The programme is subject to change and additional information/participants might be added.
Thursday 27 November
OPERA’S UNHEARD STORIES – New Narratives & Perspectives
Den Andra Operan (DAO) presents the theme of the seminar: New Narratives, Perspectives & Unheard Stories. For 10 years DAO has been delving into the forgotten operas composed by women. In this talk they share the patterns, common denominators and fascinating stories they have unearthed.
With: Bente Rolandsdotter and Hanna Fritzson (Artistic and Musical Directors, DAO).
HOW TO REVOLUTIONISE AN OPERA REPERTOIRE – as a Commissioner/Opera House
Dr Merle Fahrholz shares her experiences of staging operas composed by
women – both historical and contemporary – at the opera house of Essen and previously at the opera house of Dortmund. A talk about challenges, successes, the future, and practical aspects such as funding and collaborations.
With: Dr. Merle Fahrholz (Artistic Director, Aalto Musiktheater and Essener Philharmoniker), Patricia Knebel (Dramaturg, Aalto Musiktheater, Essener Philharmoniker & Aalto Ballett) and Elisabeth Linton (Artistic Director, Royal Danish Opera).
FROM ARCHIVE TO STAGE – Mazeppa by Marie Clémence de Grandval (1892)
In August 2025 Den Andra Operan revived Grandval’s opera Mazeppa in a semi-staged performance in Stockholm. This talk looks at the process of staging excerpts from Mazeppa. What was interesting about the piece? What new perspectives on an existing myth did they find? And what do you do when, due to present events, a historical opera suddenly turns out to be highly topical and potentially controversial?
With: Mårten Forslund (Stage director), Sophie Helsing (Dramaturg), Bente Rolandsdotter (Artistic director, DAO). Moderator: Jørgen Hansen (Dramaturg, Royal Danish Opera).
FROM ARCHIVE TO STAGE – Making Forgotten Operas Available
Examples of operas rediscovered and awakened by Palazetto Bru Zane, such as: Fausto by Louise Bertin and Mazeppa by Clémence de Grandval.
With: Alexandre Dratwicki (Artistic Leader, Palazetto Bru Zane) and Patricia Knebel (Dramaturg, Aalto Musiktheater, Essener Philharmoniker & Aalto Ballett).
A NEW DAWN? The Next Generation of Female Composers
The music journalist Wilhelm Kvist explores the current landscape of opera on Nordic stages, focusing on works composed by women. Are female composers represented? If so, do their operas offer new or different perspectives and stories from those written by their male counterparts? Following the presentation, the composer Louise Alenius, in conversation with Wilhelm Kvist, discusses her approach to choosing subjects and themes. Louise Alenius has written the operas Silent Zone (Copenhagen Opera Festival and Malmö Opera) and
Manualen (The Royal Danish Opera).
With: Wilhelm Kvist (Music Journalist, Hufvudstadsbladet) and Louise Alenius (Composer).
DENMARK IN FOCUS – Danish Operas Composed by Women
An overview of Danish operas composed by women, with a special focus on Hilda Sehested’s Agnete og Havmanden (Agnete and the Merman)(1914).
With: Lisbeth Ahlgren Jensen (Musicologist).
KEYNOTE: New Perspectives and Unheard Stories in Danish Opera
The musicologist Thomas Husted Kirkegaard is well known in Denmark for his research on and expertise in the works of Tekla Griebel Wandall, especially Kong Hroars Skjalde (The Bards of King Hroar) – an opera that was stowed away in the archives of the Royal Danish Theatre for 100 years, but had never been staged. Kirkegaard also reveals a recent and sensational discovery: an opera by Nicoline Leth (c. 1897).
With: Thomas Husted Kirkegaard (Musicologist).
Friday 28 November
FROM ARCHIVE TO STAGE – Fritiofs saga
In February 2026 Aalto Musiktheater Essen presents the staged world premiere of the opera Fritiofs saga (The Fritjof Saga) (1898) by Elfrida Andrée, with libretto by Selma Lagerlöf. This talk presents insights into the process of staging an opera from its discovery to its world premiere.
With: Patricia Knebel (Dramaturg, Aalto Musiktheater, Essener Philharmoniker & Aalto Ballett) and Henrik Schaefer (Conductor & Music Director, Folkoperan).
PANEL DISCUSSION – What are the Specific Challenges when Staging (Unknown) Operas by Women Composers?
Are operas by women about something different? Is the perspective different than that of male composers? If that is the case, when staging them in modern times, is it especially important to stay true to the original piece and not change them or add layers of interpretation? A panel will discuss the degree of artistic freedom one can take when reviving operas that have been unheard in modern times. The discussion stems from criticism Den Andra Operan have experienced throughout their years of staging historical operas by women.
With: Wilhelm Kvist (Music journalist), Mårten Forslund (Stage director), Deda Cristina Colonna, (Stage director and Choreographer), Elisabeth Linton (Artistic Director, Royal Danish Opera).
Moderator: Sophie Helsing (Dramaturg).
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE AUDIENCE AND THE OPERA
What strategies can we use to restore the forgotten operas by women their proper place and nimbus? A PechaKucha from the perspective of sales, communication and marketing.
With: Annica Sand (Operational Manager, DAO).
DISGUISED OPERA – Composed by Nuns
Hanna Fritzson and Holger Schmitt-Hallenberg introduce ‘Disguised Opera Composed by Nuns’, an in-depth study of two oratorios and a cantata by the 18th-century composer Camilla de Rossi. The project investigates whether the composer’s oratorios and her cantata were in fact ‘operas in disguise’. The project is part of the Bernadotte Scholarship Programme at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
With: Hanna Fritzson (Musical Director DAO, soprano) and Holger Schmitt-Hallenberg (Musicologist).
INTERNATIONAL OUTLOOK – The WOVEN project
The centrality of women in 18th-century opera. Melania Bucciarelli, Professor of Musicology and initiator of the five-year research project WOVEN (Women, Opera and the Public Stage in Eighteenth-Century Venice) at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim, shares insights gained from the project.
With: Melania Bucciarelli (Professor of Musicology at NTNU), Deda Cristina Colonna (Stage director and Choreographer); Stefano Aresi, (Musicologist and Director of ’Stile Galante’); Silvano Arnoldo (Costume, Fashion and Accessories designer) and Brad Carlton Sisk (Musicologist, Theatre Director and PhD Fellow at NTNU). All members of the WOVEN Research Team.
SUMMARY & FUTURE
Conclusion including an interactive programme item, in which we aim at a solution-oriented future vision. Formalisation of a network for
operas composed by women.
With: Annica Sand (Operational Manager, DAO) and guests.
