CARMEN

CAST

The team behind Carmen – Opera performance 2019

Soloists

• Carmen: Andrea Pellegrini
• Don Jose: Magnus Vigilius
• Escamillo: Lars Møller
• Michaëla: Yana Kleyn
• Zuniga: Jakob Bloch Jespersen
• Moralès: Frederik Paevatalu Rolin
• Mercédès: Ingeborg Børch
• Frasquita: Sibylle Glosted
• Remendado: Jonathan Koppel
• Dancaïre: William Pedersen

Artistic team

• Director and set designer: Runar Hodne
• Assistant director: Freja Friberg Lyme
• Conductor: Christian Kluxen
• Assistant conductor and language coach: Nathanaël Iselin
• Costume designer and set designer: Maria Gyllenhoff
• Chorus master: Filipe Carvalheiro
• Executive set designer: Elisabeth Holager Lund
• Choreographer: Jannik Elkær
• Assistant choreographer: Ida Frost
• Lighting designer: Mikael Sylvest
• Orchestra: Opera Hedeland Festival Orchestra
• Chorus: Opera Hedeland Festival Choir & Roskilde Cathedral´s boy´s choir

Long biographies – Opera performance 2019

Soloists

Carmen: Andrea Pellegrini
Mezzo-soprano Andrea Pellegrini graduated from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music and the Opera Academy in 2006. Today she is one of the most sought-after mezzo-sopranos in Denmark – and has received acclaim for both her operatic roles and concert performances in Denmark and abroad. Her debut at The Royal Danish Theatre was as Rosina in 2006 in Rossini´s “Barbera di Sevilla”.

Andrea has developed significant authority within musical styles ranging from baroque and early music onwards through a large operatic repertory e.g. by Vivaldi, Bellini etc. In the past few years, Andrea has proven her artistic span by  taking up operatic roles including Rosina (“Barbera di Sevilla” by Rossini), Cherubino (“Le Nozze di Figaro” by Mozart), Idamante (“Idomeneo” by Mozart), Beppe (“L ´amico Fritz” by Mascagni) and Amastra (“Xerxes” by Händel).

At Opera Hedeland Andrea previously sung Mercédès (“Carmen” by Bizet, 2007), Adalgisa (“Norma” by Bellini, 2010) and Suzuki (“Madama Butterfly” by Puccini, 2013).

Upcoming engagements include Rossweisein “Die Walküre” by Wagner at the New Opera in Esbjerg, Denmark. Andrea’s musical width includes performing in crossover events both by bringing classical music into new contexts and working with Latin American music. Andrea has received several awards including The Award of the Danish Music critics, the Reumert Talent price, The memorial award of Aksel Schiøttz and the memorial award of Elisabeth Dons.

Don José: Magnus Vigilius
Tenor Magnus Vigilius graduated from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in 2001 with a diploma in singing and drama. From 2014 he continued his studies with Elena Batoukova Kerl and Torsten Kerl.

At The Lauritz Melchior International Singing Competition in 2014, Magnus won the 2nd prize and he also won the orchestra award the same year.

In 2018 Magnus was bestowed with the prize “Singer of the Year” in Denmark for his Siegmund in “Die Walküre” at The New Opera in Esbjerg, Denmark.

In the season of 2016/17 Magus took on several great roles at the Chech National Opera in Brno. The list includes leading parts like Pinkerton (“Madama Butterfly” by Puccini), Boris Grigorjevic  (“Kat´a Kabanová” by Janacek) in collaboration with director Robert Carsen. The latter production won the prize as “Janacek-opera of the year” along with several other awards.

Recent roles include Radames in “Aida” by Verdi at Oper Halle in Germany, Siegmund in “Die Walküre” by Wagner at Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy, Cavaradossi in “Tosca” by Puccini at The Royal Opera in Stockholm, Sweden and Erikin “Der fliegende Holländer” at Oper Graz in Austria.

Upcoming engagements include Walther von Stolzingin “Die Meistersinger“ by Wagner at Oper Leipzig, Germany (2021), Siegfried in „Siegfried“ by Wagner and “Götterdämmerung” at Saarländisches Staatstheatre (2022) and his debut as Lohengrin in “Lohengrin” by Wagner at Opera Prague in Katharina Wagners production.

In 2020 Magnus Vigilius will make his debut at Bayreuther Festspiele.

Escamillo: Lars Møller

Barytone, Lar Møller was a Member of the Ensemble at The Nationaltheater Mannheim from 2007 to 2014 where he sang most of the major roles in his Fach. Among many others, such roles as Onegin, Conte Almaviva, Barbiere, Belcore, Eisenstein and Ford.

His recent and future engagements in 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons are Fliegende Holländer in Detmold, Belcore, Escamillo and Sepa in Cleopatra at Danish National Opera and Beethoven’s 9th with Aalborg Symphony Orchestra.

In future seasons he will sing the title role in Le Nozze di Figaro, and Donner in Rheingold at Den Ny Opera in Esbjerg, Denmark as well as Scaramouche in Schierbeck’s “Fête Galente”.

Michaëla: Yana Kleyn
Moscow born soprano Yana Kleyn graduated as a pianist from The Russian Academy Gnesins in Moscow. In 2006 she commenced her education the same place – and later continued at the soloist-class at Conservatory of Southern Denmark, where she graduated as master in singing in 2012. Yana now lives in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Since her graduation Yana has performed at the Royal Opera in Stockholm, Sweden as Liu (“Turandot” by Puccini), Michaëla  (“Carmen” by Bizet), Leonore  (“Trovatore” by Verdi), Donna Anna  (“Don Giovanni” by Mozart) and Mimi (“Madama Butterfly” by Puccini) – the latter in Josef Cura´s production. Further engagements have been as Mimi (“Madama Butterfly” by Puccini) at Oper Metz in Germany, Desdemona (“Othello” by Verdi) at Savonlinna Opera Festival in Finland, Donna Anna (“Don Giovanni” by Mozart) at Oper Köln in Germany and Euridyce (“Orfeo” by Gluck) at Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Italy. In addition, Yana has a wide concert experience singing with many orchestras in Denmark and abroad.

Zuniga: Jakob Bloch Jespersen
Bass-baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen graduated from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music and later from the Opera Academy in Copenhagen. Engagements have led Jakob to The Royal Theatre, Opera Hedeland, (Masetto in “Don Giovanni” by Mozart, 2012), Copenhagen Opera Festival. Related to  Dublin Summer Festival he has performed roles such as Leporello (“Don Giovanni” by Mozart), Gurnemantz (“Parsifal” by Wagner), Basilio (“Barbera di Sevilla”) by Rossini), Frère Laurent (“Romeo and Juliet” by Gounod), Magister(“Maskerade” by Carl Nielsen), Collatinus (“The rape of Lucretia” by Britten) and as Aeneas (“Dido and Aeneas” by Purcell).

Jakob is an internationally sought-after concert singer with a wide repertory stretching from the eighteenth century up to present day in works by e.g. Luciano Berio, Karl-Heinz Stockhausen, Arvo Pärt and Pelle Gudmundsen-Holmgreen.

Moralès: Frederik Paevatlu Rolin
Barytone Frederik Paevatalu Rolin is educated from  The Royal Danish Conservatory for Music and later from the Opera Academy in Copenhagen and he has been taught by prof. Kirsten Buhl Møller.  He received his debut in 2012 and has sung roles in operas by Ravel (“L’Enfant et les Sortileges”), Puccini (“La Boheme” and “Madama Butterfly”), Verdi (“La Traviata”). His appearances have been at Frederiksberg Opera, Guiopera, the Royal Theatre, Ålborg Opera Festival and Copenhagen Opera Festival – all in Denmark.

Frederik has also sung concerts with several symphony orchestras. He has been awarded the talent prize from Léonie Sonnings Music Foundation, the memorial award of Hans Voigt and a travel grant from the career programme “The young artistic elite” of the Danish Art Foundation.

Mercèdés: Ingeborg Børch
Mezzo-soprano Ingeborg Børch graduated from the soloist class at the Royal Danish Academy for Music and later the Opera Academy – followed by graduation from the Royal Academy of Music in London. Ingeborg received her debut in 2010 at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen in “Elektra” by Richard Strauss and has since then sung Carmen in “Carmen” by Bizet with the touring department of the Royal Theatre along with engagements abroad in operas as “Madama Butterfly”, “La Traviata”, “L´elisire d´amore”, “Maria de Buenos Aires” and “The Coronation of Poppea”.

Ingeborg also appears in musicals and cross over performances, and her engagement has included the musicals “My Fair Lady”, “Cats”, “Phantom of the Opera”, “Billy Elliott” and “Show Boat” at Det Ny Teater, Copenhagen and Nørrebro Teater, Copenhagen. She is a permanent member of the ensemble Kopenhagen Kabarett and the Opera Factory in Malmö, Sweden. Ingeborg was awarded grants from the Sonning Foundation and the Danish Wagner Society in 2010.

Frasquita: Sibylle Glosted
Coleratura soprano Sibylle Glosted was raised in a home of music and arts and commenced her career as a singer at an early stage. She received a bachelor in singing from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music in 2013 and graduated from the Opera Academy in Stockholm, Sweden, in 2016. During this period she won the award of the Royal Swedish Society for Music and the Anders Wall-award.

In 2016 Sibylle returned to Stockholm to sing Miss Schlesin in “Satyagraha” by Philip Glass at the Folkopera in Stockholm. Later that year Sibylle performed as Ofelia in “Hamlet in absentia” at Kronborg Castle, Denmark and as Zerlina in Malmö Opera ´s touring version of “Don G” by Mozart.

Sibylle has an impressive concert repertoire and sang the soprano-part in “Messias” by Händel at Holmens Church in Copenhagen and toured in Sweden with “Carmina Burana” by Carl Orff together with the Gotland Music Orchestra.

In 2017 she performed as the daughter of the Elver king in “Elverskud” by Niels W. Gade – and was appointed “Opera Talent of the Year” at Copenhagen Opera Festival in 2017 along with the Reumert Talent prize in June the same year.

In 2018/19 she performs as Christine Daaé in “Phantom of the Opera” at Det Ny Teater in Copenhagen. Later this year she will sing the part of the Snow Queen in Danish composer Hans Abrahamsen’s opera “The Snow Queen” at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen and later at Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Germany.

Remendado: Jonathan Koppel
Tenor Jonathan Koppel comes from a musical family – he is the great-grandson of composer Herman D. Koppel. Jonathan received his bachelor in singing from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Copenhagen. He was on stage already as 5-year old as the boy of Cio Cio San in “Madama Butterfly” by Puccini at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen. Jonathan has performed in a number of concerts. In 2018 Jonathan sang the part of Normanno in “Lucia di Lammermoor” at Opera Hedeland.

Dancaïre: William Pedersen
Barytone William Pedersen was raised in a home of two opera singers. In 2016 William received a bachelor in singing from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. Thereafter followed a one-year Konzertgesang program at Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. In 2017 William received a master’s degree of singing from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He has sung roles as Figaro in “Le Nozze di Figaro” by Mozart at Bloomsbury Opera in London and also the bass-part in “Chichester Psalms” by Leonard Berstein with Los Angeles Phil under the baton of Gustavo Dudamel at Barbican Centre in London and later at the Philharmonie de Paris.

William also had his Wigmore Hall debut in a Schubert programme with Graham Johnson and also sung the part of Belcore(“L´elisire d´amore” by Donizetti) in Munich and Papageno(“Magic Flute” by Mozart) in Copenhagen and a number of premières, ao the baritone part in “Stabat Mater” by F. Bayani Mabalot at Academy Concert Hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Lillas Pastia: Paul Frederiksen
State certified pedagogue in music 1993 with song and pedagogy of singing from the Royal Danish Conservatory of Music. Professional bass singer in a various professional chorus (The National Opera´s opera chorus, Opera chorus of Malmö Opera, Ars Nova, Copenhagen and from 1997-2000 and again from 2015 member of Danish Broadcast concert choir). Member of Opera Hedeland festival choir since 2007.

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