets. While some venues are constructed specifically fo ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropol ...

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 Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

, at Hornsgatan 72 in the southern district of

Södermalm Södermalm, often shortened to just Söder, is a district and island in central Stockholm. Overview The district covers the large island of the same name (formerly called ''Åsön''). Although Södermalm usually is considered an island, wat ...

. It is one of

's most successful opera houses in terms of audience attendance, and is considered Sweden's most important stage for freelance

opera singer Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libretti ...

s and musicians.

History

Folkoperan was founded in 1976 by Claes Fellbom, Kerstin Nerbe, and Krister Fagerströmin. The opera house is located in a building which was designed by architect Höög & Morssing in elegant 1920s

Nordic Classicism Nordic Classicism was a style of architecture that briefly blossomed in the Nordic countries ( Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland) between 1910 and 1930. Until a resurgence of interest for the period during the 1980s (marked by several schola ...

. It was first erected by the cinema owner and builder John A. Bergendahl (1872–1958) at the site of the former Maria saluhall. At that time it was one of Stockholm's largest cinemas with 1,002 seats. As a theatre institute, Folkoperan receives annual funding from the

Swedish Arts Council The Swedish Arts Council ( sv, Statens kulturråd, or ''Kulturrådet'') is a Swedish administrative authority organized under the Ministry of Culture, and is tasked with promoting culture and its availability by distributing and following up on ...

, the

Stockholm County Council The Stockholm Regional Council ( sv, Region Stockholm), is a regional council, a regional municipal body corresponding to the territory of Stockholm County in Sweden. Its main responsibilities are the public healthcare system and public transpor ...

, and the City of Stockholm. Over the years, Folkoperan has functioned as an antithesis 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 sid ...

in Stockholm. It has become much appreciated by the Swedish opera audience due to its smaller more intimate stage and unconventional productions. Folkoperan celebrated its 25th anniversary with the new opera, '' Jeppe: The Cruel Comedy'', written and directed by Claes Fellbom and composed by

Sven-David Sandström Sven-David Sandström (30 October 1942, in Motala – 10 June 2019) was a Swedish classical composer of operas, oratorios, ballets, and choral works, as well as orchestral works. Life and career Sandström studied art history and musicology at S ...

(1942–2019).

References

Other sources

*Fellbom, Claes (2012) ''Född ur passion: Folkoperan, som jag såg den'' (Stockholm: Carlsson) *Berglund, Kurt (1993) ''Stockholms alla biografer: ett stycke Stockholmshistoria från 90-tal till 90-tal'' (Stockholm: Svenska turistföreningen)

External links

Folkoperan
(official site) Opera houses in Sweden Swedish opera companies Buildings and structures in Stockholm Music in Stockholm 1976 establishments in Sweden Tourist attractions in Stockholm Theatres completed in 1976 Music venues completed in 1976 {{Opera-struct-stub