Oscarsteatern (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: Oscar Theatre), also known simply as Oscars, is one of Stockholm's private theatres and is the best-known musical theatre in Sweden. It is located at Kungsgatan 63 in central Stockholm.

History

The theater was designed in Art Nouveau by architect

Axel Anderberg Axel Johan Anderberg (November 27, 1860 – March 27, 1937) was a Swedish architect. He was active from the 1880s to the early 1930s. Biography Anderberg was born in Kristianstad in Skåne County, Sweden. Anderberg received his education ...

(1860–1937) and was inaugurated on December 6, 1906. It was named after King Oscar II. The salon accommodated 1175 seats and was decorated with white stucco and gilded ornaments. Between 1971-1974, the theater was closed for renovation and at the same time the salon was restored. The opening production was ''Frihetsbröderna (

Les brigands ''Les brigands'' (''The Bandits'') is an opéra bouffe, or operetta, by Jacques Offenbach to a French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Meilhac and Halévy's libretto lampoons both serious drama (Schiller's play ''The Robbers'') ...

)'' by

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ' ...

, on 6 December the same year. The theatre has during the years been seen as the foremost stage for musical productions and operettas in Sweden. The theatre has 905 seats and for many years in the early 20th century was part of theatre empire of

Albert Ranft Albert Adam Ranft (23 November 1858 – 5 October 1938) was a Swedish theatre director and actor. Biography Albert Adam Ranft was born in Stockholm, the son of Adolf Fredrik Ranft and Katarina Amalia Reijhell. His brother Gustaf Adolf Ranft ...

(1858-1938). Over the years it has boasted some great musical productions, including several successful stagings of ''

My Fair Lady ''My Fair Lady'' is a musical based on George Bernard Shaw's 1913 play '' Pygmalion'', with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons ...

'' (the 1959–61 run reaching 766 performances) and the 1989–95 run of ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pier ...

'' (performed 1173 times). Opera soprano singer Rosa Grünberg (1878–1960) made her play stage debut. The original

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

(and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an) staging of ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'' in 1983 is also among the most successful – and critically acclaimed – productions in the theatre's history. The theatre was managed from its inception until 1926 by Albert Ranft; from 1926 to 1947 by

Gösta Ekman Hans Gösta Gustaf Ekman (; 28 July 1939 – 1 April 2017) was a Swedish actor, comedian, and director. Career Ekman was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and was the son of the director Hasse Ekman and Agneta (née Wrangel). Ekman represented ...

(1890–1938) and

Pauline Brunius Pauline Brunius, née ''Emma Maria Pauline Lindstedt'' (10 February 1881 in Stockholm – 30 March 1954 in Stockholm) was a Swedish stage and film actor, screenwriter and film and theatre director. She was the managing director of the Royal Dr ...

(1881–1954) among others. It was used in this period solely as a stage for spoken drama. From 1947 to 1998 it was managed by Sandrew Metronome, during a period often described as the theatre's "golden days" in terms of musical theatre shows. In 1998 it has been managed by Vicky von der Lancken and since 2004, by

2 Entertain 2 Entertain (stylized as 2 , entertain) is a British video and music publisher founded in September 2004 by the merger of BBC Video and Video Collection International in 2004. Under CEO Richard Green, the company operated as a joint venture b ...

production company. In the autumn of 2006, the theatre celebrated its 100th jubilee with the musical production '' Singin' in the Rain''.

References

External links

Oscarsteatern.se
(official site) {{Authority control Theatres in Stockholm Theatres completed in 1906 Art Nouveau architecture in Stockholm Art Nouveau theatres 1906 establishments in Sweden Listed buildings in Stockholm