ARTE Opera Season - The European opera season

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Mikael Karlsson: Melancholia

Royal Swedish Opera, Stockholm

153 min

Available until 05/12/2025

On the day of her wedding, Justine suddenly sees a red star in the sky: the planet Melancholia is coming dangerously close to Earth. In an attempt to calm her down, her husband Michael lavishes all his love on her, while her cold and callous mother, Gaby, only adds to her distress. Her sister Claire tries to comfort her with her kindness, but no one can contain the mysterious forces ignited within Justine. And Melancholia is getting closer and closer...

In 2011, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier took the world by storm with Melancholia. Now Swedish composer Mikael Karlsson has created an opera based on this fascinating film. The libretto is by Canadian Royce Vavrek, who also adapted another Lars von Trier film, Breaking the Waves, for the stage. The soloists include soprano Lauren Snouffer, a virtuoso performer of both the baroque and contemporary repertoires, who plays Justine with brio; mezzo-soprano Rihab Chaieb, one of the Metropolitan Opera’s rising stars, in the role of Claire; and Anne Sofie von Otter as the ice-cold Gaby. The orchestra is conducted by Andrea Molino, the staging is by Sláva Daubnerová and the costumes are by Chrisi Karvonides-Dushenko.

Filmed on 2 November 2023 at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm.

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