Karolina Blixt Biography English

Karolina Blixt was born and raised in Stockholm and has since her degree from the Opera Academy in 2007 been active on opera and concert stages around Sweden and the rest of Europe. She has sung roles at the Royal Opera Stockholm, BAM New York, Drottningholmsteatern, Theater Megaron (Athens), Theater Carré (Amsterdam), Festival d´Aix en Provence, the Beckett Theater (Dublin), Athens Festival, Göteborgsoperan, Folkoperan, Ulriksdals Slottsteater, Malmö Opera and Wexford Opera (Ireland).

This season, Karolina is currently at the Royal Opera Stockholm, including as Paquette in Leonard Bernstein’s operetta Candide and in Puccini’s opera Gianni Schicchi. In the summer of 2022, she is engaged at Läckö Castle as the Baroness in the opera Tintomara.

The 2022-23 season awaits new roles at the Royal Opera; mainly the debut as Mrs Lovett in Sweeney Todd and the Second Lady in The Magic Flute.

Other recent engagements include Karolina’s participation in Circus Days and Nights at Malmö Opera with Cirkus Cirkör, Frau Peachum in Die Dreigroschenoper, Anna 1 in Die Sieben Totsünden, the productions Esprit! and The Secret of the Alchemist at Drottningholm’s Palace Theater, in Philip Glass’ opera Satyagraha at the Folkoperan in Stockholm together with Cirkus Cirkör, which also toured Denmark and New York, a recital produced for Swedish Radio at Waldemarsudde, Mozart’s Requiem in Stockholm, Messiah in Aarhus and Herning in Denmark and the Christmas Oratorio in Stockholm.

Karolina’s big breakthrough came in 2007 with the title role Xerxes when she made her debut on Drottningholm’s Palace Theater’s stage as a recent graduate from the University of Opera in Stockholm. Since then, she has sung roles as Orfeo (Gluck), Pauline (Spader Dam), Ottone (Poppea’s Coronation), Prince Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Fenena (Nabucco), Xerxes (Handel), Cornelia (Cesar), John the Baptist (Salome) and Maddalena (Rigoletto). She has also sung cross-over roles such as the baritone part of Puccini’s opera Le Villi.

In the summer of 2010, Karolina was engaged in the opera festival d’Aix en Provence in the role of Phèdre in Hippolyte et Aricie (Rameau) under the direction of Sir William Christie and Les Arts Florissants. Her portrayal of the role received a lot of attention with choreography and direction signed by the legendary New York choreographer Trisha Brown and The Trisha Brown Dance Company. The show was a great success and toured to Amsterdam and Athens, among other places.

Collaboration with dancers and dance companies has over time become a recurring feature, where in addition to Trisha Brown can be mentioned collaboration with Animated State Dance Company (Ireland) and choreographers such as Libby Seward (Ireland), Apostolia Papadamaki (Greece), Lotta Melin, Patrik Sörling and Cisco Aznar (Spain).

Karolina has been involved in numerous concerts and chamber music contexts both in Sweden and abroad, where in addition to recitals and oratorio concerts, mention can also be made of the Royal Court’s City Visit to Lisbon, the Baltic Sea Festival and the Swedish television’s traditional concert on Twelfth Night of Christmas in Berwaldhallen. The repertoire also includes newly written works by Jonas Forsell, Paula af Malmborg Ward and Jan Sandström, among others.

In parallel with her traditional work with classical music, Karolina has always worked with exploring, investigating and developing the form and performance of classical art music. In a number of acclaimed concerts under her own direction, she has given life to and intertwined repertoire that ranges from everything from romance and opera to poetry and musical theater and dressed it in a new costume. The latest and so far biggest – the performance ”Opera für Alle!” (see under the tab with the same name) – premiered in the autumn of 2013 at Stockholm’s Stadsteater / Klara Sopp theater, where it had a number of very successful performances. The performance was also given at Helsingborgs Stadsteater, as well as at Ulriksdals Slottsteater, for full salons. In the autumn of 2015, the performance was taken on a tour of Sweden with 27 performances in collaboration with the Riksteatern.

Karolina has also started collaborating with several different musicians and chamber orchestral constellations. Among other things together with the Venetian orchestra Opera da Camera di Venezia which specializes in Vivaldi, the Portuguese jazz pianist Filipe Raposo and recently with the French electro-pop group The Punishment.

In addition to her musical education, Karolina also has a degree in painting and sculpture from Gotland Art School, as has also studied Behavioral Science at Lund University. She also plays alto saxophone and has a great interest in puppetry and stage costume.

Among the sources of inspiration are Gustav Mahler, Yma Sumac, Kurt Weill, Francis Poulenc, Birgitta Egerbladh, Lars Rudolphsson and Mats Ek.