”vivid and fiery”
  Carolina Müller as phenomenon at the Royal Theatre Carolina Müller is identical with the Royal Theatre and she was the first professional female opera singer in Sweden. The audience’s perception of her stage personality and her agency in her portrayal of the title role in C. W. Gluck’s opera Alceste at the Stockholm opera in 1781 will throw light on her quality; her singing and acting style according to the affect she created on stage linked to the age of sensibility. Carolina Müller’s agency constitutes a gap in Swedish theatre history which will be examined in order to reach a better understanding of the structures behind her position. Willmar Sauter’s concept of the theatrical event, but with a feministic perspective on the role of the actress, is used to analyze her performativity, which I characterize as both passionate and sentimental. I use historical descriptive sources to understand her stage personality, and I will look into her performance of Alceste from the perspective of late eighteenth century acting. Secondly, I look into the prescriptive sources linked to Alceste, to examine how her stage personality affected the production, she had a great impact on the creation of the opera characters written for her after her Alceste. Finally, I highlight how the European exchange allowed her to emerge as a phenomenon. Telling her story is a contribution to the history of the prima donnas of the north, and thereby to the field of feminist historiography.  Carolina Müller, Gluck, Alceste, actress, Royal Theatre, phenomenon, stage personality, agency, theatrical event, performativity, sensibility, gaze