Bass-baritone Simon Duus (b. 1983) is a permanent member of the soloist ensemble at The Royal Danish Opera. He graduated from the Opera Academy at The Royal Theatre, Copenhagen in 2011 (singing class of Susanna Eken) and fromThe Royal Academy of Music Aarhus in 2015 (class of Bodil Øland). He was a student in the Mozart Class at Académie européènne at Festival Aix-en-Provênce 2010.
His versatile voice and performative skills cover roles in varying styles, fachs, and genres, ranging from an award-winning Seneca in L’incoronazione di Poppea to Julio the Butler in Adés’ The Exterminating Angel.
Season 2022/23 holds the following in store: Escamillo (Carmen), Douphol (La traviata) and Guglielmo (Così fan tutte) at The Royal Danish Opera, and concert performances of Haydn's Cäcilienmesse in Beirut, Brahms' Vier Ernste Gesänge in Copenhagen and Schubert's Winterreise with accordionist Bjarke Mogensen in Roskilde.
In season 2021/22 he created the role of Secret Lover of Mr. D in Krystian Lada’s pasticcio The Mysteries of Desire at The Royal Danish Theatre conducted by Ewa Strusinska to great reviews with compliments to his acting and singing in different genres. Other roles this season at The Royal Danish Opera are Zeta in on The Merry Widow, Schaunard in of La bohème and finally Ivan Jakovlevich and Coach in The Nose by Shostakovich. Furthermore multiple Christmas concerts as bass soloist in Bach’s Magnificat and Christmas Oratorio and Händel’s The Messiah.
During last seasons at The Royal Danish Opera, 2019/20 and 2020/21 respectively, featured Simon Duus as Papageno (Die Zauberflöte), Henrik (Maskarade). Pre-pandemic productions include Baron Douphol (La traviata), Anthony Hope (Sweeney Todd) and Don Basilio (Il Barbiere di Siviglia).
Other engagements were Lucifer in Langaard’s Antichrist at Langgaard Festival; Marsk Stig in Heise’s Drot og Marsk at Møllerup Gods, Jutland; and Masetto in Don Giovanni at Festival Gut Immling, Bayern. The scheduled role debuts of Guglielmo in Così fan tutte and Truffaldin in Ariadne auf Naxos at The Royal Danish Theatre were unfortunately cancelled due to to the pandemic.
Other Mozart roles include Figaro in Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Alexis Kossenko at Gamle Scene, Copenhagen; Leporello in Don Giovanni in Lars Rudolfsson’s production and Don Alfonso in Così fan tutte in Tobias Theorell’s production, both conducted by Henrik Schaefer at Opera Hedeland.
Concert productions include Beethoven’s 9th and Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams and Jesus in Bach’s Matthäuspassion with Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, Schreiber in Jörg Widmann’s Babylon and Tutor/Mask Vendor in Nielsen’s Maskarade, both in Concertgebouw Amsterdam with Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, Verdi Gala conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and New Year’s Eve Concert, both concerts with the Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra at DR Koncerthusetand Händel arias with Lars Ulrik Mortensen and the European Union Baroque Orchestra at St. John’s Smith Square, London.
Simon Duus received the prestigious “Bayreuth Scholarship” granted by The Danish Wagner Society in 2013.