The Kungliga Operan or Royal Swedish Opera is the venue of the Birgit Nilsson Prize Award Ceremony 2009. Birgit Nilsson made her first appearance at the Royal Opera on 9 October 1946 in the role of Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber's Der Freischütz. She made her breakthrough as Lady Macbeth the following year. For a decade Birgit Nilsson was a permanent member of the Royal Opera. Until 1981, she regularly performed at the opera house as a guest singer.

The Royal Swedish Opera is the national stage for opera in Sweden. Over the years, it has sent many outstanding opera singers out into the world. Jenny Lind, Christina Nilsson, Jussi Björling and Birgit Nilsson are but a few of the legendary Swedish singers who once made their debut at the Royal Opera. And the tradition continues with singers like Nina Stemme, Katarina Dalayman, Peter Mattei and many more besides.

The Royal Opera lies in the centre of Stockholm, opposite the Royal Palace. It was designed by Axel Johan Anderberg and was finished 1899. It is a majestic neo-classical building with a magnificent gold foyer and an elegant, grand marble staircase leading to a three-tiered auditorium. It presently seats 1,200 guests.

Today the Royal Opera employs some 600 people on a permanent basis. Its orchestra, The Royal Opera Orchestra, counts 112 members and is Scandinavia's largest orchestra, as well as one of the oldest in the world, having originated in the 16th century.

Anders Franzén has been the General Director of the Royal Swedish Opera since 2004. Franzén is well known in Swedish musical life, having been director of the Orchestras in Malmö and Norrköping and, more recently, of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra.

More information at www.operan.se