The aim of this thesis is to show that the opera singer's art is to transmit word and music into vocal action. It is assumed that opera, like all the arts, communicates myth. Of the stage arts opera is unique in that it expresses mythic metaphors through a combination of words and music.

The point of departure is the opera singer's: confronted with the text, comprising libretto and music, how can this be used to achieve a dramatic effect? Stanislavsky's theory of acting is often applied in practice, but whatever its merits for the stage, it has shortcomings for opera. More promising, it is argued, is a form of hermeneutic approach that Ricoeur calls "backward relatedness": the composer's score is relied on to contain all essential information, but further understanding may be gained by studying any human science that gives insight into how the poet expresses his life experience.

In this spirit, the first part of the thesis surveys the history of opera from Monteverdi to Verdi with a focus on how composers have handled the relation between words and music to give expression to human conflicts that are the stuff of myth. The second part comprises two chapters in which arias from each of the main periods studied are analysed with attention paid both to the libretto and the music and how these combine in vocal action that communicates myth. It is here that the fruitfulness of Ricoeur's insights are demonstrated. In a final part, the conditions for the present-day opera singer are discussed.

The aim of this thesis is to elucidate the tension between feminism and nationalism in Israel and to investigate the ways by which such discursive currents mark the identities of Israeli women. The specific field of investigation is Israeli theatre, and the identities examined are dramatic characters created by the Israeli playwright Miriam Kainy. Also examined is the character of the playwright herself. Theatre is being observed as a specific field of society in which the position of women can be clarified. What kind of women characters the Israeli theatre produces is therefore a leading question for this study.

Feminist theories, focusing on gender aspects of power relations, together with the postcolonial perspective, which considers power relations by focusing on ethnicity and geopolitical aspects, provide the theoretical tools. The social constructionist viewpoint is used since it provides an appropriate understanding of important notions for the thesis, such as nation and identity, considering them as constructions created by discourse. The discourses focused upon are the national v. the feminist discourse and theatre is viewed as a discourse mediator, which is why the dramatic text is the object of the analysis. The specific method of analysis is inspired by Norman Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis.

The main part of the thesis consists of a discursive analysis of five women characters, constructed within a period of about five decades, namely between the 1950s and 1990s. Each one of these characters consists of an articulation which is considered representative of a specific time-relevant discursive struggle between the two discourses in question. One of the central assumptions of the thesis is that the Israeli national identity is thoroughly masculine. The identity problems it has been causing Israeli women since the time of the pioneers until today are clearly illuminated throughout the analysis. The conclusion emphasises that the subjectpositions being introduced by Israeli national discourse, namely the ways of being a New Jew, an Israeli, collide with those introduced by feminist discourse, i.e. ways of being an independent woman subject. Nevertheless, each and every character demonstrates creative ways of transforming the discourses by aiming at a hybrid formation.

The principal aim of this dissertation is to investigate the artistic career of lceland’s leading actress during the first half of this century, Mrs. Stefania Gudmundsdottir. Mrs. Stefam'a was unanimously hailed as an extraordinarily gifted artist by her contemporaries who never tired of praising her, particularly for her embodiment of dramatic roles like Magda in Die Heimat by Hermann Sudermann, Marguérite Gautier in La dame aux camélias by Dumas fils and Ulrikka in The Sisters at Kinnekullen by the Danish playwright Carsten Hauch.

When read today these ovations are bound to seem somewhat naive, not least because the quality of Icelandic theatrical criticism was generally rather low during these years. One also has to remember that Mrs. Stefania and her co-actors were amateurs without any formal training. The author of the dissertation therefore maintains that in order to make the contemporary evaluation of her art convincing, one has to understand the premises from which she worked and set her into a correct historical context. His main thesis is that the secret of her appeal resided in a combination of her charismatic personality, her genuine pathos, her precise control of the physical means of expression and, most importantly, a certain spiritual perspective from which she approached her figures. One of the foundations of this perspective was an optimistic view of human nature, which has a close counterpart in the philosophy of the writer Einar H. Kvaran, who as artistic director of Mrs. Stefania’s theatre, Reykjavik Acting Company, RAC, made a very important contribution to theatrical progress. Kvaran, a gifted and popular writer, was deeply concerned with social, ethical and spiritual issues, a convinced spiritualist and an untiring spokesman for human rights against corruption and the abuse of power. In a way similar to his Mrs. Stefania made a strong impact upon her audiences by her portraits of suffering women, although her most outstanding creation seems to have been the greedy Ulrikka, whom she managed to invest with something of a tragic grandeur.

The dissertation also describes the general development of RAC, the first serious theatrical venture in Iceland and a forerunner of its National Theatre, during its first twenty-five years. The careers and artistic profiles of Mrs. Stefania’s co-actors are given extensive treatment. The main conclusion is, however, that both as an artist and a resolute and innovative theatre leader Mrs. Stefania Gudmundsdottir is up to this date a unique figure in Icelandic theatre history.

This book is about the actors in The Sun and The Moon , two plays staged at Stockholm City Theatre. It is about role-play in the fictive story developed during rehearsals and in the social drama that kept unfolding in the production groups. My aim has been to describe the actors' work as a specific social process within a dual reality. This study is based mainly on participant observation at the two productions, from first reading to final performance.

Compared to the director the actors played a subordinate role. At the same time, between director and actors, there was competition for power and influence, as well as for artistic merits. In relation to one another, both partner could be viewed as support personell or as artist.

Each production group functioned as a temporary free zone, or anti-structure, in relation to the overall institutional structure. The director was expected to initiate the artistic process in the group, as well as supporting, but not interfering with, the actor's inner process as they developed their roles.

In both productions, interaction was rather informal, with a wide spread of information about personal relationships. While working with the roles, the actors systematically exploited their own experiences.

From an interactionist perspective, the actors' work may be described as role taking on several levels, toward director, stage character, audience and fellow actors. In the intensive process of role taking during a performance, the actors portrayed not only other people but the very essence of being human.

The title ”Between Ourselves” alludes to one of the most important problems in Witold Gombrowicz's writings which finds full expression in his drama ”The Wedding” - that our thoughts and actions arise between us without our knowing where they will lead us. My study is concerned with productions of this drama in Sweden. They were three in number, and all staged between the years 1966 and 1969, during a time rich in political activities and tensions. Gombrowicz's drama is full of nuances and can be interpreted in many different ways. However, it is not a political drama, just as Gombrowicz's writings cannot be regarded as political. This study is concerned with the scenic interpretations of the drama: that which the theatres conveyed to their public; with which artistic means they took place and how the theatre critics received and commented on the performances of ”The Wedding”. In addition, the director's intentions are examined and endeavours are made to determine if the stage presentations have supported or opposed them. The political climate of the time has in different ways set its stamp on the three productions, directed by Alf Sjöberg, Ulf Gran and Ulf Fredriksson, which among themselves were very different from each other, both from the point of view of their content and form. The most nuance rich was the production at the Royal Dramatic Theatre directed by Alf Sjöberg. That production became a ”theatrum mundi”, where all the means of theatrical art were brought into play.

The article discusses how the theories of the French psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan might influence the interpretation of August Strindberg's characters on stage. The point of departure for illuminating and locating the reflexive potential between the psychoanalytic thesis and the plays is the function of anamorphosis, understood as a drawing presenting a distorted image that appears in natural form under certain conditions.

The purpuse of this study is to explore the views held on theatre and the idea-content of the theatre-productions during this specific year. The conception of the theatre's role in society is presented on the basis of the debates about theatre held in the parliament and by the press. The idea-content of the theatre-productions is described on the basis of the plays performed on the stages in Stockholm. The prevailing ideal in the parliament and in the press is that the theatre should serve as a tool for aesthetic and moral education. The theatre should at the same time fulfill the audience's demand for entertainment. Education and entertainment should be able to be combined by conveying the education in an agreeable manner. The theatre is supposed to depict real life, but the creation must be illuminated by idealism and display a virtuous tendency. The general terms of idealism emerge in the fictive world of drama in terms of rules and norms concerning acting in a right or wrong way. The basic tendency is approving harmony and mutual understanding, contrary to individualism and egoism. The acknowledgement of the right norms leads to a state of collective happiness. The theatre embodies and idealises the social agreements prevailing in the society.

This conference paper discusses Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House as a part of women's liberation movement.

This conference paper discusses Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House as a part of women's liberation movement.

This article argues against heterosexism in Swedish gender equality politics.

"Troublesome People" is a book on the Swedish feminist theater director Suzanne Osten.

This book is a study of the construction of gender and desire in trouser roles in both spoken theatre and opera.The long-term presence of cross-dressing in Western theatre history and its specific articulations in performanings arts have been an important part of the discourse in Gender Studies since the 1980's. The trouser role, a woman en travesti, literally in male drag, sings and looks like (in theory at least)a man, but sounds like and in fact, is, a woman. This act of cross-dressing makes same-sex desire visible and leads to a number of questions, which many have contemplated upon but few have cared (or dared) to answer.

This book chapter discusses queer theory in relation to visual culture.

This key note paper discusses heterosexuality, heteronormativity and exclusion by homophobia.

This book chapter discusses the heritage of August Strindberg in contemporary Swedish theater in the productions of Lars Norén and Ingrmar Bergman.

Recension av Lars Nylanders bok Den långa vägen hem. Lars Noréns författarskap från poesi till dramatik, Stockholm: Bonnier, 1997

This article discusses the heteronormative reception of the Swedish teen movie "Show Me Love" (1998). It is a love story between two teenage girls, but the reviews hardly mentioned the young lesbian love story.

This book chapter is a feminist analysis of Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin.

This book chapter is about Teater Aurora, an independent and radical theatre group, active in Stockholm (Sweden) in 1978-1994, and its director Hilda Hellwig, one of the leading theatre directors in contemporary Swedish theatre.

The Swedish director Ludvig Josephson (1832-99) made a decisive contribution to the breakthrough of theatrical direction during the latter half of the 19th century in Sweden, and even to a certain extent in Norway. The aim of this dissertation is to examine Josephson's aesthetic program and to relate his contribution to continental developments. Theatrical direction here includes both dramatic theater and operatic works. The concept 'aesthetic program' does not, in the context of this study, imply aesthetics as a theoretical problem, but is rather used as a kind of superstructure for Josephson's two most important areas of activity: as a theater director and as a debater. His aesthetic program is regarded as consisting of two components: on the one hand it is a forceful cultural conception of what the theater ought to be, on the other, it consists of his practical work as a director. Josephson's recurring journeys to the continental theater centres are an important prerequisite for his aesthetic program. His view of the theater is shaped at an early point in his life thanks to his contact with French and German theater traditions. During the course of his life Josephson published a number of tracts in which he discussed various questions within the theater, often in a very polemical manner. He is concerned for the future of the serious, educational theater and in his texts repeats his ideas of an ideal theater, which in this dissertation is termed 'Josephson's great program'. Josephson's method of directing is examined on the basis of three examples which illuminate the practical side of his aesthetic program: L'Africaine by Scribe/Meyerbeer, Peer Gynt by Ibsen and Master Olof by Strindberg. Ludvig Josephson can be considered an early representative of the "director's and actor's theater", whose most prominent exponents during the first half of the 20th century are Konstantin Stanislavsky and Max Reinhardt. He works with a literary theater, whose aesthetic base is the concept of unified staging. Josephson upholds the independence of drama and the art of direction, places the actor in focus and continues the German 19th century tradition, in which the director relates to the actors as a pedagogue. This type of theater primarily develops within the framework of the institutional theaters of bourgeois culture and is destined to become the basic constituent of the modern European repertory theater.

This is a presentation of women dramatists and directors in the Swedish postwar theatre.

Recension av Ronnie C. Lesser, That Obscure Object of Desire. Freud's Female Homosexual Revisited, New York: Routledge, 1999

This article discusses the Marxist heritage in queer theory and argues for a historical materialist understanding of queer theory.

This key note paper discusses the history and status of Gender Studies in Sweden.

A contribution to lesbian and gay history.

This paper discusses upcoming issues in feminist politics in Sweden and Northern Europe.

This key note paper discusses queer theory in relation to hegemonic feminism.

This conference paper discusses intersectuionality and Queer Studies.

This article discusses Henrik Ibsen's character Nora from "A Doll's House" performed in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

This book chapter discusses gender and sexuality in David Henry Hwang's play M Butterfly from queer and postcolonial perspective.

Recension av Rebecka Schneiders bok, The Explicite Body in Performance, New York & London: Routledge 1997

"Könet brinner" (Gender is Burning) is a collection of Judith Butler's texts in Swedish.