Gustavia – a ballet in which history takes on a body

At the Royal Swedish Opera, history is brought vividly to life in Gustavia, a grand-scale work deeply rooted in Sweden’s own past – the Gustavian court, its structures of power, and the complex story of Gustav Badin Couschi, the enslaved boy who grew up within the orbit of King Gustav III. Gustav III, who reigned during the latter half of the 18th century, was both a political reformer and a passionate patron of the arts, something clearly reflected in the world that Gustavia recreates. The result is a production that fuses historical drama with dance’s unique ability to express what language cannot.