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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tively free rein over the repertoire, and tried to raise the cultural level by
putting on symphony concerts with an orchestra of 50 musicians (Meissner
1914, pp. 21-22). Meissner tried to introduce a new and modern symphonic
repertoire at these “popular symphonic concerts”, as they were called, but
he also featured older music (Jonsson and Tegen 1992, p. 116). This project
probably inspired Ludvig Norman, who introduced a similar concert series
at the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong>, although with a more conservative repertoire
(ibid.). Meissner’s concert series only lasted until 1878, probably because
the management did not think it had a place there. It seems at least that the
music was put aside in favour of variety entertainment, as it was first moved
to a smaller salon and then later phased out completely (Tegen 1985-87).
This is another example of the further specialisation of music institutions
and the division of music genres that came with time.
Organising concerts in Stockholm – almost impossible without a
connection to the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong>
Concerts were held in many different places, but for the most part they were
organised by a relatively small number of artists, most of them connected
to the Royal Swedish <strong>Opera</strong>. In addition there were some amateur musicians
and singers, and amateur musical societies giving concerts featuring
various kinds of ensembles. Amateur choirs often gave choral concerts, for
instance. The venue for chamber music was the musical soirée. Some of
the string section of the Royal <strong>Opera</strong> Orchestra even arranged subscription
series for musical soirées with a repertoire of music for string quartets. In
addition, professionals collaborated with amateur choral societies and other
groups in performances of larger-scale vocal works such as oratorios, cantatas
and masses by composers such as Mendelssohn, Bach and Handel.
If an artist wanted to arrange a concert offering an orchestral repertoire
the main option, basically, was to engage, the Royal <strong>Opera</strong> Orchestra. The
Harmonic Society 30 had an amateur orchestra in the early nineteenth century,
and there was a student orchestra at the conservatory of the Royal
Swedish Academy of Music from the 1850s. It was also possible to engage
musicians in private theatres such as Mindre Teatern (the Smaller Theatre)
in Stockholm, but it required reinforcements in order to play most of the
orchestral repertoire. Thus, the Royal <strong>Opera</strong> Orchestra was the only full
symphony orchestra in the city, and most musicians who could be engaged
30 Harmoniska sällskapet.