Opera on the Move in the Nordic Countries during the Long 19th ...

Music at the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> in Stockholm…
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more important in terms of attracting the audience. It was certainly not just
used in passing, and the famous musicians and singers playing in the intermissions
perhaps attracted the audience more than the official programme.
Touring artists visited Stockholm, often on established touring routes
on the way to or from St Petersburg via the Nordic countries. They may
have travelled from St Petersburg via the Finnish cities of Helsinki and
Turku, Stockholm, Uppsala, through southern Sweden and on to Denmark
(sometimes via Norway), or the other way around. 21 The fact that Stockholm
was on this route naturally influenced what music was played at the Royal
Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> and in the city, which now included virtuoso performances
by these touring musicians. It is nevertheless reasonable to assume that
the orchestral pieces performed at these concerts were in the repertoire
of the Royal Court Orchestra (Hovkapellet), which had minimal time to
rehearse new ones. This virtuoso music seemed to become more and more
popular after the <strong>Opera</strong> spent large amounts of money taking on musicians
to perform a few works on other occasions than at concerts, as a way of attracting
an audience.
It seems to have been easier for these travelling musicians to perform at
the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong> given the difficulties in engaging other musicians
on an individual basis. In a private letter to the composer Edward Grieg,
Ludvig Norman gave him due warning as he was planning to visit Stockholm
on a concert tour.
It is enough for me to know that you wish to conduct by yourself. Even if
it is not common practice for any one apart from the orchestra leader to
conduct The Royal Court Orchestra, I am sure that it would be more than
happy to play under someone like you. For my own part, I think it will be
very nice to hear music outside my own office, and I promise to support
you in any way, so you will have a day for your concert and assistance.
But, with this letter I just want to point out the difficulties here. I do not
know if you are aware of the current music situation in this city. If you
are, then you might know the immense opera load of the orchestra – four
to five operas a week and rehearsals on top, which is not a small commitment
for an orchestra as small as ours. To ask members to take on extra
work is neither a pleasant nor an easy task – as I know full well. And
this is not the biggest problem. The theatre management may promise
the artist a day for a concert, but then some theatre business may come
up, and the concert is postponed indefinitely. This is not a problem for
those who have time to wait, but since I assume that you do not have so
much time to spend here in Stockholm, I see it as my duty to warn you
21 This can be traced in advertisements and reviews in contemporary newspapers from
the Nordic countries, for example.