About the work
"Kristina från Duvemåla" is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and lyrics by Björn Ulvaeus, based on Vilhelm Moberg's novel sequence "The Emigrants." It premiered on October 7, 1995, at Malmö Musikteater, directed by Lars Rudolfsson, with Helen Sjöholm in the title role.
Plot
Around 1850, Kristina and Karl-Oskar leave their home of Duvemåla in Småland to emigrate to America. While Karl-Oskar settles into the new world, Kristina remains homesick for the rest of her life for her Swedish apple tree and her lost homeland.
Cultural significance
Seen by more people than any other musical in Swedish history, "Kristina" became the biggest domestic stage success of the 1990s; in 2009 Andersson and Ulvaeus presented an English concert version with Sjöholm at Carnegie Hall in New York.