# Malena Ernman
**Malena Ernman** (born Sara Magdalena Ernman in 1970 in Uppsala, Sweden) is a Swedish opera and concert singer, a mezzo-soprano with a four-octave range who has combined a career at major European opera houses with a broad popular audience in Sweden, most visibly as the country's Eurovision entrant in 2009.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) • [2](https://www.ostgotamusiken.se/om-oss/medarbetare/malena-ernman)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full name and birth | Sara Magdalena Ernman, born 1970 in Uppsala, Sweden[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) |
| Voice type | Mezzo-soprano with a four-octave range[3](https://www.glyndebourne.com/persons/malena-ernman/) • [2](https://www.ostgotamusiken.se/om-oss/medarbetare/malena-ernman) |
| Training | Conservatoire d'Orléans (France), Royal Academy of Music Stockholm, and University College of Opera Stockholm[3](https://www.glyndebourne.com/persons/malena-ernman/) |
| Operatic debut | Princess Cecilia in Jonas Hallström's *Liten Karin*, Kalmar, 1997; engaged at the Royal Opera in Stockholm in 1998[4](https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/malena-ernman) |
| Eurovision | Won Melodifestivalen 2009 with "La Voix", written with Fredrik Kempe, and represented Sweden at the 2009 contest in Moscow[5](https://mellopedia.svt.se/index.php/La_Voix) • [6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE9Pl3mqRbo) |
| Honors | Member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music since 2006; appointed hovsångerska (court singer), dated 2010 by Nationalencyklopedin and 2011 by the Royal Court's official list[7](https://alcina.se/malena-ernman/) • [4](https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/malena-ernman) • [8](https://www.kungahuset.se/kungl.-hovstaterna/kungliga-hederstitlar) |
| Family | Married to actor Svante Thunberg; mother of Greta Thunberg and Beata Ernman[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) |
## Training and operatic career
Ernman grew up in Sandviken and began singing in a choir at age six, where she was regarded as a musical child prodigy.[7](https://alcina.se/malena-ernman/) A childhood encounter with a cassette tape by [The King's Singers](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-kings-singers), played by an English exchange-choir girl staying with the family, redirected her musical life; she taught herself to read notation, ordered all their records, and wrote to the group asking to join.[9](https://www.tidigmusik.com/files/Malena_Ernman.pdf) Her father's work for the engineering company Sandvik took the family abroad, including two years in Orléans, France.[9](https://www.tidigmusik.com/files/Malena_Ernman.pdf)
She trained at the Royal Academy of Music and the University College of Opera in Stockholm and at the Conservatoire d'Orléans.[3](https://www.glyndebourne.com/persons/malena-ernman/) Her professional debut came in 1997 as Princess Cecilia in Hallström's *Liten Karin* in Kalmar, and in 1998 she was engaged at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, where her roles included Kaja in Sven-David Sandström's newly written *Staden*, Rosina in *The Barber of Seville*, and the title role in *Carmen*.[4](https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/malena-ernman) The acrobatic Kaja, a rolling, cartwheeling character played opposite Loa Falkman, became her springboard to an international career.[10](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850)
**International work.** Her international breakthrough came a year after *Staden*, in Paris and Brussels, in a production of Handel's *Agrippina*.[7](https://alcina.se/malena-ernman/) She has since held title and lead roles at opera houses in Vienna, Paris, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Zürich, and Barcelona.[2](https://www.ostgotamusiken.se/om-oss/medarbetare/malena-ernman) Documented roles include Cherubino in *Le nozze di Figaro* and Zerlina in *Don Giovanni* at the Staatsoper Berlin under [Daniel Barenboim](https://www.edgepedia.org/daniel-barenboim), Rosina at the Staatsoper Berlin, the Royal Opera Stockholm, and the Finnish National Opera, Donna Elvira in *Don Giovanni* at La Monnaie in Brussels, and Prince Orlofsky in *Die Fledermaus* at Glyndebourne in 2003.[11](https://www.laphil.com/people/malena-ernman) • [3](https://www.glyndebourne.com/persons/malena-ernman/) She has worked with the conductors Daniel Barenboim, William Christie, and René Jacobs, singing Nerone in *Agrippina* and Roberto in Scarlatti's *Griselda* with Jacobs in Berlin, Brussels, Innsbruck, and Paris.[12](https://www.musikaliskaakademien.se/download/18.25e6bcc411eccf1b68980004024/1377188561856/%C3%85rsskrift%202006.pdf) • [11](https://www.laphil.com/people/malena-ernman)
Her repertoire runs from baroque to contemporary music. In 2005 she created the title role in Philippe Boesmans' *Julie*, based on Strindberg's *Miss Julie*, a role written for her, at La Monnaie in Brussels.[12](https://www.musikaliskaakademien.se/download/18.25e6bcc411eccf1b68980004024/1377188561856/%C3%85rsskrift%202006.pdf) Her stage persona is physical and character-driven: she has performed cartwheels, splits, and push-ups on stage, and at the open-air venue Dalhalla she has a tradition of ending appearances with a dive into the water in front of the stage, once swimming there while singing the "Habanera" from *Carmen*.[10](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850)
## Crossover and Eurovision
Beyond opera, Ernman sings jazz, musical theater, modern classical music, pop, and schlager, often mixing genres in crossover programs.[7](https://alcina.se/malena-ernman/) Her recording catalog ranges from cabaret songs to opera; in 2000 she released an album of William Bolcom's *Cabaret Songs* on the BIS label.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079)
The Swedish public came to know her through Melodifestivalen 2009, the national selection for the [Eurovision Song Contest](https://www.edgepedia.org/eurovision-song-contest), where she was one of SVT's four wildcard entrants and won the final on 14 March 2009 with "La Voix", a song she wrote with Fredrik Kempe.[13](https://www.escpanelen.se/sveriges-eurovision-uttagning/sverige-2009/) • [5](https://mellopedia.svt.se/index.php/La_Voix) She represented Sweden at Eurovision 2009 in Moscow.[6](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE9Pl3mqRbo) The song, sung in French and English, reached number 2 on the Swedish singles chart and number 20 in Norway, and the double-disc album *La Voix du Nord*, pairing pop crossover songs with arias, topped the Swedish chart and reached the Top 20 in Norway.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) In a 2010 *Opernwelt* interview she said the appearance changed her life: far more people recognized her, her audience became markedly younger, and listeners wrote to say they had discovered opera through her.[14](https://www.der-theaterverlag.de/opernwelt/aktuelles-heft/artikel/apropos-pop-malena-ernman/)
## Climate decision and later work
Ernman is married to the actor [Svante Thunberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/svante-thunberg), and the couple's daughters are the climate activist [Greta Thunberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/greta-thunberg) and the artist [Beata Ernman](https://www.edgepedia.org/beata-monalisa).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) Greta Thunberg persuaded her mother to give up her international opera career because of the climate impact of the airline flights it required; Ernman has said nothing could make her board an airplane again, and she now works mainly in Sweden.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) • [10](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850) She is the author of *Scenes from the Heart*, a book about her family and the environment.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079)
Her Swedish work has centered on the musical stage and touring. She was acclaimed for roles in *Så som i himmelen* (in which she played Gabriella at the Oscarsteatern) and *Forever Piaf*.[2](https://www.ostgotamusiken.se/om-oss/medarbetare/malena-ernman) • [15](https://www.spelning.se/artister/malena-ernman) She released the holiday album *Advent* on Sony in 2015, and in 2025 she appeared on *Terra Mater* with the early music ensemble L'Arpeggiata and its director Christina Pluhar, an album of works on themes of the natural world.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079) She continues to tour extensively in Sweden, with a winter tour, "I ett vinterland", scheduled from November 2026 and further concerts into 2027.[15](https://www.spelning.se/artister/malena-ernman)
## Public statements
Ernman has spoken publicly about the working conditions she met in opera, describing a hierarchical and sexist environment in which she was obstructed by men and women alike and felt less interesting to employers after starting a family.[10](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850) She has said she felt freer in the male "pants" roles, which her acrobatic abilities suited, than in the stereotypically feminine roles the repertoire offered.[10](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850) In 2023 she said on the television program *Efter fem* that she lives with [Tourette syndrome](https://www.edgepedia.org/tourette-syndrome), and she has described preferring to avoid large groups and public events.[16](https://www.hant.se/noje/malena-ernman-gar-inte-ut-lever-med-tourettes/10905282)
## References
1. [Malena Ernman Biography by James Manheim, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/malena-ernman-mn0000650079)
2. [Malena Ernman, Östgötamusiken artist page](https://www.ostgotamusiken.se/om-oss/medarbetare/malena-ernman)
3. [Malena Ernman, Glyndebourne Opera Archive](https://www.glyndebourne.com/persons/malena-ernman/)
4. [Ernman, Malena, Nationalencyklopedin](https://www.ne.se/uppslagsverk/encyklopedi/l%C3%A5ng/malena-ernman)
5. [La Voix, Mellopedia (SVT)](https://mellopedia.svt.se/index.php/La_Voix)
6. [Malena Ernman represented Sweden at Eurovision 2009 in Moscow with La Voix, Eurovision Song Contest (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xE9Pl3mqRbo)
7. [Malena Ernman, Alcina.se, Allt om opera](https://alcina.se/malena-ernman/)
8. [Kungliga hederstitlar, Kungahuset.se](https://www.kungahuset.se/kungl.-hovstaterna/kungliga-hederstitlar)
9. [Malena Ernman – mezzosopran med känsla för barock, Tidig Musik 1/2008](https://www.tidigmusik.com/files/Malena_Ernman.pdf)
10. [Malena Ernman: "Kungen blir nervös när jag kommer in på scenen", Hemtrevligt, 15 June 2023](https://www.hemtrevligt.se/intervjuer/artisten-malena-ernman/721850)
11. [Malena Ernman, LA Phil artist page](https://www.laphil.com/people/malena-ernman)
12. [Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien Årsskrift 2006](https://www.musikaliskaakademien.se/download/18.25e6bcc411eccf1b68980004024/1377188561856/%C3%85rsskrift%202006.pdf)
13. [Sveriges uttagning till Eurovision Song Contest 2009, ESC-Panelen](https://www.escpanelen.se/sveriges-eurovision-uttagning/sverige-2009/)
14. [Apropos ... Pop: Malena Ernman, Opernwelt, March 2010](https://www.der-theaterverlag.de/opernwelt/aktuelles-heft/artikel/apropos-pop-malena-ernman/)
15. [Malena Ernman konsert 2026: turné, datum & biljetter, Spelning.se](https://www.spelning.se/artister/malena-ernman)
16. [Malena Ernman går inte ut – lever med Tourettes, Hänt, 25 June 2025](https://www.hant.se/noje/malena-ernman-gar-inte-ut-lever-med-tourettes/10905282)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Individual musical biographies › Opera and classical vocal soloists*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license