{{short description|Swedish opera singer}} {{About|the opera singer|the hockey player|Mikael Samuelsson}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2013}} thumb|Mikael Samuelson in 2014
'''Mikael Gustaf Lennart Samuelson''' (born 9 March 1951) is a Swedish baritone opera singer, actor, and composer.<ref name=SFDB>{{cite web | title=Mikael Samuelson | date=9 March 1951 | url=http://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/sv/item/?type=person&itemid=165748#basic-facts | language=Swedish | publisher=Swedish Film Institute | accessdate=4 June 2019 | archive-date=8 June 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608164432/http://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/sv/item/?type=person&itemid=165748#basic-facts | url-status=live }}</ref>
== Early life == Samuelson was born in Njutånger in Hälsingland, central Sweden. He is the son of the musician and music arranger {{ill|Bror Samuelson|sv}}.
Samuelson studied singing, conducting, and violin at Musikhögskolan in the 1970s, and he is a well-known face in the Swedish musical and theatre industry.
During his youth, he performed at Norrlandsoperan and sang the parts of Papageno in ''The Magic Flute'' and the title role in ''The Marriage of Figaro'', among others. In the 1980s, he moved to the Royal Swedish Opera and {{ill|Drottningholms slottsteater|sv}} in Stockholm, singing the parts of Escamillo in ''Carmen'' and Tevje in ''Fiddler on the Roof''.
== Career == ===Major roles===
His breakthrough was playing the part of the Phantom in the Swedish version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's ''The Phantom of the Opera'', from 1989 to 1995. Samuelson sang and portrayed the character for over 2000 performances and received the honourable Swedish theatre Award "Guldmasken" in 1991.
In the early 1990s, he was also known for his role as one of the main characters in the Swedish TV series ''Rederiet'' ("High Seas"), a long-running drama show about a shipping company, which conducts passenger traffic on the Baltic Sea between Stockholm and Turku in Finland. Samuelson played the ship's captain-later-turned C.E.O. Rolf Dahlén, son of the ship's owner, between 1992 and 1994. He left the show in the end of the fifth season, his character being killed off in a car crash.
In the late 1990s, he had major roles in musicals like ''Cyrano de Bergerac'', ''Cabaret'' and ''The Showboat'' for which he earned prize nominations and good critical receptions. From December 1999 to March 2000, Samuelson sang and performed popular songs and poems written by Lars Forssell, together with the two vocalists Barbro "Lill-Babs" Svensson and Evabritt Strandberg in a show called "Showtime - A Tribute to Lars Forssell".
In 2006, he played Herr Eriksson in the film ''En liten tiger'', and opposite Lena Strömdahl, who had portrayed his wife Yvonne in ''Rederiet''.
In 2007, Samuelson showed his comedic side playing the role as Magnus in the Swedish comedy film ''{{ill|Min frus förste älskare|sv}}'' ("My Wife's First Lover"), for which he became well known.
During the spring of 2008, he played the lead role in the Swedish version of ''Jekyll & Hyde''. The musical ended on December 30, 2009.
Samuelson starred in The Göteborg Opera's production of the musical ''La Cage aux Folles'' in its run from September 7, 2013, to March 9, 2014.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://en.opera.se/forestallningar/la-cage-aux-folles-2013-2014/|title=What's on - GöteborgsOperan - GB|access-date=2013-10-18|archive-date=2016-04-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401210944/http://en.opera.se/forestallningar/la-cage-aux-folles-2013-2014/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2016, Paradox Interactive released a musical content pack for their simulation video game Europa Universalis IV which featured Samuelson's performances titled Europa Universalis IV: Fredman's Epistles.
In his film career, Samuelson is best known for his role as the Investigator in {{ill|Håkan Alexandersson|sv}}'s 1987 thriller movie ''Res aldrig på enkel biljett'' ("Never travel on a one-way ticket"). His character searches for the truth in the world, about love, sex, madness and cruelty. His other films include ''Min frus förste älskare'' (2006), ''En liten Tiger'', (2006), ''Aladdin'' (1992), ''Kronbruden'' (1990), ''Spårvagn till havet'' (1987), and ''Kärleken är allt'' (1986).<ref name=SFDB/>
In his theatre career, he has played the policeman Rapp in Vilhelm Moberg's comedy ''Marknadsafton'' and other plays.
== Records ==
In 1988, he released the album ''Music of Carl Michael Bellman'' with recordings of 10 of ''Fredman's epistles'' and 3 of ''Fredman's songs''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Samuelson |first=Mikael |title=Music of Carl Michael Bellman |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-of-carl-michael-bellman-mw0001391070 |publisher=Artemis Records (7128) |accessdate=4 June 2019 |date=1988 |archive-date=4 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604135245/https://www.allmusic.com/album/music-of-carl-michael-bellman-mw0001391070 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1990, he won the {{ill|City of Stockholm's Bellman Prize|sv|Stockholms stads Bellmanpris}} for his interpretations of Sweden's national bard.<ref>Announcement in ''Svenska Dagbladet'', 18 August 1990</ref>
In 1996, he released the record "Midvinter" where he sang well-known Christmas songs in his own style, accompanied by cellist Svante Henryson and pianist Lennart Simonsson.
== Awards ==
In 1990 he won a Guldmasken Award for Best Leading Actor in ''Phantom of the Opera''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Awards |url=https://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/awards/ |publisher=Phantom of the Opera |accessdate=4 June 2019 |archive-date=28 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200428181811/https://www.thephantomoftheopera.com/awards/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In 1993, he won the Fred Åkerström prize for his music with guitarist Mats Bergström.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *{{IMDb name|0760557}}
{{Carl Michael Bellman}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuelson, Mikael}} Category:1951 births Category:Living people Category:Swedish classical composers Category:Swedish male classical composers Category:Swedish male actors Category:Swedish male singers Category:Swedish opera singers Category:Swedish television personalities Category:People from Hudiksvall Municipality Category:Male actors from Gävleborg County