Emma Sventelius from Lund has played roles as Suzuki in "Madama Butterfly" and Carmen in Malmö Opera's tour version. Now the mezzo soprano receives this year's Birgit Nilsson scholarship, whose price this year has doubled. An anonymous donor has enabled the price to be raised from SEK 100,000 to SEK 200,000.

Nowadays Emma Sventelius is part of the ensemble at Theater Bonn in Germany, where she sings roles as Octavian in "Rosenkavalereren" by Richard Strauss and Cherubino in "Figaro's wedding" by Mozart. She has also worked with newly written art music. In the press, she has been hailed as, among other things, "a young, sustainable, sounding mezzo that will probably develop into something really big".

The Birgit Nilsson scholarship has been awarded at Malmö Opera for eight years, but now moves home to Bjäre again. The scholarship is awarded in the church of Western Karup, August 7, in connection with the Birgit Nilsson days, which take place between August 3 and August 9. This year's edition is the largest to date, with Anne Sofie von Otter holding a masterclass for young singers, and Emma Sventelius giving a scholarship concert.