Opera Café – Italian Evening at Sandnes Cultural Centre

Here we encounter the most beautiful gems from the Italian operatic repertoire. Just to mention a few: Puccini’s La Bohème, Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore (The Elixir of Love), and Verdi’s La Traviata. This will truly be “A Night at the Opera.”

BIO

Maria Bill
Maria Bill is a soprano with roots in Jæren and Sunnmøre. She began classical singing at Fagerlia Upper Secondary School in Ålesund, followed by a year at Toneheim Folk High School. She then completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the University of Stavanger, Faculty of Performing Arts, studying with Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz. She has debuted in roles such as Lauretta in Gianni Schicchi and Frasquita in Don Pasquale, and has participated in several productions with Opera Rogaland, as well as other projects and masterclasses.

Steffen Siggervåg Sortland
Steffen Siggervåg Sortland is a tenor from Bømlo. His interest in music was sparked at an early age, and he began singing at the music programme at Stord Upper Secondary School in 2012. He continued to Toneheim Folk High School to study classical singing with Matthew Marriott. Steffen has completed a master’s degree at the University of Stavanger with Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz as his teacher. There, he performed roles such as Basilio, Ernesto and Turiddu, and has taken part in several Opera Rogaland productions. He currently performs both small- and large-scale engagements throughout Norway. Since 2020, he has sung roles including Erster Gefangener, Remendado and Melot.

Erlend Jåsund
Erlend Jåsund is a Norwegian bass-baritone from Bærum. He holds a master’s degree in classical singing from the University of Stavanger, where he studied with Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz. His roles include Masetto (Don Giovanni), Bartolo (Le Nozze di Figaro), Zuniga (Carmen), Simone (Gianni Schicchi) and Colline (La Bohème). He has appeared with Opera Rogaland, Opera Østfold, Operafest Røykenvik and at international festivals in Italy. Erlend has also taken part in numerous international masterclasses and has developed a strong connection to the Italian operatic tradition.

Friederike Wildschütz
Friederike Wildschütz is a pianist, accompanist and Associate Professor at the University of Stavanger, Faculty of Performing Arts. She has won prizes in German and international competitions and has performed across Europe. From 2003 to 2009, she studied with Professor Gerlinde Otto at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar. Between 2009 and 2012, she completed her master’s degree and postgraduate diploma with Professor Erling R. Eriksen at the University of Stavanger, winning the Shell Prize in 2012.
Her main interest as a researcher and performer is chamber music for voice and piano, especially German Lied from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 2018, she completed her artistic research project on the pianist’s role in Arnold Schoenberg’s song cycle Das Buch der hängenden Gärten. She is a sought-after accompanist and chamber musician and has performed extensively in the Stavanger region. Friederike is also a member of the ensemble OperaVolume, which regularly presents “opera for the people.”