Berit Norbakken

Sopran

Foto: Marius Fiskum

Berit Norbakken er en av Skandinavias mest allsidige sopraner. Hun behersker et repertoar som strekker seg fra barokk til samtidsmusikk, inkludert folkemusikk. Hun er stadig solist i oratorier og pasjoner og arbeider jevnlig med ledende ensembler, orkester og dirigenter i kjente konsertsaler over hele verden. For sine mange innspillinger høster hun strålende kritikker fra det internasjonale musikkmiljøet. Spesielt hennes innspilling av Arriagas vokalmusikk, sammen med BBC Philharmonic under ledelse av Juanjo Mena, har blitt særlig godt mottatt. Norbakken har opptrådt i Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, May Festival Cincinnatti og i et høyt antall ulike konsertprogram over hele Europa. Våren 2024 disputerte hun med sitt doktorgradsarbeid Grenseland - i stemmen.

‘Carrying all of this emotional weight was soprano Berit Norbakken Solset, whose rendition of each song was astonishingly gorgeous, making them deeply moving. Nowhere more so than in the third of the songs, ‘Perfume of the instant’, its enraptured, intimate sensuality practically inducing the sensation of wafts of fragrance in the concert hall. Throughout the work, Solset made the music marvellously tactile, her voice seemingly communicating to each one of us in the audience personally. I can honestly say that if this was the last performance I ever heard, I would have died perfectly happily. Amazing.’ (Simon Cummings (5:4) etter framføring av Kaija Saariaho‘s “Quatre Instants” på Nordic Music Days i Bodø, Norway, November 2019.)

‘...Two vocal works are included: the cantata “Herminie” and “Air de l’Opéra Médée” The 15- minute cantata is, quite simply, a masterwork of vocal writing. It hints at what the   operatic world lost with Arriaga’s early death, Soprano Berit Norbakken Solset sings with a clear, pure tone that continually delights. Her delivery reinforces the stylistic similarities between Arriaga and Mozart...’ (Charlottesvilleclassical.org/Chandos/Arriaga/BBC Philharmonic/ Juanjo Mena, 2018)

«...and so wonderfully performed, and the fabulous soprano, Berit Norbakken, who has exactly the right blend of straightness, so you can hear every note, but when she decides to open up, it ́s just fabulous, for me, it ́s got everything...» (BBC Radio 3, om hennes innspilling av Ave Maria/Fartein Valen (Refractions, 2013, BIS Records)).

Berit Norbakken is one of Scandinavia’s leading sopranos. Her versatility and flexibility of voice have allowed her to master a repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary, including folk music. She regularly appears in performances of oratorios, passions, and masses, and continues her work with leading ensembles, orchestras and conductors in major concert halls all over the world. Her many recordings have garnered high critcal acclaim both in Norway and abroad. In particular her recording of Arriaga’s vocal music, together with the BBC Philharmonic under the leading of Juanjo Mena has received glowing reviews internationally. Norbakken appeared at the Sydney Opera House, the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, at the Cincinnati May Festival as well as in several programmes touring throughout Europe. She completed her artistic PhD-project in May 2024.

‘Carrying all of this emotional weight was soprano Berit Norbakken Solset, whose rendition of each song was astonishingly gorgeous, making them deeply moving. Nowhere more so than in the third of the songs, ‘Perfume of the instant’, its enraptured, intimate   sensuality practically inducing the sensation of wafts of fragrance in the concert hall. Throughout the work, Solset made the music marvellously tactile, her voice seemingly communicating to each one of us in the audience personally. I can honestly say that if this was the last performance I ever heard, I would have died perfectly happily. Amazing.’ (Simon Cummings (5:4) after listening to Kaija Saariaho‘s “Quatre Instants” at Nordic Music Days in Bodø, November 2019.)

‘...Two vocal works are included: the cantata “Herminie” and “Air de l’Opéra Médée” The 15- minute cantata is, quite simply, a masterwork of vocal writing. It hints at what the   operatic world lost with Arriaga’s early death, Soprano Berit Norbakken Solset sings with a clear, pure tone that continually delights. Her delivery reinforces the stylistic similarities between Arriaga and Mozart...’ (Charlottesvilleclassical.org/Chandos/Arriaga/BBC Philharmonic/ Juanjo Mena, 2018)

«...and so wonderfully performed, and the fabulous soprano, Berit Norbakken, who has exactly the right blend of straightness, so you can hear every note, but when she decides to open up, it ́s just fabulous, for me, it ́s got everything...» (BBC Radio 3, about her recording of Ave Maria/Fartein Valen (Refractions, 2013, BIS Records))