The Royal Opera & The St.James's Church, a photo from Uppland, Svealand

Photographer's Note

The Royal Opera & The St.James's Church, Stockholm

The Kungliga Operan or Royal Opera House is Sweden's premier stage for opera and ballet. It was built in the 19th century at the Gustav Adolf square, the site of Stockholm's first opera house.

The foundation for the opera in Sweden was laid by king Gustav III, a playwright and patron of the arts. The first opera performances were held in 1773 in Bollhuset (Ball House), a former sports hall that was located near the Great Church at Slottsbacken.

The First Opera House

Stockholm's first purpose-built opera house is known as the Gustavianska Operahuset (Gustavian Opera House) after king Gustav III, who commissioned its construction. The opera house, designed by Carl Fredrik Adelcrantz, opened in 1782 after a seven year construction period. The building's architecture was mirrored by that of the Arvfurstens Palace, erected ten years later across the Gustav Adolfs square.
In 1792 the Opera House was the site of the assassination of king Gustav III, who was shot point blank during a masquerade ball. This event was the inspiration for Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera.

The Present Opera House

In the 19th century, after the Gustavian Opera House was demolished in 1891, a new theater was built at the site. The neoclassical building was designed by Axel Anderberg who ensured its exterior was in harmony with the architecture of the nearby Royal Palace. The Opera House opened in 1898 with a performance of Franz Berwald's Estrella de Soria.

The St.James's Church (the red church on the right)

Saint James's Church (Swedish: Sankt Jacobs kyrka) is a church in central Stockholm, Sweden, dedicated to apostle Saint James the Greater, patron saint of travellers. It is often mistakenly called St Jacob's. The confusion arises because Swedish, like many other languages, uses the same name for both James and Jacob.
Arguably the most central church in the Swedish capital, surrounded by the popular park Kungsträdgården, the Royal Opera, the square Gustaf Adolfs torg; and near Sergels torg, the Royal Palace, and governmental office Rosenbad, the parish of the church was limited to 150 souls in the late 1980s, and was thus merged into the parish of the Stockholm Cathedral in 1989.
The church took a long time to complete and as a consequence include a wide range of architectonic styles, such as Late Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque, the design of architects: Willem Boy (1580–93), Hans Ferster (1635–43), Göran Joshuae Adelcrantz and Carl Hårleman (1723–35), Carl Möller and Agi Lindegren (1893–94). (Source: aviewoncities-stockholm & wikipedia)

lakshmip1949, timecapturer, jhm, jlbrthnn, jlbrthnn, mirosu, jjcordier, ChrisJ, Royaldevon, macjake, saxo042, Graal, siamesa has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

siudzi (23837) 2012-05-17 1:19

Hi George,

A very nice picture of this great place and amazing architecture. Like it a lot. Taken with superb quality and sense of perspective. Well done. TFS.

Regards,
Malgorzata

lousat (57542) 2012-05-17 1:38

Hi George,it seems to see a Budapest corner..eeheeh...a beautiful pic from Stockholm another time,excellent choice of point of view and great details and colors.Have a nice day and thanks,Luciano

lakshmip1949 (19110) 2012-05-17 2:26

Hello George,

Beautiful architectural edifices from Stockholm.Excellent pov with the swans an the seagulls enjoying the water. Very lively scene with nice colors and quality.

Lakshmi

emka (58024) 2012-05-17 2:37

Hi Georgy,

beautiful Opera House in traditional style. They are lucky in Stockholm with a sea everywhere around. Quiet corner in the city center. Nice swans and sea gulls.

WArm regrads

MAlgo

timecapturer (30226) 2012-05-17 2:51

Hi Gyorgy
a magnificent looking building and captured irresistably. Wonderfully detailed with such a compelling aspect and light. An elegant composition and presentation.

Regards - Brian.

ifege (9414) 2012-05-17 3:24

A good view of these impressive buildings George (+ the water birds) - good POV and colour.
cheers
Ian

Gigidusud (7956) 2012-05-17 3:26

Hello George,
Beautiful place with nice architecture and the water in FG.Excellent POV.I like it!
Bonne journée.
Ghislaine

cornejo (17988) 2012-05-17 3:51

György Hello, very good and nice shot of this beautiful composition, has very good luminosity, good clarity, depth and color, good and beautiful work my friend, my congratulations. Tfs.

Good afternoon and happy weekend.
Best regards and best wishes.

Angel.

jhm (122334) 2012-05-17 3:59

Hello George,

Another nice part of Oslo, the Royal Opera and the St.James's Church on one picture this is very well done
Color and sharpness are superb.
You create very well depth and perspective.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice Thursday,
John.

cargus (6434) 2012-05-17 4:52

Spectaculaire composition, de belles couleurs, bien encadré et rendu, image bien fait.!!
Cordialement
Adrian

dkmurphys (36727) 2012-05-17 5:08

Hi Gyorgy,
Very nice capture of that impressive building. Good mood atmosphere and natural urban colors.
Well done, have a nice afternoon.

Daniel

Sergiom (39122) 2012-05-17 5:14

Bonjour George,

J'aime beaucoup la perspective qui utilise bien le cours d'eau comme diagonale dans l'image , ce qui donne de la profondeur à cette belle image.La lumière est magnifique.

Amicalement

Serge

jlbrthnn (79773) 2012-05-17 5:17

Hello George,
You photograph Stockholm in a systematic way, and exhaustively. It is always interesting and very well done. The choice of perspective is good. The picture is both serious and cheerful. Excellent light and color, sharpness and depth. Bravo.
have a nice day
Cordially
Joël

npecanhuk (53861) 2012-05-17 6:03

Hi George!
Wow! Wonderful buildings and urban environment!
Very beautiful and attractive picture!
Sharpness, exposure, colors, chosen pov, horizontal format, black & white borders and composition really pleased me!
TFS - congrats,
Cheers,
Neyvan

mirosu (5507) 2012-05-17 6:19

Excellent prspective. Great composition with the part of the river in front of this magnificent building. Very good light-shadow game and very pleasant colors. Well done George.

JFS (32053) 2012-05-17 6:26

George,
Fantastic shot of architecture from the sea. Great clarity and composition.

Cheers,
Juan

jjcordier (62280) 2012-05-17 8:56

George
Bonne et intéressante photo de cet opéra de Stockholm. Bon cadrage et jolie lumière.
Amicalement
JJ

ChrisJ (86798) 2012-05-17 9:07

Hi George,

I like the repetition of the fg white swans & gulls. Nice blue skylight reflections on the water with excellent sharpness & the diagonal breakwater & esplanade adding linear perspective and dynamism. Fantastic warm cold color contrasts between the red & blue. Have a nice weekend!

Royaldevon (17741) 2012-05-17 9:27

Hello George,

A very well composed shot, where the f/g triangle gives strength and a lovely, angled lead towards the magnificent opera house.The details are sharp and the light well managed.
The birds, in the f/g, give a sense of animation.

My warm regards,
Bev :-)

marcan44 (6223) 2012-05-17 9:46

Ciao George,
bellissima accoppiata di due edifici ricchi di storia come si può leggere nelle tue interessanti note.
Molto descrittiva l'inquadratura che permette di apprezzare le proporzioni dei due edifici e eccellente la qualità dell'immagine.
Complimenti
Buona serata
Mario

mohammad_H (6574) 2012-05-17 9:49

سلام
چشم انداز زیبا از رودخانه و پرندگان زیبا
وضوح بسیار خوب با رنگ جذاب
مدیریت در نور
عصر بخیر
Beautiful landscape of the river and beautiful birds
Very good resolution with attractive color
Management in the light
Good afternoon

Gerrit (43735) 2012-05-17 10:11

Hi Gyorgy,
Good diagnal line in this excellent view with a great summerlight and colours,
Regards, Gerrit

holmertz (26876) 2012-05-17 12:29

Hello György,
Fine birds dominate the foreground to this nice view, where you have captured two of the best known buildings of Stockholm next to each other. The weather was fine, as it seems to have been on evety day of thet jhourney.
Kind regards,
Gert

macjake (39207) 2012-05-17 12:55

Hi George
wonderful view here.
lots of activity, lots of items to view all over the frame.
despite the harsh lighting and time of day, the overall look is still very pleasant.
well done with this one
cheers
craig

saxo042 (31792) 2012-05-17 13:57

Hi György,
These buildings look very impressive and beautiful and I believe that the most famous part is closest part, the Opera Bar. A fine photo from our capital.
Kind regards
Gunnar

Sonata11 (28235) 2012-05-17 20:51

Hello George,
This composition is impressively beautiful. The architecture is stunning. Perfectly captured this an amazing place. Perfectly well done. Awesome photo job with excellent ability.
All the best,
Barbara

Graal (88808) 2012-05-17 23:53

Jó napot George,
good shot from fine POV. I like the architecture of Opera. Nice composition. Well informations and photowork.
Have a nice day.
Aleksander

SWEETFREEDOM (18389) 2012-05-18 9:43

Hi George,
two beautiful buildings in the same shot with an interesting fg. natural colors and good light.
regards
Alessandro

Silvio1953 (98001) 2012-05-18 10:10

Ciao George, great POV on fantastic buiolding, lovely composition with a mlot of birds, splendid light, excellent perspective and wonderful natural colors, very well done, my friend, have a good week end, ciao Silvio

siamesa (27449) 2012-05-18 15:32

Boa noite George

Splendid landscape with a romantic and poetic mood, because the birds in the water.
very beautiful.
Abraços
maria

abmdsudi (26215) 2012-05-19 5:48

Hi George
Good layout, such a lot of interest but the inclusion of the extra details makes for a more pleasing picture. I am attracted by the contrast between the blue sky, green roof, dotted of white birds and the general appearance of the scene. The church is a lovely touch breaking up the appearence and adding a splash of vivid bright colour. Wonderful slice of life image of great location, Great shot.
Best regards

kwekwekan (620) 2012-05-30 16:28

Hello George,
An attractive postcard view of Stockholm. Great timing with the bird in flight in the top left corner of the picture, along with a pleasant repetition of the avian theme with birds and swans in the water.
Best,
Caleb