Anna Myrra Malmberg (born 20 December 1966) is a Swedish singer, dancer, songwriter, and photographer.

Myrra Malmberg
Birth nameAnna Myrra Malmberg
Born (1966-12-20) 20 December 1966 (age 57)
Farsta, Sweden
Occupation(s)Singer, dancer, songwriter, photographer
Websitemyrramalmberg.com

Early life

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Anna Myrra Malmberg was born in the Stockholm suburb of Farsta,[1] and spent her childhood in Minneapolis, Minnesota and her teenage years in Stockholm, Sweden. She graduated the Stockholm High School of Music and immediately embarked upon a theatrical career. Early on she took on roles such as Maria in West Side Story, Hodel in Fiddler on the Roof and Grizabella in Cats, but also straight acting roles such as Poppy in Noises Off.

Career

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In London's West End, where she was cast as Christine in The Phantom of the Opera by director Hal Prince, Malmberg also played Cosette in Les Misérables, Estella in Great Expectations and The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. She caught the attention of Andrew Lloyd Webber and joined the cast of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber at St Paul's Cathedral and elsewhere. Malmberg also appeared in the Royal Variety Show, broadcast by the BBC from the London Palladium, BBC's Blue Peter, GMTV and the BBC series Showstoppers, opposite Gary Wilmot.

Other roles include Eva Perón in Evita at the Gothenburg Opera, Emma Carew in Jekyll and Hyde at Stockholm's China Theatre and Maria in West Side Story at the Rome Opera in Italy and the Gothenburg Opera, Sweden.

Malmberg's Swedish TV credits span drama, including Fallet Paragon, to popular entertainment shows, such as Allsång på Skansen, Go'kväll, Söndagsöppet and Så ska det låta. She also appeared on Celebrity Jeopardy (which she won) and participated in Melodifestivalen (Eurovision Song Contest). She has also performed as a special guest star in Russia's own Eurovision in the early 1990s to 80 million viewers.

Her discography includes a Stephen Sondheim retrospective, Myrra Malmberg Sings Sondheim: What Can You Lose, Lloyd Webber's music accompanied by a string quartet on Myrra Malmberg Sings Lloyd Webber: Unexpected, a handful of bossa nova albums especially successful throughout Asia, the singer/songwriter album Serendipity, plus various cast albums and soundtracks. She has been awarded a Grammy.

Malmberg's latest recording is the classical crossover, Another World. Together with the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and internationally renowned conductor Paul Bateman she explores the musical territory between the classical and popular music genres.

Malmberg has lent her voice to a long list of Disney characters in their Swedish incarnations, including Princess Jasmine in Aladdin, Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Wendy in Peter Pan, Megara in Hercules and Norma Jean in Happy Feet.

She has written songs and lyrics for other recording artists and has translated lyrics and scripts into Swedish from English, French and Danish, including Jekyll and Hyde – the Musical for Malmö Opera.

Her photography includes portraits and album covers for various recording artists such as Benny Andersson, Berndt Rosengren, and The Sweet Jazz Trio. Malmberg has also held solo exhibits of her work.

On 14 March 1998 Myrra Malmberg competed at Melodifestivalen in Malmö with the song Julia, ending up third.[2]

Selected stage performances

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Year Production Role Theatre
1987 Cats Grizabella China Theatre, Stockholm
1990 Fiddler on the Roof Hodel Stockholms Stadsteater & Riksteatern
1992 Noises Off Poppy Theatre Folkan, Stockholm
1993 The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber Cirkusbygningen, Copenhagen, Denmark
1994 St Paul's Cathedral, London
Great Expectations Estella Apollo Theatre, London
1995 Les Misérables Cosette The Palace Theatre, London
1997 The Phantom of the Opera Christine Her Majesty's Theatre, London
1999 West Side Story Maria The Gothenburg Opera
2000 Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat The Narrator UK
West Side Story Maria Teatro dell'Opera, Rome
One Touch of Kurt Weill Theater Kilen in Kulturhuset, Stockholm
2001 Evita Eva Perón The Gothenburg Opera
2002 Cirkus, Stockholm
2003 Myrra & Helen Bit by Bit The Malmö Opera
2005 Riksteatern
2006 West Side Story Maria The China Theatre, Stockholm
2008 Jekyll and Hyde Emma Carew

Filmography

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Discography

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Solo albums

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Album Year Label
What Can You Lose: Myrra Malmberg sings Sondheim 1995 Arietta Discs
Unexpected: Myrra Malmberg sings Lloyd Webber 1997 Arietta Discs
Julia 1999 Musikverkstan
Sweet Bossa 2003 Spice of Life Records
Serendipity 2004 BMG
Bossa Kiss Pop 2006 Kang & Music
Bossa Volym 1 2007 Arietta Discs
Bossa Volym 2 2007 Arietta Discs
Another World 2011 Warner Music

Cast recording & soundtracks

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  • 2009 – Bröderna Lejonhjärta, Naxos
  • 2009 – Disney: En magisk värld, Egmont
  • 2001 – Evita, Swedish cast, BMG
  • 1997 – Hercules – Swedish soundtrack, Buena Vista
  • 1995 – Great Expectations – Highlights Cast Recording, TER records
  • 1994 – Aladdin: The Return of Jafar – Swedish soundtrack, Buena Vista
  • 1993 – Aladdin – Swedish soundtrack, Buena Vista

Compilations

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  • 2010 – 100 Moments Lounge
  • 2005 – Svenska Musikalfavoriter

Guest appearances

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  • 2005 – My Rubber Soul/Peter Nordahl Trio, BMG
  • 1998 – Easy Listening för Masochister/Carl-Johan Vallgren, Twin

References

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  1. ^ Sveriges befolkning 1980: Malmberg, Anna Margareta
  2. ^ "1998" (in Swedish). Sveriges Radio. 21 January 2006. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
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