VOCAL MASTERCLASS STOCKHOLM
MASTERCLASSES
2019
MICHAEL WEINIUS
Sunday 12th May
Swedish tenor Michael Weinius, born and raised in Stockholm, has rapidly established himself as one of Scandinavia’s most sought after and praised tenors. His musical training began as a baritone at the well-known Adolf Fredrik’s School of Music and was completed in 1995 with his examination from the University College of Opera in Stockholm.
Michael made his professional stage debut in 1993 as Guglielmo in Così fan Tutte and he has since then been a regular guest at all the major opera houses in Sweden singing roles like Renato in Un ballo in Maschera, Posa in Don Carloand Marcello in La Bohème. In contemporary opera Michael Weinius has also performed several roles especially written for him, like Cry Wolf by Hans Gefors and Jeppe by Sven David Sandström. In addition to his operatic career, Michael Weinius regularly sings lieder recitals as well as orchestral concerts. He has performed in Denmark, Norway, Austria, Spain, Great Britain, France, Belgium and the USA.
Michael Weinius has been a recipient of many awards and prizes. In 2004 he was the winner of the prestigious Gösta Winbergh Award, in 2006 he received the Birgit Nilsson Prize for singers and in August 2008 he was the winner of the prestigious Seattle Opera’s International Wagner Competition.
ELIN ROMBO
Sunday 2nd June
Elin Rombo är under hösten aktuell i rollen som Régine Saint Laurent i Rufus Wainwrights opera Prima Donna på Kungliga Operan. Till våren väntar medverkan i världspremiären av Philip Glass opera Circus Days and Nights, en samproduktion mellan Cirkus Cirkör och Malmö Opera med premiär på Malmö Opera i maj. Elin kommer under våren även gästa Valetta på Malta, där hon gör rollen som Agnès i George Benjamins Written on Skin.
Förra säsongen gjorde Elin Rombo rollen som Cunegonde i Candide på Kungliga Operan. Säsongen 2018-2019 innefattade Roxana i Szymanowskis Kung Roger, både på operan i Warszawa och på Kungliga Operan. Elin framträdde även i rollen som Hanna Glawari i Glada Änkan och Donna Elvira i Don Giovanni, båda på operan i Stockholm.
På konsertscenen har Elin Rombo framträtt under ledning av Riccardo Muti i såväl Brahms Ein deutsches Requiem (Chicago Symphony Orchestra) som i Schuberts Mässa i G-dur (Orchestre de Paris). Under våren 2012 framträdde hon åter med Orchestre de Paris; denna gång i Mozarts Requiem under ledning av Sir Colin Davis. Hon har sjungit Honeggers Jeanne d'Arc au Bûcher i Salzburg, Mahlers Des Knaben Wunderhorn och Faurés Requiem med Malmö Symfoniorkester, turnerat med Orphei Drängar i Kina, Japan och Singapore samt sjungit Mozarts C-mollmässa med såväl Sveriges Radios Symfoniorkester som med Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks.
Elin Rombo är utbildad vid Brandon University Queen Elisabeth II i Canada samt vid Operahögskolan i Stockholm, där hon tog examen 2003. Hon debuterade redan under sin studietid på Kungliga Operan som Christa i Janáceks Fallet Makropoulos. Elin har mottagit en rad stipendier och utmärkelser, bland dem Jenny Lind-stipendiet 1999, Bernadottestipendiet 2003, Kungliga Musikaliska Akademiens Stipendium, samt Birgit Nilsson-stipendiet 2009. I november 2013 utnämndes Elin Rombo till hovsångerska och 2016 tilldelades hon medaljen Litteris et Artibus
MATTI HIRVONEN
Sunday 22nd September
Matti Hirvonen lives in Stockholm. His career as a song pianist began at the invitation of the famous soprano Elisabeth Söderström, and he now performs Lieder regularly with Nina Stemme, Hillevi Martinpelto, Miah persson, camilla Nylund, Katarina Karnéus, Angelika Kirschschlager, Anna Larsson, Iréne Theorin, Håkan Hagegård, Bo Skovhus, Andreas Schmidt, Peter Mattei, Wolfgang Holzmair among many others.
A regular guest at European festivals including Edinburgh, Grafenegg, Aix-en Provence and Schleswig-Holstein, Matti performs at major venues such as Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Wigmore Hall London, Philharmonie Köln, Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Oper Frankfurt and Laieszhalle Hamburg, as wll as further afield including Weill Recital hall in New York and numerous venues across Japan.
Matti has held the position of Professor of Accompaniment at the London Royal College of Music, Stockholm Royal College of Music, The Norwegian Acadmy in Oslo and Rutgers University in the USA. He has given masterclasses in the art of Lieder for both singers and pianists at the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg, Juilliard School in New York, Cleveland Institute of Music, the Oxford Lieder Festival, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, and the Royal Danish Conservatory of Muisc in Copenhagen.
As a testament to his oustanding achievements within Swedish music, in 2014 Matti was awarded the royal medal Litteris et Artibus by his Majesty Karl Gustav XVI.
Photo: Martin Hellström
ANNA LARSSON
Sunday 10th November
Globally renowned for her interpretation of Mahler, Swedish mezzo soprano, Anna Larsson, has worked with the greatest Mahler conductors of our time including Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Daniel Harding, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Lorin Maazel and Kurt Masur. On the operatic stage, she is a distinguished Wagnerian and her roles include Erda, Waltraute, Kundry and Brangäne, for which she is regularly in demand. She built and inaugurated the Vattnäs Concert Barn in Sweden which has been the stage for many community projects including a world premiere. She is an intellectual and vocal commentator and ambassador for the future of opera and classical music. In 2014 she was awarded the Royal Medal ‘Litteris et Artibus’ from the King of Sweden.
Photo: Anna Thorbjörnsson