Steffen Jespersen is an award-winning Danish countertenor specializing in Baroque repertoire. A graduate of the Royal Danish Academy of Music, he completed his studies at the Opera Academy in 2021 and became the first countertenor to be accepted into the Royal Danish Theatre’s Young Artist Program (2021-2023), where he studied under vocal coaches Marianne Rørholm and Susanna Eken. During this time, Steffen received several of Denmark’s most prestigious talent awards, including the Hans Voigt Memorial Grant (2021), and was named Opera Talent of the Year at Copenhagen Opera Festival (2023).
Upcoming engagements include his role debut as Didymus in Händel’s Theodora with the Camerata Øresund, soloist in J.S. Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Copenhagen Philharmonic, and recitals both domestically and internationally.
Steffen made his debut in 2018 with Scandinavian Baroque ensemble Camerata Øresund, performing the role of Giustino in Vivaldi’s Il Giustino, and has since performed with leading Baroque ensembles and orchestras throughout Scandinavia. He has also premiered several contemporary operas, including a leading role in Matias Vestergård Hansen’s Lissbon Floor in 2022, which won Opera of the Year at the Danish Arts Awards. That same year, Steffen premiered his own concept for a staged Händel concert with Camerata Øresund in a performance at the Royal Danish Opera centered on the famed castrato Senesino.
In 2023, Steffen appeared in Kasper Holten’s award-winning production of Daníel Bjarnason’s Brothers at the Copenhagen Opera Festival. Also in 2023, Steffen toured with Concerto Copenhagen, performing solo Bach cantatas in Denmark and Germany. Politiken critic Thomas Michelsen wrote of his performance: Steffen stole the show... Today, he cemented his talent.
Alongside his operatic work, Steffen has for many years been active in shedding light on political and societal issues in Denmark as a member of the highly acclaimed satire group MAGT. Through their performances, MAGT has engaged audiences across Denmark, performing to over 20,000 people on their most recent tour.
