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Oh what joy to sing once again!

Of course, it was not like stepping onto the stage as normal. Last minute planning, minimal contact, masks, testing – this is what is normal now. But what an unbelievable feat by Norwegian National Opera to persevere and still produce a performance when dealing with so much. My utmost respect goes to them. Everyone remains open-minded and grounded, giving us the feeling of a warm and welcoming atmosphere, even if we remain apart.

It’s hard to describe the feeling of being on stage again… you still have nerves, but they feel different. You’re singing with others, but distanced. The orchestra, conductor, again further away. The recording light is on, so you know you’ve got to get it right! The closest thing I can compare it to is like an athlete training for a marathon but instead running a 100m sprint. But you’re just happy to be running full stop!!

I wouldn’t change it for the word – I am grateful for even these fleeting moments that we have to sing and share our art with the world once more.

I did an interview for Värnamo Nyheter while I was in quarantine in early January. Here is an extract:

How do you pass the time during your quarantine?

I knit socks, read notes, I can have opera in one ear and at the same time have the TV on so I do not miss any corona update. It’s normally a job with a lot of alone time, and I’m pretty used to hanging out with myself.

I hope you can watch and enjoy what we’ve been able to achieve. Here are all the details:

31 January 2021, 18:00
Tickets: 100 kr
Available here

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, Act II cond. Edward Gardner
Norwegian National Opera
Tristan – Clay Hilley (who made his role debut here… wow!)
Isolde – Iréne Theorin
Brangäne – Claudia Mahnke
King Marke – Stephen Milling

More information