CONCERTS

PROGRAM AT THE NEW YEAR'S CONCERT 2022

Johann Strauss II – Die Sanguiniker. Waltz
Josef Strauss – Aus der Ferne. Polka-Mazurka
Johann Strauss II – Leichtes Blut. Polka schnell
Joseph Hellmesberger – Heinzelmännchen
Franz Lehár – „The Merry Widow“: Vilja-Lied

Marianne Eklöf
Johann Strauss II – Frühlingsstimmen. Waltz
Eduard Strauss – Mit Extrapost. Polka schnell

INTERMISSION 30 min

Josef Strauss – Dynamiden. Waltz
Franz Lehár – „Land of Smiles“: You are my heart's delight

Tobias Westman
Johann Strauss d.y. – Spanish March
Deborah Henson-Conant – Baroque Flamenco for solo harp

Margareta Nilsson
Franz Lehár – „The Merry Widow”: The Widow's Waltz

Marianne Eklöf, Tobias Westman
Johann Strauss d.y. – Tik-Tak. Polka schnell

Marianne Eklöf is one of the great singers of our time. She is a mezzo-soprano and for many years has had the world as her field of work but has also been active at Malmö Opera and for 25 years belonged to the permanent ensemble at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. There she sung roles such as Octavian in The Rosenkavalier, Carmen, Eboli in Don Carlos, Brangäne in Tristan and Isolde, Ortrud in Lohengrin and not but least Klytaimnestra in Elektra. Eklöf is also active as a director and since 2019 she has been chairman of the Stockholm Strauss Orchestra.

Tobias Westman is one of Sweden’s most promising singers. He has received the prestigious Jenny Lind prize, Anders Wall’s Giresta prize and Birgit Nilsson’s scholarship. Tobias has appeared at the Opéra National de Paris,the Royal Opera in Stockholm, Malmö Opera, Wermland Opera and, not least, Vattnäs Konsertlada. Roles in the repertoire are Tamino in The Magic Flute, Jussi in The Silver Bird by Mats Larsson Gothe, Pinkerton in MadameButterfly and others. In Paris, he has appeared in The Magic Flute, Parsifal and Wozzeck at the Opéra National.

Margareta Nilsson is the Strauss Orchestra’s harpist. She has also performed with most symphony and opera orchestras in Sweden. Margareta has participated in concerts with many artists in various genres, for example, MonsterratCabellé, Luciano Pavarotti, Helene Sjöholm, Peter Jöback, Marie Fredriksson, Robert Wells and others. She has performed in classical concerts as well as musicals and pop. Margareta is a much sought-after teacher and teaches at Lilla Akademien inStockholm and Uppsala Kulturskola, where she has 15 harp students!

Mika Eichenholz is Chief conductor of the Orquesta Sinfónica Universidad de Concepción in Chile. He is extensively involved with orchestras in various parts of the world and has guest conducted, amongst others, the Salzburg MozarteumOrchestra, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hamburger Symphoniker. In Sweden, in addition to the Strauss Orchestra, Eichenholz is often seen as a guest conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, most recently in the concert for the opening of the Parliamentary session and the Dagens Nyheter open-air Gärdet concert. He has conducted at Gothenburg Opera, Wermland Opera, Malmö Opera and Folk Opera in Stockholm and has made alarge number of cd recordings for EMI and Naxos to name but a few.

Judith Simon choreographer,

was trained at the Royal Swedish Ballet School and directly after completing her training was employed by the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Early in her career Judith performed solo roles and competed in internationalballet competitions. This led to her being appointed soloist and premiere dancer. Judith’s strong technique and sparkling personality gave her many leading roles and soloist assignments during her career at the Royal Opera aswell as international tours to, for example, Japan, the USA, Brazil, England, Italy and the Czech Republic. She is now active as a choreographer and teacher at Stockholm Dance Academy BASE23.

BASE 23 Stockholm Dance Academy

Bianca Johnson-Wessman, Mara Brusis, Thelise Jonséus och Ingrid Helgesen

Anneli Alhanko and Eva Johnson have created a school where quality and joy of dancing are the focus. BASE23 offers professional training as well as hobby courses. Big and small dance dreams meet here, from the first tentative, tripping steps to the fully-fledged dancers and artists on their way out into working life.

Marc Power comes from a family of musicians in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. After studying at the Moscow Conservatory, he played as 1st Concertmaster at the Bolshoi Academic Theatre, Opera and Ballet in Tashkent. In 1990 he moved to Sweden and was employed the following year by the Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra. He is concertmaster of the Stockholm Strauss Orchestra, Power Strings and the Stockholm Ensemble.

Stockholm Strauss Orchestra was formed in 1992 as part of the Swedish Strauss Society formed in 1960. The driving force was Berth Vestergård, also one of the founders of the Swedish Strauss Society. The orchestra is modelled after and has the same instrumental setting as the Capelle Strauss orchestra, which operated under the direction of members of the Strauss family between 1827 and 1901. The orchestra also wears the same attire of red tails and white trousers that the Capelle Strauss musicians wore at court balls in Vienna.