
Programme and performers
Programme and performers
Edvard Grieg Six Songs, Op 48
1. Gruss (Greeting)
2. Dereinst. Gedanke mein (One Day, O Heart of Mine)
3. Lauf der Welt (The Way of the World)
4. Die verschwiegene Nachtigall (The Nightingale’s Secret)
5. Zur Rosenzeit (The Time of Roses)
6. Ein Traum (A Dream)
Edvard Grieg Haugtussa (The Mountain Maid)
1. Det syng (The Enticement)
2. Veslemøy (Young Maiden)
3. Blåbær-Li (Blueberry Slope)
4. Møte (The Tryst)
5. Elsk (Love)
6. Killingdans (Kidlings’ Dance)
7. Vond dag (Hurtful Day)
8. Ved gjaetle-bekken (At the Brook)
Richard Strauss 4 Lieder, Op 27
1. Ruhe, meine Seele! (Rest thee, my Soul)
2. Cäcilie
4. Morgen! (Tomorrow!)
Richard Strauss 5 Lieder, Op 39
4. Befreit (Released)
Richard Wagner Wesendonck Lieder
1. Der Engel (The Angel)
2. Stehe still (Be still)
3. Im Treibhaus (In the Greenhouse)
4. Schmerzen (Sorrows)
5. Träume (Dreams)
Lise Davidsen soprano
Leif Ove Andsnes piano
Six Songs
Leise zieht durch mein Gemüt
Liebliches Geläute.
Klinge, kleines Frühlingslied,
Kling hinaus ins Weite.
Zieh hinaus, bis an das Haus,
Wo die Veilchen sprießen.
Wenn du eine Rose schaust,
Sag, ich lass’ sie grüßen.
A sweet sound of bells
Peals gently through my soul.
Ring out, little song of spring,
Ring out far and wide.
Ring out till you reach the house
Where violets are blooming.
And if you should see a rose,
Send to her my greeting.
Haugtussa
Å veit du den Draum og veit du den Song,
so vil du Tonarne gøyma;
og gilja det for deg so mang ein Gong,
rett aldri so kan du det gløyma.
Å hildrande du! med meg skal du bu,
i Blåhaugen skal du din Sylvrokk snu.
Du skal ikkje fæla den mjuke Nott,
då Draumen slær ut sine Vengjer,
i linnare Ljos en Dagen hev ått
og Tonar på mjukare Strengjer.
Det voggar um Li, det svævest av Strid,
og Dagen ei kjenner den Sæle-Tid.
Du skal ikkje ræddas den Elskhug vill,
som syndar og græt og gløymer;
hans Famn er heit og hans Hug er mild
og Bjønnen arge han tøymer.
Å hildrande du! med meg skal du bu,
i Blåhaugen skal du din Sylvrokk snu.
Oh, if you know the dream and the song
You’ll want to hide the notes;
And if it bewitches you
Before long you’ll never forget it.
O magical you! With me you’ll live,
On Blåhaugen you may spin your silver.
You shan’t fear the mild night,
When dreams spread out their wings
In a milder light than that of day,
And play notes on softer strings.
The hill is cradled, cares are forgotten
Daylight cannot know this time of bliss.
You shan’t fear what love desires
Which sins and weeps and forgets;
Its embrace is hot while its temper is mild
And it can tame the angry bear.
O magical you! With me you’ll live
On Blåhaugen you may spin your silver.
Richard Strauss Lieder
Nicht ein Lüftchen,
Regt sich leise,
Sanft entschlummert
Ruht der Hain;
Durch der Blätter
Dunkle Hülle
Stiehlt sich lichter
Sonnenschein.
Ruhe, ruhe,
Meine Seele,
Deine Stürme
Gingen wild,
Hast getobt und
Hast gezittert,
Wie die Brandung,
Wenn sie schwillt!
Diese Zeiten
Sind gewaltig,
Bringen Herz und
Hirn in Not—
Ruhe, ruhe,
Meine Seele,
Und vergiß,
Was dich bedroht!
Not even
A soft breeze stirs,
In gentle sleep
The wood rests;
Through the leaves’
Dark veil
Bright sunshine
Steals.
Rest, rest,
My soul,
Your storms
Were wild,
You raged and
You quivered,
Like the breakers,
When they surge!
These times
Are violent,
Cause heart and
Mind distress—
Rest, rest,
My soul,
And forget
What threatens you!
Wesendonck Lieder
In der Kindheit frühen Tagen
Hört ich oft von Engeln sagen,
Die des Himmels hehre Wonne
Tauschen mit der Erdensonne,
Daß, wo bang ein Herz in Sorgen
Schmachtet vor der Welt verborgen,
Daß, wo still es will verbluten,
Und vergehn in Tränenfluten,
Daß, wo brünstig sein Gebet
Einzig um Erlösung fleht,
Da der Engel niederschwebt,
Und es sanft gen Himmel hebt.
Ja, es stieg auch mir ein Engel nieder,
Und auf leuchtendem Gefieder
Führt er, ferne jedem Schmerz,
Meinen Geist nun himmelwärts!
In the early days of childhood
I often heard tell of angels
Who exchange heaven's pure bliss
For the sun of earth,
So that, when a sorrowful heart
Hides its yearning from the world
And would silenly bleed away
And dissolve in streams of tears,
And when its fervent prayer
Begs only for deliverance,
That angel will fly down
And gently raise the heart to heaven.
And to me too an angel descended,
And now on shining wings
Bear my spirit, free from all pain,
Towards heaven!
Artist Biographies
Since winning Plácido Domingo’s Operalia and Queen Sonja competitions in 2015, Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen has taken the classical music world by storm, with resounding debuts in venues such as Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Bayreuth, Aix-en Provence and Glyndebourne Festivals, Bayerische Staatsoper, Wigmore Hall and the Barbican, Wiener Staatsoper, the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall and Zurich Opera House. ‘It’s been a long time since a singer has generated as much buzz,’ wrote Gramophone in its review of her debut album for Decca, which debuted at number one in the UK Classical music charts. Released on 31 May 2019, her recordings of music by Strauss and Wagner inspired the magazine to declare that ‘she is one of the greatest vocal talents to have emerged in recent years, if not decades’.
Highlights of Davidsen’s 20/21 season include a streamed recital for the Metropolitan Opera as part of their celebrated series: Met Stars Live in Concert and several highly anticipated role debuts: Sieglinde Die Walküre in a new production at Deutsche Oper Berlin and in concert at Opera de Paris; the title role of Jenufa at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; and Amelia in a new production of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera at the Norwegian National Opera. Further appearances include Title role Ariadne auf Naxos at Wiener Staatsoper; Elisabeth Tannhäuser at Bayerische Staatsoper; a return to Bayreuth in Tobias Kratzer’s production of Tannhäuser and concert performances of Die Walküre; as well as a solo recital at Norwegian National Opera. Recitals future heavily in her schedule with appearances at Konzerthaus Dortmund and Palau de les Arts Valencia with James Baillieu; and together with famed Norwegian pianist Leif Ove Andsens in Bergen, Trondheim, Rosendal Chamber Music Festival in Norway and Turku Festival in Finland.
Last season Davidsen made a widely acclaimed company debut with the Metropolitan Opera as Lisa Queen of Spades and took on the role of Leonore Fidelio, first in concert with Yannick Nezet Seguin and Opéra de Montreal and then at the Royal Opera House, in a new production by Tobias Kratzer and conducted by Sir Antonio Pappano. Further appearances included a role debut as Ellen Orford Peter Grimes at the Enescu Festival; Strauss’ Op 27 with Philharmonia and Esa-Pekka Salonen at the BBC Proms; Vier letzte Lieder with Orchestre de Paris; Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with Gianandrea Noseda and the Wiener Symphoniker and with Vasily Petrenko and the Oslo Philharmonic; Sieglinde Die Walküre with Fabio Luisi and the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and solo recitals in London (Barbican), Oslo, Copenhagen and Bergen.
Further recent highlights include her role debut as Elisabeth Tannhäuser which she performed at Opernhaus Zürich, Bayerische Staatsoper, and in a triumphant debut at the Bayreuth Festival where she was hailed by the international press as a 'voice once in a century'; Lisa Queen of Spades at Oper Stuttgart; the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos at Aix-en Provence Festival; Wiener Staatsoper and Glyndebourne Festival; Agathe in a new production of Der Freischütz at Opernhaus Zürich; Cherubini’s Medea at Wexford Festival; Santuzza Cavalleria Rusticana and Sancta Susanna in Oslo; and Isabella Das Liebesverbot at Teatro Colon.
Recent concert appearances include Verdi’s Requiem at the BBC Proms with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrés Orozco Estrada, at the Royal Opera House with Sir Antonio Pappano, the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Fabio Luisi, and Philharmonia Orchestra and Edward Gardner; Strauss Op. 27 at the Edinburgh International Festival with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and Vasily Petrenko; Vier letzte Lieder with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra, the Stavanger Orchestra, Copenhagen Philharmonic, and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Die Walküre (1st Act) with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Sir Andrew Davis and with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and Edo de Waart; Wesendonck Lieder and Rückert-Lieder with the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra; and Sibelius’ Luonnotar with the BBC Philharmonic at the BBC Proms. Davidsen was an Artist in Residence with Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra during the 2017-18 season when her appearances included an open-air concert, Verdi’s Requiem and Wesendonck Lieder as well as recital performances.
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 Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship at the Queen Sonja International Music Competition. She is also a triple winner at the 2015 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Amsterdam and a recipient of many awards, including the HSBC Aix-en-Provence Laureate, Statoil Talent Bursary Award, Léonie Sonning Music Prize, Danish Singers Award 2014 and the Kirstin Flagstad Award 2015. In 2018, Davidsen was presented with the prestigious Young Artist of the Year Award at the Gramophone Classical Music Awards.