Rebecca Sjöwall is an American opera singer. She has a B.A.

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 in Political Science from Luther College

Luther College (Iowa)

Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...

, a Master's Degree in Vocal Performance from UCLA and is a two-time District Winner in the Metropolitan Opera

Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...

 National Council Auditions.

In 2007, Sjöwall won the American Jenny Lind

Jenny Lind

Johanna Maria Lind , better known as Jenny Lind, was a Swedish opera singer, often known as the "Swedish Nightingale". One of the most highly regarded singers of the 19th century, she is known for her performances in soprano roles in opera in Sweden and across Europe, and for an extraordinarily...

 competition sponsored by the Barnum Festival and in cooperation with the Royal Swedish Academy of Music

Royal Swedish Academy of Music

The Royal Swedish Academy of Music or Kungl. Musikaliska Akademien, founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...

, which led to a concert tour of Sweden. In 2008, Sjöwall appeared as Micaëla in a West Bay Opera

West Bay Opera

West Bay Opera is an opera company located in Palo Alto, California. Established in 1955, West Bay Opera is the second oldest continuously running opera company in California...

 staging of Carmen. She has since appeared as Gilda in Rigoletto with the San Francisco Lyric Opera and as Liù in a Festival Opera production of Turandot

Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...

. In 2009, she was part of the singing cast for the radio musical The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman

The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman

The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman is the 22nd album by American rock/pop group Sparks, released in August 2009. The duo's first pop musical, Seduction is built around an imaginary visit to Hollywood by Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman in the mid-1950s. Its storyline focuses on the divides between...

by Sparks

Sparks (band)

Sparks is an American rock and pop band formed in Los Angeles in 1968 by brothers Ron and Russell Mael , initially under the name Halfnelson...

, which premiered on Sveriges Radio

Sveriges Radio

Sveriges Radio AB – Swedish Radio Ltd – is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. The Swedish public-broadcasting system is in many respects modelled after the one used in the United Kingdom, and Sveriges Radio - like Sveriges Television - shares many characteristics with...

 and was later released on vinyl and in CD format. Andy Gill in The Independent

The Independent

The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...

gave The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman a maximum rating of 5 stars and included the record among his 20 albums of the year. She is also the singer of the "Rapture Anthem" on the popular video game BioShock

Bioshock

BioShock is a first-person shooter video game developed by 2K Boston and designed by Ken Levine. It was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 on August 21, 2007 in North America, and three days later in Europe and Australia. It became available on Steam on August 21, 2007...

.

Reception

Of Sjöwall's appearance as Micaëla (Carmen), the San Francisco Classical Voice wrote, "she lit up the proceedings with glowing, sweet tone and a radiant persona, which rightfully reaped some of the longest applause of the evening." Her 2009 performance as Gilda in Rigoletto

Rigoletto

Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...

was judged to show "real promise" with an "impressive high E-flat", while expressing hope that she will become more animated and engaged with her singing partners as she gains experience. In addition, her performance in Turandot

Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...

was lauded as a "lovely and limpid Liù" that was "deeply affecting."

External links

• Official website
• Rebecca Sjowall at Continuo Arts