NorrlandsOperan

The NorrlandsOperan (literal translation, The Norrland's Opera; NOP), is a Swedish opera company in Umeå, located in Norrland, Sweden. The ownership of NOP is divided between the Umeå Municipality (40%) and the Västerbotten County Council (60%).

NOP was established in 1974 as a regional opera ensemble. The NOP's first artistic director was Arnold Östman, from 1974 to 1979. NOP now has its own symphony orchestra and facilities for opera, dance, music and art as well as workshops and studios.

Norrlandsoperan was founded in 1974 as a direct result of Swedish cultural reform the same year. The musical theater group Sångens makt constituted the core of the newly formed opera ensemble. The ensemble initially had to use temporary premises but soon found a more permanent home at Umeå Folkets hus (then housed in a building at the intersection Järnvägsallén/Östra kyrkogatan). Norrlandsoperan's first director was Arnold Östman, who also was the artistic director of the opera in the years 1974-1979.

In 1984 Norrlandsoperan moved to the old fire station in Umeå, which was built in 1937 in a functionalist style and designed by Wejke & Ödeen. The fire station underwent extensive rebuilding and expansion, designed by Olle Qvarnström.

In 2002 the newly built theater and concert hall, which is incorporated with the old opera house, was inaugurated. The new building houses a hall with 480 seats, a large stage with side stages and orchestra pit, and a concert hall with 500 seats.

Every year in May, since 2006, Norrlandsoperan has arranged the annual MADE festival on its premises, and outdoors on Operaplan.

Past NOP artistic directors have included Magnus Aspegren. The current managing director and artistic director of NOP is Kjell Englund, since August 2009. Past chief conductors have included Roy Goodman (1995–2001), Kristjan Järvi (2000–2004), Andrea Quinn (2005–2009), and Rumon Gamba (2009-2015). In April 2016, the company announced the appointment of Elim Chan as its next chief conductor, effective in 2017, with an initial contract of 3 years.

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