Praised for her warm, luscious timbre, seamless technique and captivating stage presence, Norwegian mezzo soprano Siv Misund is one to watch of the new generation of dramatic voices emerging from the Nordic countries. Her voice is reminiscent of the golden era of opera.
Forthcoming and recent engagements include Kommandant C in Bertil Palmar Johansen's Cella Mi for Opera Trøndelag, Ulrica Un Ball in Maschera for Opera På Skäret, Azucena Il Trovatore for Kristiansund Opera, and Mary Der Fliegende Holländer for Opera Østfold.
Misund made her debut as Amneris in Verdi’s Aida in August 2019 with Oscarsborg Operaen in Norway. Directed by the great Norwegian theatre director Bentein Baardson, the show was a great success and even Her Royal Highness Queen Sonja of Norway came to see the production. Other recent role debuts include Eboli in Verdi’s Don Carlo, with Fulham Opera and Azucena in Verdi’s Il Trovatore, with Winslow Hall Opera (England), both earning her rave reviews from audience and critics alike. She also earned great acclaim for her debut as Santuzza in Cavalleria Rusticana with Ringsaker Operaen (NO). A critic wrote; “Her voice soaring through the chorus and orchestra was so heartbreakingly beautiful as to be almost unbearable.”
In 2017 she placed second in The Fulham Opera Robert Presley Memorial Verdi Prize. Other engagements that year includes a gripping performance of the title role in The Rape of Lucretia at the Norwegian National Opera, Dryade in the North Norwegian Opera’s star-studded production of Ariadne auf Naxos, and 3rd lady in a modernist production of Die Zauberflöte with Opera Trøndelag. Other roles include Ulrica Un ballo in Maschera, Dinah Trouble in Tahiti, Flosshilde Das Rheingold, Zita Gianni Schicchi, Frugola Il Tabarro, Zia Principessa Suor Angelica, and Die Knusperhäxe Hansel und Gretel. Siv has worked with Bergen National Opera, North Norwegian Opera and Symphony Orchestra (NOSO), Oslo Opera Festival and Live Opera in Oslo, and many more.
Siv is also an avid concert singer and enjoys programming new art song repertoire in her recitals. She sang in “Hidden Too Long: Black Women in Song” at London’s Steinway Hall in 2017. This collaboration connected her with Nadine Benjamin, Allyson Devenish, Errollyn Wallen and Michael Harper to rediscover Afro British and Afro American female composers. She completed The Norwegian Academy of Music MFA degree in 2007, and won the Ellen Kirby Smith Rice Scholarship to Princeton’s CoOPERAtive program in 2010. In 2011 Misund won the KammerOper Schloss Rheinsberg prize, and this earned her the role of Nutrice in L’incoronatione de Poppea which was well received.
She trains with renowned Verdi mezzo Dolora Zajick, London-based voice teacher Michael Harper and vocal coach John Lidal in Oslo. She has also worked with prominent professionals such as Fiorenza Cossotto, Trish MacCaffrey, Laura Brooks Rice, Anthony Manoly and Kamal Kahn.
“her voice… was so heartbreakingly beautiful as to be almost unbearable.”
“Siv Misund not only commanded Eboli’s formidable range, both vocal and emotional, but brought innate sensuality and charisma to the role - this lady in waiting is not a vamp.”
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