LISE

Programme

‘Da geht er hin’, Der Rosenkavalier

‘Mein Elemer’, Arabella

‘Ein Schönes war’, Ariadne auf Naxos

‘Es gibt ein Reich’,  Ariadne auf Naxos

‘Die Zeit, die ist ein sonderbar Ding’, Der Rosenkavalier

Biography

Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, "opera's newest star" (The Economist) has taken the classical music world by storm since winning the much coveted Operalia competition in 2015. Her resounding debuts in all the most prestigious international venues have garnered overwhelming critica! attention: "lt's been a long time since a singer has generated as much buzz," wrote Gramophone in 2019 in the review of her debut album for Decca, which debuted at number one in the UK Classical charts, while in 2023The Telegraph hailed her "the greatest soprano in the world".

Starting with the Last Night of the Proms at the Royal Albert Hall anda solo recital on the stage of Metropolitan Opera, Davidsen makes many anticipated appearances this season which include two role debuts as Salome at the Opéra national de París and as Leonora in a new production of La Forza del Destino at the Metropolitan Opera, as well as returns to the roles of Giorgetta // Tabarro and Lisa Queen of Spades, both at the Bayerische Staatsoper and her first staged Jenufa in Chicago. Audiences around the world can see her in recital in Santa Monica at Broad Stage Theatre; the Wiener Staatsoper; Teatro de Zarzuela in Madrid; Wigmore Hall in London and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia. She is also joined by Freddie De Tommaso for gala recitaIs at Gran Teatre del Liceu and the Salzburg Easter Festival. In concert she performs excerpts of La Forza del Destino at Norwegian National Opera; Wagner's Wesendonk Lieder with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin at Carnegie Hall; anda program ofVerdi and Strauss at Teatro Real in Madrid.

The previous season saw Davidsen make three major role debuts: as Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier at the Metropolitan Opera, as Giorgetta // Tabarro at Gran Teatre del Liceu andas Elisabetta Don Cario at Royal Opera House, where she also appeared as Elisabeth Tannhiiuser. In her home country of Norway, she held an artistic residency at the Bergen lnternational Festival singing her first Tosca in concert and Verdi Requiem, as well as masterclasses and a song recital. Other appearances included Tannhiiuser at Staatsoper under den Linden in Berlín and numerous concert appearances in París, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona and at the Verbier Festival.

Sorne of her most notable recent appearances include: the reopening of Teatro alla Scala in Milan with a solo concert under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Chailly; her Bayreuth Festival debut as Elisabeth Tannhiiuser and then Sieglinde in the new Ring Cycle; a new production of Fidelio at Royal Opera House; her debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Lisa Queen of Spades followed by Eva in Die Meistersinger van Nürnberg, the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos, and Chrysothemis in Elektra; a double appearance at the Wiener Staatsoper as Ellen Offord alongside Sir Bryn Terfel and Jonas Kaufmann in an all-star performance of Britten's dramatic opera Peter Grimes, as well as Sieglinde Die Walküre; Ariadne auf Naxos at Aix-en­ Provence Festival; Wiener Staatsoper and Glyndebourne Festival and her residency at the Barbican as Artist in Focus, where London audiences saw her in recital with Leif Ove Andsnes; an opera gala evening together with Freddie De Tommaso and pianist James Baillieu anda performance of Berg Seven Early Songs together with the Oslo Philharmonic and Klaus Makela.

Despite the Covid crisis, Davidsen's astonishing ascent has been unstoppable: in August 2020 she was one of the first stars featured by the Metropolitan Opera as part of their celebrated series: Met Stars Live in Concert. Davidsen's rendition of Grieg En Svane and Ved Rondane from the recital was then broadcast together with the New Year's Speech of King Haraid V of Norway and in April 2021 she was a guest on Norway's most popular chat show, Lindmo. Shortly after this in May 2021, she joined Bayerische Staatsoper with a concert performance of the 1st Act of Die Walküre alongside Jonas Kaufmann, and in the same week was awarded Female Singer of the Year by the lnternational Opera Awards. Further highlights include Sieglinde Die Walküre in a new production at Deutsche Oper Berlín and in concert at Opera de París; the title role of Jenufa at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; Elisabeth Tannhéiuser at Bayerische Staatsoper; a return to Bayreuth in Tobias Kratzer's production of Tannhéiuser and concert performances of Die Walküre; as well as a Strauss film project with the Norwegian National Opera. On the recital platform, her appearances include recitaIs at home in Oslo, for the Norwegian National Opera, in Germany at the Konzerthaus Dortmund, in Spain at the Palau de les Arts Valencia; and together with Leif Ove Andsnes in Trondheim and Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway.

Her discography includes two solo orchestral recitaIs on Decca, a recording of Grieg songs together with fellow Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes and the Grammy nominated Concert for Ukraine together with Metropolitan Opera. She has also recorded Der Freischütz and Fidelio, both released on Pentatone and Sibelius Luonnotar on Chandos.

Davidsen has graced the covers of numerous publications and her many prizes and awards include the 2022 Opera News Awards, 2021 Female Singer of the Year by the lnternational Opera Awards; 2020 Anders Jahres Art and Culture Prize, 2018 Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Award, Statoil Talent Bursary Award, Léonie Sonning Music Prize and the 2015 Kirstin Flagstad Award. In August 2020 she was one of the first stars featured by the Metropolitan Opera as part of their celebrated series: Met Stars Live in Concert. Davidsen's rendition of Grieg En Svane and Ved Rondane from the recital was then broadcast together with the New Year's Speech of King Harald V of Norway and in April 2021 she was a guest on Norway's most popular chat show, Lindmo.

A 2014 graduate of the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, she has studied under Susanna Eken, previously gaining a degree from the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen.. In 2015, Davidsen was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Her breakthrough performances won her the First Prize, the Birgit Nilsson Award and the Audience Prize at the Operalia competition in London as well as the prize for the best performance of Norwegian music and the lngrid Bjoner Scholarship at the Queen Sonja lnternational Music Competition. She is also a triple winner at the 2015 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Amsterdam.