Archive &
collections

The Royal Swedish Opera archive and collections, situated at Gäddviken, is the largest private archive in Sweden. The collections reflect our mission from the foundation of the Royal Swedish Opera in 1773 until today.

The archive and collections have innumerable stories to tell about us and our disciplines throughout the ages. This includes documents relating to opera, ballet, orchestra and drama, as well as the opera house administration. We house a unique collection of documents, photographs, costumes, stage set models, costume sketches and set designs as well as autograph pages of famous scores.

Luckily, we have never been affected by war or fire, so little has been lost since our inception in the 18th century. We also house the archive of the Royal Dramatic Theatre up until 1907 as it had joint administration with the Royal Swedish Opera between 1788 and 1907. 

The Royal Swedish Opera charter stipulates that we are to preserve and maintain our cultural heritage for the future. While we who work at the Royal Swedish Opera use the archive for our own research, it is also open to the general public. We regret that we are unable to carry out any research on your behalf, but you are most welcome to visit us. We are happy to assist you in finding the resources you need.

We will soon be launching our repertory database, where you will be able to search for information about productions and performing artists throughout the ages.

We invite you to explore our cultural heritage!

Have you found your way to our digital archive?

READ MORE ABOUT IT HERE » (In Swedish)