Britta Byström has been nominated for the 2026 Nordic Council Music Prize for her opera Eatnama Váibmu (Heart of the Earth).
Premiered in 2025, Eatnama Váibmu (Heart of the Earth) is a contemporary family opera in Northern Sámi, created in close collaboration with Sámi librettist Rawdna Carita Eira and commissioned by the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm. Drawing on a Sámi creation myth, the work brings Sámi language, history and worldview to the stage for children and families. Its premiere in November 2025 was met with strong critical acclaim, with reviewers praising it as an opera wonder and a scenic triumph.
The jury’s citation reads,
With her music-drama work Eatnama Váibmu (Heart of the Earth) from 2025, Britta Byström has made a significant impact on the contemporary cultural scene by composing, in a vibrant and dynamic way, the music for the first family opera in Northern Sámi.
Drawing on a broad musical range, Byström embraces the task and, through this richly contrasting work, demonstrates both her dramaturgical sensitivity and her craftsmanship as a composer, with a finely tuned sense for orchestration.
Britta Byström states,
It is a great joy for me that Eatnama Váibmu has been nominated! Writing the music for this family opera is the most enjoyable work I have done in my life, very much because of the creative collaboration with librettist Rawdna Carita Eira, who guided me into Sámi mythology and, through her writing, inspired new musical forms of expression.
The Nordic Council Music Prize is awarded every other year to a contemporary living composer and is among the most prestigious music prizes in the Nordic region. Previous recipients include Per Nørgård, Hans Abrahamsen, Karin Rehnqvist, Bent Sørensen, Rune Glerup and Sunleif Rasmussen.
