Kerstin Avemo

The internationally acclaimed Swedish soprano Kerstin Avemo appears in the 2025/26 season as the Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte) and Ännchen (Der Freischütz) at Göteborg Opera, and in the title role of L’incoronazione di Poppea at the Royal Danish Opera.

During the 2024/25 season, she sang the soprano role in the world premiere of Tiefer Graben 8, directed by Christoph Marthaler at Theater Basel. She also appeared as Madame Herz in Mozart’s Der Schauspieldirektor and as Brigitta in Iolanta in a double bill at Göteborg Opera.

Since the 2018/19 season, Kerstin Avemo has been engaged as a guest soloist at Göteborg Opera, where her roles have included Violetta (La Traviata), Mimì (La Bohème), Olympia, Antonia and Giulietta (Les Contes d’Hoffmann), Elle (La voix humaine), Juliette (Trois fragments de Juliette by Martinů), the title role in Lucia di Lammermoor, Giulietta (I Capuleti e i Montecchi), Euridice (Orfeo ed Euridice), Prima Donna (Viva la mamma), and Nelly in the world premiere of Mythomania by Malmborg Ward. In 2021, she created a performance of Schönberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, based on her own concept and direction. Her debut at Göteborg Opera came in 2002 in the title role of Alban Berg’s Lulu, for which she received both the Svenska Dagbladet Prize and the magazine Tidskriften Opera’s Prize.

She has enjoyed an extensive international career, performing on major stages worldwide. In recent seasons, she has sung Poppea (L’incoronazione di Poppea) at Theater Basel in a new production by Christoph Marthaler, and Adele (Die Fledermaus) at the National Theatre in Tokyo. She has appeared at Staatsoper Hamburg, where her portrayal of Elle in La voix humaine was met with critical acclaim, and at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Anita in Lehár’s Giuditta. She has appeared frequently at the Royal Swedish Opera, singing roles such as Leilah/Lilith in the world premiere of Tristessa by Johan S. Bohlin, Mélisande (Pelléas et Mélisande), Gilda (Rigoletto), and the Queen of the Night (Die Zauberflöte).

Her wide-ranging repertoire includes Leticia Maynar in Thomas Adès’ The Exterminating Angel (Royal Danish Opera), Maid (Powder Her Face) at La Monnaie in Brussels and the Polish National Opera, Oscar (Un ballo in maschera) and Sophie (Der Rosenkavalier) at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Gilda (Rigoletto) at Staatstheater Darmstadt, Olympia and Giulietta (Les Contes d’Hoffmann) directed by Stefan Herheim at the Bregenzer Festspiele, and Despina (Così fan tutte) directed by Michael Haneke at Teatro Real Madrid, La Monnaie, and the Wiener Festwochen. Further roles include Iris (Semele) at Theater an der Wien, Hanako in Hosokawa’s Hanjo with the Ruhrtriennale, Atalanta (Serse) at Artipelag Stockholm and the Opéra Royal de Versailles, Wendla Bergmann in Benoît Mernier’s Frühlings Erwachen (La Monnaie), and Kristin in Boesmans’ Julie at the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and La Monnaie. Her repertoire also includes Blonde (Die Entführung aus dem Serail), Servilia (La clemenza di Tito), Musica and Euridice (L’Orfeo), Ophelia (Hamlet), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Juliette (Roméo et Juliette), and Zerlina (Don Giovanni).

Kerstin Avemo has performed Schubert’s Schwanengesang D 744 in a staged production by Romeo Castellucci since its premiere at the Festival d’Avignon in 2013, with performances at Triennale Milano, the Festival d’Automne in Paris, deSingel Antwerp, and numerous venues across Europe.

Her concert repertoire ranges from contemporary music to Baroque works. In 2017, she sang the world premiere of Hosokawa’s Futari Shizuka (The Maiden from the Sea) with the Ensemble Intercontemporain at the Philharmonie de Paris, followed by performances at the Kölner Philharmonie, Kaufman Concert Hall in New York, and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. She has also appeared at the Ruhrtriennale as a soloist in the production Ich geh unter lauter Schatten.

Her discography includes Kristin in Boesmans’ Julie (Cypres), Amor in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (Naxos), and Handel’s Messiah under René Jacobs (Harmonia Mundi). She can also be seen on DVD in Christoph Loy’s acclaimed production of Mozart’s Die Entführung aus dem Serail from Oper Frankfurt.

Kerstin Avemo studied at the University College of Opera in Stockholm. In 2016 Kerstin Avemo was awarded the medal Litteris et Artibus from HM King Carl XVI Gustaf, for her outstanding accomplishments as an opera singer.

January 2026