Events

Swedish composer and pianist Inger Wikström will introduce her opera based on August Strindberg's En dåres försvarstal (Confession of a Fool, a.k.a. A Madman's Defense). During the evening she will discuss (in English) the process of composing this opera of and about Strindberg and also, on the piano, accompany sample arias from the opera (in Swedish) sung by Michael Bartov and Elisabeth Haglund. (A full performance of the opera, produced by the Nordic Chamber Opera, is scheduled for New York's Scandinavia House on October 25.)

Inger Wikström has toured as pianist and taught master classes in the United States, Latin America, China, Japan, Russia, Israel, Africa, and Australia. She is a popular guest on TV and radio, and her recordings comprise more than 40 albums. She founded the Nordic Music Conservatory and the Nordic Chamber Opera, has received many awards, and composed several operas and song cycles on poems by Shakespeare and Rilke as well as chamber music. Many of her compositions are available on CDs.

Open to public; admission free.

Sponsored by the Columbia Swedish Program with the assistance of the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, the Swedish Institute in Stockholm, and the Swedish Women's Educational Association in New York.