Satyanita Emma Sohlgren: Cultural Transfer through Opera Arias: Material culture and musical practices in mid-eighteenth-century Sweden

Abstract

Opera performances were rare in Sweden before the establishment of Kungliga Operan in 1773, but earlier in the century opera arias were collected in manuscripts, performed in domestic settings, and used in Swedish pasticcios. This study investigates how opera arias contributed to the transfer of opera to Sweden in the mid-eighteenth century, decades before the founding of Kungliga Operan, through three case studies.

The first case study focuses on Count Claes Ekeblad the Younger (1708–1771), his opera visits as a diplomat in Paris in 1742–1744, and his collection of Italian opera aria manuscripts. The second case examines the industrialist Jonas Alströmer (1685–1761) and the use of opera arias in the music education of his sons. The third analyses the Swedish pasticcio Syrinx, eller den uti waß förwandlade wattu-nymphen, which in 1747 became the first opera to be sung entirely in Swedish.

Opera arias were transferred to Sweden through various types of material, including Italian aria manuscripts and English printed collections, which subsequently circulated in Swedish manuscript copies. At the same time, musical and cultural practices associated with arias were also transferred, such as their use in music education and the practice of music collecting as a manifestation of learnedness and taste. Opera functioned both as a means of self-presentation and social advancement, associated with cultural refinement and cosmopolitanism, and as a pleasurable and enjoyable pastime.

Arias were not only transferred but also adapted and transformed in their Swedish contexts. They were often provided with new Swedish lyrics, sometimes paraphrases of the original but often conveying a completely different meaning. The music was further adapted to accommodate the Swedish text, the abilities of the performer, or the desire for variation. 

By focusing on opera arias rather than complete works and fully staged productions, the study contributes to a deeper understanding of the cultural transfer of opera in this period, as well as of the cultural and social practices associated with it.