Humor, power, relationships—and opera!?

What is it, really, that makes something humorous and funny? In life and in our relationships—or in an opera that shifts its setting from 19th-century North Africa to present-day Västerbotten.

Welcome to a lecture and discussion with Hanna Söderlund. Hanna is a senior lecturer in Swedish at Umeå University, and her research focuses on topics such as humor, power, and gender.

The lecture is being held in conjunction with the opera *The Italian Girl in Algiers* by Gioacchino Rossini, which premiered on the Main Stage of the Norrlandsoperan on October 5 and will run through October 28, 2024.

A warm welcome!

Hanna Söderlund. Associate Professor of Swedish at Umeå University. Her research focuses on humor, sports, power, and gender. She teaches courses in rhetoric, language and gender, and writing, among other subjects.

Italian Culture in Algiers: October 5–28

The Italian Girl in Algiers is the opera for anyone who longs for fast-paced comedy and a celebration of song.

The Norrlands Opera is staging Rossini’s classic opera in an absurd interpretation featuring a top-tier international ensemble. The leading roles are sung by mezzo-soprano Sidsel Eriksen from Denmark, tenor Vassilis Kavayas from Greece, and bass Markus Schwartz from Sweden. The director is Natalie Ringler, who most recently directed *The Emperor’s New Clothes* at the Norrlands Opera. German conductor and Rossini expert Nikolas Nägele leads the Norrlands Opera Symphony Orchestra.