On the Shoulders of Opera – Lars von Trier. An Evening of Music
What happens when the Danish film director Lars von Trier’s films become opera?
A warm welcome to an evening of music in which the opera singers Joa Helgesson, baritone, and Paulina Pfeiffer, soprano, together with the pianist Johan Ullén, take on Lars von Trier’s cinematic universe.
The starting point is four of von Trier’s films – Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville and Melancholia – all of which have become independent operatic works. In a staged concert performance, we encounter excerpts from the four operas, with music by Missy Mazzoli, Poul Ruders, Gordon Kampe and Mikael Karlsson.
Inspired by Dogma 95, the expression is pared back to the essentials: the voices, the piano and the drama. The singers move between the operas’ characters and Lars von Trier’s persona, whose fictional voice emerges between scenes to comment on the works and the artistic process.
The evening’s guide, Sophie Allgårdh, Curator at Thielska Galleriet, introduces both acts and places the evening’s music in a broader context of film, opera and art.
The production is a collaboration between Thielska Galleriet and Musik på Slottet and was created in connection with the exhibition On the Shoulders of Others. Lars von Trier Curates.
Three dates – the same performance
Tuesday, October 20, 2026, 18.00–20.00 – premiere
Wednesday, November 18, 2026 18.00–20.00
Thursday, January 14, 2027 18.00–20.00
Two acts with an interval 18.45–19.15. The performance takes place in Thielska Galleriet’s Salon.
Buy ticket🇩🇰 A Danish interlude
During the interval, Café Augusta offers smørrebrød, Tuborg and Gammel Dansk, with non-alcoholic alternatives.
🎟️ The ticket includes admission to the museum and the exhibition on the same day from 12.00.
Café Augusta is open until the start of the performance at 18.00.
Participants
Joa Helgesson – baritone
Paulina Pfeiffer – soprano
Johan Ullén – piano
Sophie Allgårdh – guide, Curator at Thielska Galleriet
