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NEWS DECEMBER 2023 |
It’s beginning to look a lot like… Christmas concerts! This month our artists are getting into the holiday spirit. There is of course a lot of performances of Händel’s iconic “The Messiah”, and J.S. Bach’s immortal “Weihnachtsoratorium”, but our audience can also look forward to various winter and Christmas themed operas and concerts. Here are some highlights of the month: Tenor CONNY THIMANDER is appearing in the opera “Snøsystera” (Snow sister) at Opera Nordfjord, re-opening on December 1st. Another winter-themed opera opening this month is “Vinteryra” (Flurry Tale) at Malmö Opera starring soprano KRISTINE NOWLAIN. The premiere is on December 16th. Mezzosoprano FRANCINE VIS is singing a wonderful French themed Christmas concert with Camerata Øresund Dec. 2nd-3rd in Copenhagen. In Pfaltztheater Kaiserslautern SOFIE LUND will sing Pamina in “Die Zauberflöte”, when their production premieres on December 16th. Another long anticipated production of the same opera, is a new recorded film-version in Danish, "Tryllefjøjten", produced by Operaen i Midten in collaboration with Opera Hedeland and Concerto Copenhagen. Ascolta Artists are proud to represent no less than five singers in this production: IAN BJØRSVIK (Tamino), MARLENE METZGER (Pamina), WILLIAM PEDERSEN (Papageno), SIDSEL ERIKSEN (Papagena) and JONATHAN KEIDING (Monostatos). The opera will be available for stream and will also be shown in select cinemas in Denmark from December 13th. No December without the iconic work “The Messiah” by Händel. Soprano FREDERIKKE KAMPMANN is singing the soprano part both with Copenhagen Oratorio Choir (Dec. 6th-7th), and along with tenor CONNY THIMANDER they will sing this piece with Camerata chamber Choir in Holmens Church in Copenhagen (Dec 19th-22nd). Mezzosoprano MATHILDA BRYNGELSSON is singing the alto part in Lund Cathedral in Sweden on December 9th and baritone JENS SØNDERGAARD (photo) will sing the bass part with South Denmark Philharmonic (Dec14th-16th) Tenor CONNY THIMANDER, being a sought after oratorio singer, will also sing the tenor part in “Weihnachtsoratorium” in Aarhus on December 10th. On December 21st multiple Christmas concerts are happening: baritone JENS SØNDERGAARD is singing a magical Christmas concert with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, and soprano MARLENE METZGER joins Concerto Copenhagen in celebrating Christmas in Trinitatis Church in Copenhagen. We wish you all a fantastic Holiday season blessed with wonderful music! |
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NEWS NOVEMBER 2023 |
Here is where you can find some of our brilliant artists this November: It is Requiem-season and baritone TEIT KANSTRUP sings Duruflé’s Requiem with Copenhagen Boys Choir on Nov 3rd in the Copenhagen Cathedral. One of our other young talented mezzo-sopranos is MATHILDA BRYNGELSSON, making her role debut with Fekluša in “Katja Kabanova” at Bergen Nasjonale Opera opening on Nov. 4th At Staatsoper Hamburg our soprano CELINE MUN will star in the performance “Handel’s Factory” also opening on Nov 4th Baritone TEIT KANSTRUP will sing Prince Millo in the opera “Ravnen” now touring with Den Jyske Opera, along with three of our other singers SIBYLLE GLOSTED, ANDERS KAMPMANN and STEFFEN BRUUN. The new children’s opera “Der Goldene Brunnen” is still playing at Pfaltzteater Kaiserslautern with soprano SOFIE LUND in the lead role as the brave girl Machenka, who sets out to save her village. Performances on Nov 10th, 11th and 26th At L’Opéra de Reims soprano YANA KLEYN will star in “Rusalka”, playing on Nov. 17th and 19th In the Netherlands, Reisopera is touring with Jevgeni Onjegin, starring our tenor YAROSLAV ABAIMOV as Lenski. The premiere will be in Wilminktheater in Enschede on Nov. 17th There’s also the possibility to enjoy yet another Mozart’s Requiem starring soprano KRISTINE NOWLAIN and mezzo-soprano MATHILDA BRYNGELSSON with Linköping Symphony Orchestra on Nov 19th You can enjoy a festive concert with tenor ANDERS KAMPMANN with Vejle Symphony Orchestra on Nov 21st in Musikhuset Vejle, and in Slagelse on nov 23rd you can experience soprano SOFIE JENSEN in this years’ Christmas concert with Sct. Georges Gilderne. Finally this month, soprano JOHANNA NYLUND gets her role debut as Adele in “Die Fledermaus” at the Finnish National Opera on Nov 24th |
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WELCOME JONAH SPUNGIN |
Joining our roster is canadian baritone, Jonah Spungin, with his delicious warm and round sounding baritone. Critiques have acclaimed his “tremendous placement of voice and timbre” (Le Devoir). Managing Director Jonas Fosdal describes him: “Jonah really impressed me with his honest and touching interpretation of Jan in "Breaking the Waves” at the Vadstena Academy. Despite his young age his big, caramel creamy sounding and well projected baritone voice already points towards repertoire beyond the Cavalier repertoire so he is certainly a young singer to follow!" A warm welcome to Jonah! |
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NEWS OCTOBER 2023 |
Our singers have busy month ahead of them, and here are a few highlights. On Oct. 1st soprano SOFIE LUND will sing the lead role of Maschenka in the world premiere of “Der Goldene Brunnen” a new fairytale opera composed to the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern Tenor, FABIAN DÜBERG will appear in “Venere e Adono” in the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg on Sep. 29th-Oct. 3rd, produced by Staatsoper Hamburg. DÜBERG will also appear on the touring opera “Kronbruden” with Malmö Opera, until Dec 3rd. Also on Malmö Opera is bass NICOLAI ELSBERG appearing as Masetto in “Don Giovanni” premiering on Oct. 7th. Another version of “Don Giovanni” is currently playing at the Finnish National Opera, where our soprano JOHANNA NYLUND (photo) will sing the demanding role of Donna Anna, with her debut being on Oct 12th. Another Mozart opera will premiere on Oct. 12th with the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen - “The Magic Flute”, in the iconic production by Barrie Kosky and starring seven of our singers: JONATHAN KOPPEL (Tamino), LOUISE MCCLELLAND (Pamina), SVETLANA MOSKALENKO (Queen of the Night), MARLENE METZGER (1st lady), SIMON DUUS (Papageno), JENS CHRISTIAN TVILUM (1st armored man), NICOLAI ELSBERG (Sarastro). Not all are appearing on the same dates, but make sure to check www.kglteater.dk for the cast-list. On Oct. 13th there will be two premieres with singers from our roster. One of them being the world premiere of the opera “Det Långe Seklet” (the long century) in Bastionen, Malmö, produced by Freebird Operalab and featuring Mezzo-soprano FRANCINE VIS and soprano KRISTINE NOWLAIN. The same evening, In Odense - the birthplace of Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen, Den Jyske Opera has rediscovered one of his operas, “Ravnen” (the Raven), starring our singers SIBYLLE GLOSTED (Armilla), ANDERS KAMPMANN (Jennaro), TEIT KANSTRUP (Prince Millo) and STEFFEN BRUUN (Norando). The opera will tour all of Denmark until Dec 2nd. Two semi-staged concert versions of operas in two very different locations of Europe will take place on Oct 14th and 15th. On the 14th Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester will perform the Rossini opera “Il Barbiere di Siviglia” with mezzo-soprano SIDSEL ERIKSEN in the leadrole as Rosina, and our tenor ALEJANDRO ROY sings the demanding tenor part in “Il Trovatore” with Amigos de la Ópera de Vigo on Oct. 15th. Beethoven’s grandiose 9th symphony will go on a mini-tour from Oct. 20th-22nd with the dutch orchestra Phion, starring soprano AYLIN SEZER. The romantic and somewhat tragic opera “Eugen Onegin” premieres on Oct 22nd at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen with baritone JENS SØNDERGAARD as Onegin and soprano SOFIE JENSEN as Tatjana. And rounding off the month with more romantic music, is a concert version of “Tosca” premiering on Oct. 29th with Lyngby-Taarbæk Symphony Orchestra starring soprano YANA KLEYN, and baritones LARS FOSSER and FREDERIK ROLIN |
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NEWS OF SEPTEMBER 2023 |
Great success for soprano TRINE MØLLER in her portrayal of Brünnhilde in “Die Walküre” and “Das Rheingold” as a part of a new ring cycle spanning over the next two seasons “Der Ring - Ein Festival” at Theater Basel Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and our baritone JENS SØNDERGAARD celebrated danish opera, and did a wonderful concert with highlights from cherished and newly re-discovered danish operas to much success Soprano AYLIN SEZER sang the part of Adele in a concert version of the opera “Il Pirata” by Bellini in the iconic Concertgebouw Energetic tenor CONNY THIMANDER enjoyed a successful opening of “La Cenerentola” as Prince Ramiro at Folksoperan in Stockholm Tenor JONATHAN KOPPEL and soprano FREDERIKKE KAMPMANN (jump-in) sang a wonderful version of Joseph Haydn’s “Die Schöpfung” with Copenhagen Phil with standing ovations at both concerts. We are also very excited for the new singers joining our roster this month; tenor IAN BJØRSVIK, soprano ALINA TKACHUK and mezzosoprano NUTSA ZAKAIDZE - A warm welcome to you! |
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NEWS OF AUGUST 2023 |
Spanish tenor ALEJANDRO ROY, without doubt one of the most powerful voices of the international lyrical scenario joined our roster this month. FRANCINE VIS, CONNY THIMANDER, TEIT KANSTRUP and JOHANNA NYLUND conquered the ears and hearts of the audience present at Opera Hedeland with Rossini's "La Cenerentola" |
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NEWS OF JULY 2023 |
A long-awaited debut in an iconic role that led to a dazzling success: our soprano TRINE MØLLER sung her first-ever Abigaille at Immling Festiva with powerful vocal and fierce stage presence. Brava! First time at such a matchless setting as Opera på Skäret for our fantastic tenor TOMAS PAVILIONIS among the artistic team of «Rigoletto», praised by audience and reviews.
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NEWS OF JUNE 2023 |
Smashing success for our soprano YANA KLEYN starring as "Rusalka" at Opéra Theâtre Metz Métropole who shined as the ill-fated nymph with lush voice and a remarkable stage presence in the icy gothic-themed created by Paul-Emile Fourny. Also much praised the powerful rendition of our baritone HRÓLFUR SAEMUNDSSON as "Wozzeck" at Theater Aachen, indubitably one of the highlights of the season We welcomed tenor JAESUNG KIM in our roster, a Korean voice breaking through the European classical music scene and seeking for a positive impact in this world. A singer worth to be followed. |
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NEWS OF MAY 2023 |
Great role debut for our great baritone HRÓLFUR SAEMUNDSSON as "Wozzeck" at Theater Aachen, with a smashing success of audience and great reviews praising his powerful performance. Overjoyed to welcome stunning tenor PAVEL KOLGATIN, whose impressive vocal range and acting skills have led him to a dazzling career at the most prestigious opera venues since his debut at a very young age. Congratulations to ANDERS KAMPMANN, recipient of a scholarship bestowed by Richard Wagner Verband International. Our brilliant tenor will be participating in vocal activities and operas taking place in Bayreuth during 2024. Our rising soprano JOHANNA NYLUND was one of the contestants at the Queen Elisabeth Competition 2023, being praised by her expressive vocal abilities. One of the most popular initiatives for bringing new audiences to opera is "Kongelig sommeropera" by Det Kongelige Teater, a series of open-air concerts with the participation of our amazing singers SOFIE JENSEN, JONATHAN KOPPEL and SIMON DUUS. Summer season at Tivoli started with SommerKlassisk i Tivoli and "Masterpieces", an exciting programme that featured our alluring soprano FREDERIKKE KAMPMANN singing arias from Mozart, Puccini & Gounod accompanied by Copenhagen Phil - hele Sjællands Symfoniorkester Ukrainian soprano KSENIYA BAKHRITDINOVA, one of the most exciting singers of her generation, joined our roster this month |
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NEWS OF APRIL 2023 |
Our spring comeback started welcoming exciting young singers to our roster: soprano MARLENE METZGER and baritone JONAH SPUNGIN, two artists to keep an eye on! Always in search of true talent, enthusiasm and artistry, our CEO JONAS FOSDAL KLEYN was part of the pannel jury at Lithuanian Music Competitions, as ASCOLTA ARTISTS established the special Concert Prize «Copenhagen Opera Festival». |
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