Hans-Åke Sjöqvist

The Swede Hans-Ake Sjöqvist studied at Yale University in the United States. From 1980 to 1986 he was resident lighting designer and head of the lighting department at the Royal Swedish Opera, where he created the lighting design for more than thirty opera and dance productions. In 1986 he founded his own company, Candela Design, specialising in lighting design and consultancy.

Among the approximately 150 lighting designs Sjöqvist created for productions in theatres across Europe are Manon by Sir Kenneth MacMillan, The Sleeping Beauty (Paris) and Manfred by Rudolf Nureyev (Zurich), Die Walküre for the Grand Théâtre de Genève, Measure for Measure and As You Like It for the National Theatre in Oslo, and I vespri siciliani for the Royal Danish Opera.

In addition to the lighting design for Notenkraker & Muizenkoning, Sjöqvist also created the lighting design for two other productions by Dutch National Ballet: Assepoester in 1987 and Rachel Beaujean’s adaptation of Paquita in 2012.

Last update: 9-12-2025