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Lämnar skugga
Clotilde - Honegger (d'Apollinaire)

BIOGRAPHY

Karin Torbjörnsdóttir is a light mezzo-soprano with a wide musical range of baroque, classical, romantic and modern music, with a particular affinity for Mozart. Most recently, she portrayed Nerone (L'incoronazione di Poppea - Monteverdi) in a production with Opera Incognita in the swimmingpool Müller'sches Volksbad in Munich. Earlier in the year she worked with director Michiel Dijkema in the Icelandic Opera's new production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly, and was named Singer of the Year 2020 by Gríman -the Icelandic performing arts award- for her interpretation of Cherubino in the Marriage of Figaro at the Icelandic Opera. In June 2023, Dacapo records released a CD "From Earth to Ether" where Karin sang three pieces by and with composer-conductor Daníel Bjarnason with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. Since the season 2021/22, she has sung several recitals and concerts, with among others Gothenburg Symfoniker with Johannes Gustavsson, as well as in the Harpa Concert Hall in Reykjavík for the Icelandic Opera, in the Tíbrá Concert Series, Mozart at the Songfest Festival in Hafnarborg, in the concert series The Year of the Icelandic Song in Iceland, and with the  Lund Chamber Music Society  in Sweden.

The versatile lyric mezzo-soprano is well-versed on the opera stage. Engagements after completing her master studies at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg include Luzerner Theater in Switzerland and the opera studio at Staatsoper Stuttgart in Germany. There she performed a variety of opera roles, and later started working freelance. Karin has performed in concerts on numerous occasions in Europe, USA and Asia, and at international festivals such as  Anima Mundi  in Pisa, Italy, ​Macau International Music Festival, Lucerne Festival in Switzerland, Barocknacht, and Nacht der Komponisten in Salzburg. 

Among Karin's opera roles are Mozart's Cherubino (Le nozze di Figaro), Annio (La clemenza di Tito), Bastien (Bastien und Bastienne), 2. Lady (Magic flute), Dorabella (Cosi fan tutte). Contemporary roles such as Amando (Le grand Macabre, Ligeti), Alto 2 (Prometeo, Luigi Nono), Der Trommler (Der Kaiser von Atlantis, V.Ullmann), and Italian opera roles such as Flora (La traviata, Verdi), Tisbe (La cenerentola, Rossini), Rosina and Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia, Rossini), as well as Ottavia (Il giuoco del quadriglio, Caldara), and Pastuchyna (Jenůfa, Janáček) in Czech.

Born in Lund, Sweden, Karin's early musical background include piano studies and competition-level choral singing, followed by private vocal studies with Swedish Mezzo Kerstin Grevelius and Prof. Laura Sarti before enrolling the Reykjavík Academy of Singing and Vocal Arts in Iceland, graduating with a Diploma of Performing ABRSM with Distinction. Further studies at the Universität Mozarteum Salzburg; Bachelor studies and Master of Arts - Opera and Music Theatre, lastly with Andreas Macco, Prof. Josef Wallnig and Eike Gramss, graduating with Distinction on both occasions.

Master classes Voice and Operatic repertoire with i.a. Laura Sarti, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Margaret Singer, Martha Sharp, Galina Pisarenko, Donald Kaasch, Jane Thorner and Marianne Cornetti. Lied and Art Songs with Clara Taylor, Richard Stokes and Breda Zakotnik; Baroque gestures and baroque acting with Margit Legler, and improvisational acting with Nicola Hümpel
She works regularly with pianist Gaiva Bandzinaite and mezzo-soprano KS. Helene Schneiderman.

***

Apart from singing opera, recitals, and classical concerts, Karin strengthened her skills with film acting studies at Prague Film School. She subsequently acted in several international short films, tv-series, making an appearance in a feature film, as well as working in the art department as a production designer and art director on short films. Her skills have brought her a deeper understanding of the art form, and how acting for film differs from the stage, yet with a strong presence in both. Se more here

Lämnar skugga

REPERTOIRE

OPERA
​Performed roles

Early music:
Ner
one - Il coronazione di Poppea, Monteverdi

Ottavia - Il giuoco del quadriglio, Caldara

Mozart:
Annio - La clemenza di Tito
Bastien - Bastien und Bastienne
Cherubino - Le nozze di Figaro
Dorabella - Così fan tutte
2. Dame - Die Zauberflöte

Contemporary:
Amando - Le Grand Macabre - György Ligeti
Alto 1 - Jakob Lenz - Wolfgang Rihm
Alto 2 - Prometeo - Luigi Nono
Der Trommler -  Der Kaiser von Atlantis - Viktor Ullmann

Italian:
Kate Pinkerton - Madama Butterfly - Puccini
Berta - Il barbiere di Siviglia - Rossini
Rosina - Il barbiere di Siviglia - Rossini
Tisbe - La cenerentola - Rossini
Annina - La traviata - Verdi
Contessa di Ceprano - Rigoletto - Verdi
Flora - La traviata - Verdi

Romantic:
Pastuchyna - Jenufa - Janacek

 

Roles in preparation:
Sigríður - Agnes - Daníel Bjarnason
Stéphano - Romeo et Juliette - Gounod
Siebel - Faust - Gounod
Smeton - Anna Bolena - Donizetti

CONCERT / RECITAL
Lieder and sacral works

Fr
ench:
Berlioz - Les nuits d'été*
Debussy - Chansons de Bilitis
Duparc - various
Fauré - various
Hahn, Reynaldo - A Chloris
Honegger - Six poemes d'Apollinaire*
Poulenc -  Banalités*
Ravel - various

Scandinavian:
Daníel Bjarnason - Larkin songs

Danish art songs (Nielsen, Weyse)

Peter Heise -  Dyvekes sange*
Gunnar de Frumerie - Hjärtats sånger*
Icelandic art songs, various
Swedish romances and folksongs, various

English:
Samuel Barber - various songs

German:
Brahms - 2 Gesänge Op.91
Gustav Mahler - various
Alma Mahler - 7 Orkesterlieder*
Mozart - various
Schubert -  various
Schumann - various
Wolf - Mignon I, II, III, Kennst du das Land, various

Sacral works:
Haydn - Arianna a Naxos, Cantata
Lars-Erik Larsson - Förklädd Gud, Op 24

Mendelssohn -Drei Geistliche Lieder, WoO 14

- Hear my Prayer, WoO 15
Mozart - C moll Messe, 2. soprano


*partial cycle

Lämnar skugga

PORTRAITS

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