Tommy Körberg
Encyclopedia
Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg (ˈtɔmːʏ ˈɕɶːrˌbærj) (Norsjö
, 4 July 1948) is a Swedish
singer, actor
, and musician
. In 1969, he won Swedish Recording Industry Award Grammis
in a category Best Debut Performance. English
-speaking audiences know him best for his role in the Benny Andersson
–Björn Ulvaeus
–Tim Rice
musical Chess
. He was the first to play the role of "The Russia
n" on the 1984 concept album Chess, and performed the same role on stage in the 1986 world première West End production in London
, for which he was nominated for Laurence Olivier Award in category Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical.
He represented Sweden in the 1969
and 1988 Eurovision Song Contest
s. In the 1990s and 2000s, he took time off from other projects in order to recreate the role in subsequent productions of Chess, including the 1994 tenth anniversary concert and the 2002 Stockholm
production, for the latter winning national Swedish theater award Guldmasken
in category Best Actor in a Musical.
He has also appeared in the Swedish productions of other musicals, including The Sound of Music
and Les Misérables
.
Also, he was a supporting actor in the 1984 Swedish fantasy film Ronia, the Robber's Daughter
, based on the novel by the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren
.
Körberg voiced the Beast in the Swedish dub of Beauty and the Beast
, and also sang the Swedish version of the title song on the soundtrack.
For years, he collaborated with Monica and Carl-Axel Dominique in the experimental group Solar Plexus. In his own performances, he has worked extensively with Stefan Nilsson, and including songs by Jacques Brel
.
Körberg is also a frequent performer with Benny Andersson
's band, Benny Anderssons Orkester
(BAO), singing mostly dance music and music by Andersson.
In July 2007 Körberg married Anne-Charlotte Nilsson.
In 2008 he starred in the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
at Cirkus in Stockholm, and in 2009 he played Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady
in Stockholm acting opposite Helen Sjöholm
, who portrayed the role of Eliza Doolittle.
In the autumn of 2010 Körberg and his long-time friend Claes Malmberg gave a show in Gothenburg
called The Big Bang Show. He also plans to launch a new CD.
Norsjö
Norsjö is a locality and the seat of Norsjö Municipality in Västerbotten County, Sweden with 2,102 inhabitants in 2005. It is the birthplace of Swedish writer Torgny Lindgren and American author Charlotte Agell, who currently resides in Maine....
, 4 July 1948) is a Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
singer, actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. In 1969, he won Swedish Recording Industry Award Grammis
Grammis
The Grammis Awards are the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards. The awards ceremony is generally held each year in February in Stockholm.The awards were established in 1969 and awarded until 1972 when they were cancelled....
in a category Best Debut Performance. English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-speaking audiences know him best for his role in the Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
–Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Ulvaeus
Björn Kristian Ulvaeus is a Swedish songwriter, composer, musician, writer, producer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
–Tim Rice
Tim Rice
Sir Timothy Miles Bindon "Tim" Rice is an British lyricist and author.An Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Tony Award and Grammy Award-winning lyricist, Rice is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus...
musical Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
. He was the first to play the role of "The Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n" on the 1984 concept album Chess, and performed the same role on stage in the 1986 world première West End production in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, for which he was nominated for Laurence Olivier Award in category Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Musical.
He represented Sweden in the 1969
Eurovision Song Contest 1969
The Eurovision Song Contest 1969 was the 14th in the series. It was the first time that the contest resulted in a tie for first place, with four countries each gaining 18 votes. Since there was at the time no rule to cover such an eventuality, all four countries were declared joint winners...
and 1988 Eurovision Song Contest
Eurovision Song Contest 1988
The Eurovision Song Contest 1988 was the 33rd Eurovision Song Contest and was held on 30 April 1988 in Dublin. The presenters were Pat Kenny and Michelle Rocca...
s. In the 1990s and 2000s, he took time off from other projects in order to recreate the role in subsequent productions of Chess, including the 1994 tenth anniversary concert and the 2002 Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
production, for the latter winning national Swedish theater award Guldmasken
Guldmasken
Guldmasken , or Guldmasken Awards, is the Swedish equivalent of the Tony Awards, established in 1987.The theatre award is annually handed out for private theatre productions in Swedish theatres.-Categories:...
in category Best Actor in a Musical.
He has also appeared in the Swedish productions of other musicals, including The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music
The Sound of Music is a musical by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the memoir of Maria von Trapp, The Story of the Trapp Family Singers...
and Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
.
Also, he was a supporting actor in the 1984 Swedish fantasy film Ronia, the Robber's Daughter
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter (film)
Ronia, the Robber's Daughter is a 1984 Swedish fantasy film directed by Tage Danielsson, based on the novel of the same title by Astrid Lindgren, and adapted for the screen by Lindgren herself.When the film was broadcast on television two years after the theatrical premiere, the film was twenty...
, based on the novel by the same name by Swedish author Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
.
Körberg voiced the Beast in the Swedish dub of Beauty and the Beast
Beauty and the Beast (1991 film)
Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The thirtieth film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series and the third film of the Disney Renaissance period...
, and also sang the Swedish version of the title song on the soundtrack.
For years, he collaborated with Monica and Carl-Axel Dominique in the experimental group Solar Plexus. In his own performances, he has worked extensively with Stefan Nilsson, and including songs by Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel
Jacques Brel was a Belgian singer-songwriter who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following in France initially, and later throughout the world. He was widely considered a master of the modern chanson...
.
Körberg is also a frequent performer with Benny Andersson
Benny Andersson
Göran Bror "Benny" Andersson is a Swedish musician, composer, a former member of the Swedish musical group ABBA , and co-composer of the musicals Chess, Kristina från Duvemåla, and Mamma Mia!...
's band, Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester
Benny Anderssons Orkester is a Swedish band, with Benny Andersson as musical leader and composer...
(BAO), singing mostly dance music and music by Andersson.
In July 2007 Körberg married Anne-Charlotte Nilsson.
In 2008 he starred in the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels may refer to:*Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , 1988 film starring Steve Martin and Michael Caine*Dirty Rotten Scoundrels , Broadway musical based on the 1988 film...
at Cirkus in Stockholm, and in 2009 he played Professor Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe...
in Stockholm acting opposite Helen Sjöholm
Helen Sjöholm
Marie Helen Sjöholm is a Swedish singer, actress and musical theatre performer who lives in Gamla Enskede in Stockholm. She grew up in Sundsvall and started to sing in choirs at an early age, working, among others, with Swedish conductor Kjell Lönnå...
, who portrayed the role of Eliza Doolittle.
In the autumn of 2010 Körberg and his long-time friend Claes Malmberg gave a show in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
called The Big Bang Show. He also plans to launch a new CD.
Selected discography (Swedish)
- 1969 - Judy min vän
- 1970 - Tommy
- 1971 - Tommy Körberg
- 1972 - Solar Plexus (Solar Plexus; Carl-Axel Dominique, Monica Dominique, Bosse Häggström, Tommy Borgudd, Tommy Körberg)
- 1973 - Solar Plexus 2 (Solar Plexus; Carl-Axel Dominique, Monica Dominique, Bosse Häggström, Tommy Borgudd, Tommy Körberg)
- 1973 - Tommy Körberg sjunger Birger Sjöberg
- 1974 - Solar Plexus: Det är inte båten som gungar, det är havet som rör sig
- 1975 - Solar Plexus: Hellre gycklare än hycklare
- 1976 - Den vackraste visan
- 1979 - Blixtlås (Tommy Körberg, Stefan Nilsson)
- 1982 - Tommy Körberg och Stefan Nilsson tolkar Jaques Brel
- 1988 - Spotlight: Tommy Körberg
- 1988 - ...är...
- 1989 - Julen är här
- 1990 - Livslevande
- 1990 - Les Miserables-musical (original Swedish cast recording)
- 1992 - Jag skulle vilja våga tro
- 1994 - Ravaillac
- 1995 - Sound Of Music-musical (original Swedish cast recording)
- 1997 - Aniara
- 1998 - Från Waterloo till Duvemåla (From Waterloo to Duvemåla)- various artists
- 1999 - Sånger för ensamma älskare
- 2000 - Hits
- 2000 - Stilla natt (Tommy Körberg & Oslo Gospel Choir)
- 2003 - Gränslös - det bästa
- 2003 - Chess på svenska (Chess in Swedish)-musical (original Swedish 2002 cast recording)
- 2006 - BAO på turné (BAO on tour) (Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm & Tommy Körberg)
- 2007 - BAO 3 (Benny Anderssons Orkester with Helen Sjöholm & Tommy Körberg)
- 2007 - Rakt upp och ner (CD+DVD)
Selected discography (English)
- 1968 - Nature Boy
- 1969 - Tommy Körberg Spotlight
- 1968 - Don´t Get Around Much Any More
- 1976 - Where Do We Begin (Made In Sweden; Jojje Wadenius, Tommy Körberg, Wlodek Gulgowski, Pekka Pohjola, Vesa Aaltonen)
- 1984 - Chess
- 1984 - Walk Between The Raindrops (Tommy Körberg and Tolvan Big Band)
- 1993 - Live In London
- 1994 - Chess In Concert
- 1996 - Evergreens
- 2009 - Story of a Heart (The Benny Andersson Band)
- 2010 - Songs for Drinkers and Other Thinkers
External links
- Official website
- Tommy Körberg - man i ljus, official fan club website
- Official Facebook page
- [*http://www.youtube.com/dominiquemusik Solar Plexus YouTube channel]