Biography

Marta Cecilia Saelöen is a lyric-dramatic soprano from Landskrona, Sweden. She received her soloist training at the School of Music and Opera at Mälardalen University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Music in the spring of 2023 and subsequently pursued advanced operatic studies. She has also studied at the Vadstena Academy of Singing and Piano and participated in masterclasses at the Lachine International Vocal Academy in Montréal, Canada, where she was active during the summers of 2022 and 2023.

In the autumn of 2024, Marta Cecilia was admitted to the Malmö Opera Academy under the direction of Rickard Söderberg. In the spring of 2025, she toured as Alice Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff in Malmö Opera’s mobile truck production. During the autumn of 2025, she appeared at Malmö Opera as First Edel Dame and as cover for Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin. In the spring, she returns to Malmö Opera’s main stage for both a gala concert and the charity concert Starlight.

Marta Cecilia has been recognized for her strong stage presence and distinctive vocal qualities in significant roles. She sang the title role in Jan Sandström’s newly composed opera Stormen Betty, which premiered in 2024; the role was written specifically for her voice. Previously, she performed the roles of Suor Angelica and Lidoine in Systrar, a production intertwining Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites, presented at Västmanland Theatre.

As a concert and church soloist, Marta Cecilia has appeared extensively throughout Sweden. She has performed with Bergslagens Chamber Symphony, Västerås Sinfonietta, and the Hässleholm Municipal Wind Orchestra, and has taken part in concert performances on Malmö Opera’s main stage. Her church engagements include appearances throughout Skåne, notably at Skanör Church and Sofia Albertina Church in Landskrona, as well as at Västerås Concert Hall, Västerås Cathedral, Västerås Castle, Västmanland Theatre, and Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan) and Saint Clara Church.

She has received several scholarships and awards, including those from the Joel Berglund Scholarship Foundation, Friends of the Västerås Concert Hall, the Jaderska Music Foundation, and the Landskrona Cultural Scholarship. In 2022, she won the Opera Society Friends of Skåne Vocal Competition and, in the same year, was awarded second prize in the final of the Wagner Society’s Singer and Bayreuth Competition in Gothenburg. In 2023, she was also named a semifinalist in the Havets röst competition in Åland.

Reviews

“…a very striking impact…”

Marta Cecilia’s voice has a very striking impact, yet with roundness, and there is a musical legato line in what she sings. She has a fine stage presence, and her voice is well grounded in the body with flexible support. Her voice type as a dramatic soprano is rare, and we consider her to have have great potential.

— Operakonstens Vänner, Skåne 2022

“…genuine passion…”

Marta Cecilia Saelöen has a resonant voice and methodically develops her talent as an opera singer. She is driven by a genuine passion with the ambition to reach a prominent position in the art of opera.

— Jury motivation, Konserthusets Vänner, Västerås 2022

“…will eventually blossom on the big stages…”

Marta Cecilia has a voice that fills the entire room with melodious sound and her flowing soprano has that little something extra that touched us greatly. Marta has a fine personality and an artistry in her voice that we believe will eventually blossom on the big stages.

— Jury motivation, Joel Berglund’s Stipend, 2023

Artist Manager:
Stephen Svanholm
+46 738 777 631
stephen@svanholmartists.com

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