“As a singer, you have to open up and make yourself vulnerable. It’s physically strange. And wonderful. The stage is a powerful place, where everything has to happen in the moment, and we are absorbed in something bigger than ourselves. Opera is important because communication is important – opera is an extremely effective way to reach an audience’s emotions.
If someone had told me where I would be today, I wouldn’t have believed them. All singers know how difficult this industry is. When the pandemic came, jobs disappeared exactly at the point when I, after many years at different schools, had just started working. I cried on the Skövde Stage when the dress rehearsal of Così fan tutte was cancelled. Who am I if my profession doesn’t exist? It felt like my whole life was put on hold. My goal had been to be able to make a living from singing. Now I’m booked for several years to come.
The Göteborg Opera feels like home, since they dared to give me leading roles, even though I was a novice. Today I’m more aware of my limits, which makes me more secure – and I now have the luxury of being able to select which roles to take. Development is the most important thing for me, and each new role adds a new layer to me.
But I have also sacrificed a lot. Lived in small spaces – out of a suitcase. Missed weddings and birthdays. You spend years training as an opera singer, and it takes patience, persistence, talent and luck to succeed. I’ve a lot to thank for my persistence.
My family gave me a love for nature. My parents met through the Scouts, and my brothers and I each received a carving knife when we turned five. When I'm not working, I like to scruff around, chop wood and make things with my hands. When I travel for work, I always look for two things: a swimming pool and a yarn shop.
My voice is my instrument, my tool for communicating with the audience. To portray, tell stories and touch. To be there and feel how everything vibrates.”
Since graduating from the opera programme at Stockholm University of the Arts in 2019, Matilda has established herself exceptionally quickly – both in Sweden and internationally. The quote “world-class” recurs in her press reviews. In spring 2027, she’ll perform the title role in Verdi’s Luisa Miller.
