World premieres carry a particular kind of tension. Everyone in the building knows that what happens on stage tonight has never happened before, anywhere.

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I filmed three short web docs together with communicator Maria Paulsson of the Royal Opera n the lead-up to the world premiere of Melancholia at the Royal Swedish Opera in 2023. Based on Lars von Trier's film, the opera is a luxurious wedding that ends in the apocalypse, scored for the Royal Court Orchestra, synthesizers, and some of the most powerful voices on the Swedish opera stage, including Anne Sofie von Otter.

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We met the composers, singers, librettist, and technicians, all equally essential to what would eventually appear on stage. Composer Mikael Karlsson and librettist Royce Vavrek have built something that pushes opera into new territory, with a contemporary sound world and texts that hit you squarely in the chest.

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