Susanne Ingegerd Rydén (born 2 October 1962) is a Swedish soprano who has been called "Sweden's most renowned singer specialising in early and classical music". She has performed across Europe and abroad. She is currently the preses (chairman) of the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

Career

Rydén was born in Hjärtlanda,

Jönköping County Jönköping County () is a county or '' län'' in southern Sweden. It borders the counties of Halland, Västra Götaland, Östergötland, Kalmar and Kronoberg. The total county population was 356,291 inhabitants in September 2017. The capita ...

, Sweden. She studied Renaissance to Classical music and singing with at the

Royal College of Music, Stockholm The Royal College of Music, Stockholm () is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was made independent of the Academy in 1971, and ...

; with

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his musi ...

at the

Schola Cantorum Basiliensis The Schola Cantorum Basiliensis (SCB) is a music academy and research institution located in Basel, Switzerland, that focuses on early music and historically informed performance. Faculty at the school have organized performing ensembles that hav ...

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

, Switzerland; and with Jessica Cash in London. In 1990, Ryden released her first solo album, ''Bella Madre de 'Fiori for Prophone' '', which featured Italian music from the 1500s to the 1700s and was recorded in Petruskyrkan,

Stocksund Stocksund () is an upper-class suburb in Metropolitan Stockholm, Sweden. Located immediately across the Edsviken and Stocksundet from Bergshamra, Stocksund is one of four parts of Danderyd Municipality north of Stockholm, which is the mos ...

, Sweden. Rydén made her debut in 1991, and has focused on

early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750) or Ancient music (before 500 AD). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad Dates of classical ...

. In 1995, she made her debut at the

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre () is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original stage machinery. Currently, the r ...

with Soler's ''

Una cosa rara ' (''A Rare Thing, or Beauty and Honesty'') is an opera by the composer Vicente Martín y Soler. It takes the form of a dramma giocoso in two acts. The libretto, by Lorenzo Da Ponte, is based on the play ' by Luis Vélez de Guevara. The opera w ...

'' which was conducted by

Nicholas McGegan James Nicholas McGegan OBE (born 14 January 1950 in Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, England) is a British harpsichordist, flutist, conductor and early music expert. Biography McGegan received his early education at Nottingham High School. He subse ...

. In 1996, she toured worldwide with the

European Union Baroque Orchestra The European Union Baroque Orchestra (EUBO) is a training initiative that allows young performers of baroque music from the European Union to gain orchestral experience as part of their career development. Its purpose is to bridge the gap between ...

under the direction of

Roy Goodman Roy Goodman (born 26 January 1951) is an English conductor and violinist, specialising in the performance and direction of early music. He became internationally famous as the 12-year-old boy treble soloist in the March 1963 recording of Alleg ...

. She performed a concert in Australia at the

Perth International Arts Festival Perth Festival, named Perth International Arts Festival (PIAF) between 2000 and 2017, and sometimes referred to as the Festival of Perth, is Australia's longest-running cultural festival, held annually in Western Australia. The program features ...

, sang Bach's Wedding cantata ''O holder Tag, erwünschte Zeit'', BWV 210, with the

Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...

in Italy and produced a recording with the Swedish trumpeter,

Niklas Eklund Niklas Eklund (1969 – 10 April 2025) was a Swedish trumpeter. Life and career Eklund was born in Gothenburg in 1969 into a musical family; his father, Bengt, was a noted trumpeter and conductor. Eklund studied with his father, as well as at t ...

, in 1997. Rydén's 1998 appearances included performances at the

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

festival ' with

Lars Ulrik Mortensen Lars Ulrik Mortensen (born 9 November 1955) is a Danish harpsichordist and conductor, mainly of Baroque solo music, chamber music and early music repertory. He was a professor in Munich in 1996–99 and has since then been artistic director of ...

, ''L'Amfiparnaso'' by

Orazio Vecchi Orazio Vecchi (6 December 1550 (baptized) in Modena – 19 February 1605) was an Italian composer of the late Renaissance music, Renaissance. He is most famous for his madrigal comedy, madrigal comedies, particularly ''L'Amfiparnaso''. ...

with the Stockholm Baroque Soloists (a group she helped found), and the role of "Angelica" in Handel's ''

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

'' conducted by Goodman at the

NorrlandsOperan The NorrlandsOperan (), is a Swedish opera company in Umeå, located in Norrland, Sweden. The ownership of NorrlandsOperan is divided between the Umeå Municipality (40%) and the Västerbotten County Council (60%). NorrlandsOperan was establishe ...

. During 1999, she sang with counter-tenor Mikael Bellini in three concerts at the Drottningholm Theatre with Roy Goodman; toured with

Gustav Leonhardt Gustav Maria Leonhardt (30 May 1928 – 16 January 2012) was a Dutch keyboardist, conductor, musicologist, teacher and editor. He was a leading figure in the historically informed performance movement to perform music on period instruments. Leo ...

giving concerts in Boston and New York; and performed the part of "Dido" in Purcell's ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque music, Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncer ...

'' in St. Gallen, Switzerland. In 2004, Rydén performed a music drama "Christina's Journey" based on the life of

Christina, Queen of Sweden Christina (; 18 December O.S. 8 December">Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="nowiki/>Old Style and New Style dates">O.S. 8 December1626 – 19 April 1689), a member of the House of Vasa, was Monarchy of Sweden, Queen of Sweden from ...

, which she had researched. The music is a combination of instrumental works, arias and dances by several Baroque composers including

Marco Marazzoli Marco Marazzoli (1602? – 26 January 1662) was an Italian priest and Baroque music composer. Early life Born at Parma, Marazzoli received early training as a priest, and was ordained around 1625. He moved to Rome in 1626, and entered the se ...

Luigi Rossi Luigi Rossi (c. 1597 – 20 February 1653) was an Italian Baroque composer. Born in Torremaggiore, a small town near Foggia, in the ancient kingdom of Naples, at an early age he went to Naples where he studied music with the Franco-Flemish comp ...

and

Giacomo Carissimi (Gian) Giacomo Carissimi (; baptized 18 April 160512 January 1674) was an Italian composer and music teacher. He is one of the most celebrated masters of the early Baroque or, more accurately, the Roman School of music. Carissimi established the ...

. Rydén sang the soprano parts, and performed recitations and dance. It was staged in London, Rome, Stockholm and Uppsala. The production was honored with several prizes and broadcast on Swedish television. That same year,

Hans-Ola Ericsson Hans-Ola Ericsson (born 1958 in Stockholm) is a Swedish organist, composer, pedagogue, and visual artist. Career Ericsson studied church music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm, and continued his organ and composition studies at the Hoc ...

wrote an opera ''Song of Songs'' for her, and she performed the soprano part. In 2005, she played the role of "Meleagro" in Handel's ''

Atalanta Atalanta (; ) is a heroine in Greek mythology. There are two versions of the huntress Atalanta: one from Arcadia (region), Arcadia, whose parents were Iasus and Clymene (mythology), Clymene and who is primarily known from the tales of the Caly ...

'' with the

Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO) is an American orchestra based in San Francisco. PBO is dedicated to historically informed performance of Baroque, Classical and Romantic music on original instruments. The orchestra performs its subscri ...

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California *George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer to ...

and in 2006, she appeared as Titania in Purcell's '' Fairy Queen'' performed at the Festwochen Herrenhausen. Rydén worked with Mark Tatlow, who plays

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

in 2007 on chamber music recordings of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

. In 2008, she sang "Dorinda" in ''Orlando'' by Handel at the Deutschen Theater in

Göttingen Göttingen (, ; ; ) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. According to the 2022 German census, t ...

and in 2009 she performed in Japan with the Bach Collegium Japan under

Masaaki Suzuki is a Japanese organist, harpsichordist, conductor, and the founder and music director of the Bach Collegium Japan. With this ensemble he is recording the complete choral works of Johann Sebastian Bach for the Swedish label BIS Records, for whi ...

. Rydén was made a member of the

in 2007. Since 2015 she is the Preses (chairman) of the Academy. She has been called "Sweden's most renowned singer specialising in early and classical music". She has performed as a soloist at concerts and music festivals across Europe and toured worldwide including performances in Australia, Japan, Russia, South Africa, and the United States. In addition she has made numerous award-winning recordings for various labels including Avie, BIS, Caprice, CPO Germany, and Harmonia Mundi, among others. She also teaches singing, having taught Baroque singing at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Scandinavian Bach Academy in Örebro. In 1988 she married Hans Bjerhag (born 1959).Susanne Rydén
bach-verein.de She has recently (2018) taken the post of managing director of , a music institution in southern Sweden, with office in

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryden, Susanne 1962 births Living people Swedish operatic sopranos Musicians from Jönköping County 20th-century Swedish women opera singers 21st-century Swedish women opera singers Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni Schola Cantorum Basiliensis alumni People from Sävsjö Municipality