Bjärebygden’s first concert hall was inaugurated today with a grand performance in a packed auditorium. Opera singer Gitta-Maria Sjöberg, also chairman of the Birgit Nilsson Society, opened the inauguration commenting:
– A wonderful room! Art and culture are a necessity of life, both for the individual and society at large. Congratulations Båstad! Congratulations Sweden!
It was also announced that the new performance venue will be name the “Birgit Nilsson Hall”, after the region’s very own opera star.
For the inauguration, the audience was invited to a concert given by opera singers Cornelia Beskow and Daniel Johansson, accompanied at the piano by Elisabeth Boström, in a programme featuring Sibelius, Puccini and Wagner amongst others.
The Birgit Nilsson Hall, seating up to 250, is designed by Möller Arkitekter AB from Ängelholm, who also designed the entire Kulturhuset Ravinen. The hall offers optimal conditions for a multitude of events ranging from chamber music and soirées, to choral and dance performances, theatre and opera, lectures and panel discussions – made possible by the fact that the architects worked in close collaboration with Jan-Inge Gustavsson, one of Sweden’s most famous acousticians who also created the sound environments for Malmö Live, Gothenburg Opera, Dunkers Kulturhus, the opera houses in Hanover and Havana among many others.
 – We are now looking forward to a fruitful collaboration between Kulturhuset Ravinen and the Birgit Nilsson Museum, Båstad Chamber Music Association, the National Theatre Association in Båstad and other potential partners, says operations manager Elisabeth Alsheimer Evenstedt.
For further information contact Bengt Hall, performing arts coordinator, Kulturhuset Ravinen tel 0705–55 84 80