På operans axlar – Lars von Trier

What happens when films by Danish director Lars von Trier become opera? Four of his most significant films – Breaking the Waves, Dancer in the Dark, Dogville and Melancholia – have each inspired a contemporary composer to create an independent operatic work.

Selected scenes from the operas are performed in a full evening of music, surrounded by world-class Nordic art from the turn of the 20th century.

The composers behind the operas are Missy Mazzoli (USA), Poul Ruders (Denmark), Gordon Kampe (Germany) and Mikael Karlsson (Sweden/New York).

Baritone Joa Helgesson, soprano Paulina Pfeiffer and pianist Johan Ullén bring the operas to life in a semi-staged concert performance. Inspired by Dogma 95, the presentation is stripped back to the essentials: the voices, the music and the drama. Between the opera scenes, a fictional voice of Lars von Trier emerges to comment on the works and the artistic process.

The evening’s guide is art curator Sophie Allgårdh, who leads the audience through this encounter between film and opera.

The performance is produced by Musik på Slottet in collaboration with Thielska Galleriet and is presented in conjunction with the exhibition På andras axlar. Lars von Trier kuraterar.

Premiere 20 October 2026, 18.00–20.00

Two acts with an interval from 18.45 to 19.15.

A Danish interval

During the interval, Kafé Augusta offers smørrebrød, Tuborg and Gammel Dansk, with alcohol-free alternatives.

The ticket includes admission to the collections, the exhibition and the sculpture park on the same day from 12.00. Kafé Augusta and the museum shop remain open until the performance begins at 18.00.

Limited seating. Advance booking.