Operatic star Lise Davidsen opens Bergen International Festival with Tosca
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November 30, 2022
The Norwegian soprano makes her stage debut in the title role of Puccini’s incisive opera Tosca.
Lise Davidsen is the Artist in residence of the 2023 Bergen International Festival, and will appear in several events, starting with Puccini’s great opera Tosca, the festival’s opening performance, playing on 24 and 26 May 2023.
It is the first time Davidsen sings this role on the stage. In this concert performance she is joined by the Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel, the British-Italian tenor Freddie De Tommaso and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus.
Throughout the festival period from 24 May to 7 June, the renowned Norwegian soprano will give several concerts and fill a number of roles: in addition to Tosca, she gives a duo concert with pianist James Baillieu with songs by Schubert, Grieg, Sibelius and Berg; she is the soprano soloist in the performance of Verdi’s Requiem and holds an international masterclass. She will also curate a concert of her own, which will be announced later.
‘In a short time Lise Davidsen has become one of the greatest stars in classical music, and one of its most unique voices. Whether at the Met, in Grieghallen or outside the Royal Palace in Oslo, where I heard her live for the first time, she fills the room and brings out the smallest nuances in the music. We are particularly proud that the Bergen International Festival can present so many facets of her artistry in six major events. She is in enormous demand worldwide, and with good reason,’ says festival director Lars Petter Hagen.
The soprano has received wide acclaim from the critics: The New York Times wrote 'a voice in a million' and The Economist called her 'opera's newest star'. During the 2022 Bergen International Festival she and Leif Ove Andsnes delighted a capacity audience in Grieghallen. She is particularly recognised as a singer of opera and lieder, and for her interpretations of Wagner and Grieg.
Lise Davidsen has performed at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Teatro Alla Scala Milan, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wiener Staatsoper and at the Bayreuth and Glyndebourne Festivals. She has studied at the Grieg Academy in Bergen and the Royal Music Conservatoire in Copenhagen. Prizes she has won include Spellemannsprisen (the Norwegian Grammy) and the Queen Sonja International Music Competition.
