On September 30, Gitte Lindström-Harmark retires as CEO of the Birgit Nilsson Museum in Svenstad. Gitte, who was born and raised in VÄSTRA KARUP, has helped create the museum from the ground up and made it the international excursion destination it is today. In common with Birgit, she not only has love for Bjäre but also a close relationship…
Gitte’s successor is the pianist Elisabeth Boström, a well-known profile from the Birgit Nilsson days and with a background as casting director at Malmö Opera.

Gitte, how are you related to Birgit…?

– My mother and Birgit were cousins, i.e. my grandmother Sigrid was the sister of Birgit’s father Nils – a total of 10 siblings who grew up on our old family farm in Svenstad.

How did the business start?  

 – I joined the museum at the end of 2007. Before that I had a long experience as a leader in childcare/school. In 2008, I traveled to Vaduz, Lichtenstein, and met the entire Birgit Nilsson Foundation for the first time to present the project. 
– A plan was drawn up in consultation with the Kristianstad Regional Museum, an architect was hired in January 2009 and suddenly I was also the builder… yes, my God! Nice trip! When we started to really build and renovate all these old buildings, I had to take a full-time leave of absence from August 2009, to instead become the full-time CEO of the museum.

You and your colleague Ingela Harmark-Thydell have really been a team during these years. What has been the most fun and what has been the biggest challenge for you?

– The most fun has been that through Birgit and the work with the museum, I got to know so many fantastic people – and of course the meetings with all our visitors!

The biggest challenge has been finding enough time – there is so much left to develop!

 Any special memory? 

– An early memory is 23 May 2010 when Count Carl Johan Bernadotte inaugurated a packed Birgit Nilsson Museum – a wonderfully beautiful and festive May Day. Then my and Ingela’s journey together began… 

– Furthermore, of course, the collaboration with Bjäre church choirs and wonderful concerts with invited soloists that were given in Västra Karup’s church. There are so many great memories – hard to choose…

If you compare the business in 2010 with today…? What are the main differences?

– The difference is very big from having been an unknown, newly opened personal museum to today being a well-known visitor destination and a hub for opera music at Birgit’s beloved Bjäre.

 What are you going to do now? 

– Both Ingela and I will enjoy a free autumn and winter – then we’ll see what the future brings.