Tommy Körberg | |
---|---|
Körberg 2009
|
|
Background information | |
Birth name | Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg |
Born | 4 July 1948 |
Origin | Norsjö, Sweden |
Genres | Pop, Schlager |
Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtɔmːʏ ˈɕɶːrˌbærj]) (Norsjö, 4 July 1948) is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role as Anatoly/"The Russian" in the musical Chess. He played the role on the 1984 concept album, and again on stage in the 1986 world première West End production in London. He has also performed the role several more times since then.
Körberg has also played the lead role in many Swedish productions of other musicals.
He represented Sweden in the 1969 and 1988 Eurovision Song Contests.
He has also appeared in the Swedish productions of other musicals, usually in a starring role, including The Sound of Music and Les Misérables. He was a supporting actor in the 1984 Swedish fantasy film Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, based on the novel by the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren.
Körberg voiced the Beast in the Swedish dub of Beauty and the Beast, and also sang the Swedish version of the title song on the soundtrack. In the 1990s and 2000s, he took time off from other projects in order to recreate the role of Anatoly/"The Russian" in subsequent productions of Chess, including the 1994 tenth anniversary concert and the 2002 production. For years, he collaborated with Monica and Carl-Axel Dominique in the experimental group Solar Plexus. In his own performances, he has worked extensively with Stefan Nilsson, and including songs by Jacques Brel.
Körberg is also a frequent performer with Benny Andersson's band, Benny Anderssons Orkester (BAO), singing mostly dance music and music by Andersson. In 2008 he starred in the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels at Cirkus in Stockholm, and in 2009 he played Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady in Stockholm acting opposite Helen Sjöholm, who portrayed the role of Eliza Doolittle.