Skellefteå Symfoniorkester: Queen at the Opera

About this event

A magnificent evening where rock, pop, symphonic sounds and operatic elements come together in a musical portrait of the legendary group Queen -- recipient of the 2025 Polar Prize. Together with the band Mästerskapet and prominent soloists, the Skellefteå Symphony Orchestra offers music from Freddie Mercury and Montserrat Caballé's classic crossover album Barcelona, whose title track became an iconic anthem during the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. The audience will of course also experience many of Queen's greatest hits, including "Bohemian Rhapsody", "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions", "Under Pressure", "Radio Ga Ga", "One Vision", "Love of My Life" and "The Show Must Go On" -- all in powerful symphonic arrangements. The evening's soloists are Magnus Bäcklund and Carolina Sandgren. Magnus Bäcklund, known from Melodifestivalen and with a reputation as one of Sweden's strongest rock voices, breathes new life into Queen's treasure trove of songs with power, precision and strong presence. Soprano Carolina Sandgren is educated at the Royal Swedish Academy of Music and the Stockholm Academy of Opera and has performed at the Royal Swedish Opera and Drottningholm Palace Theatre, among others. She is also a recurring soloist with several international orchestras, including the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Gothenburg Symphony. In tonight's program, she will particularly highlight music from the Barcelona album. The conductor is Ulf Wadenbrandt, known for his genre-crossing concert productions where symphonic music meets popular music. He has conducted orchestras both in Sweden and internationally, such as the Czech National Symphony Orchestra and the Kaunas City Symphony Orchestra. Wadenbrandt has performed many Rock & Pop concerts with the Skellefteå Symphony Orchestra in projects where the orchestra's symphonic sound has met the energy of popular music and now returns with a program entirely dedicated to Queen's unique musical universe.