The Royal Danish Opera Academy

18/05/2026

A masterclass with Lise Davidsen was the perfect postlude to a memorable week of opera here in Copenhagen!

L to R: (* = masterclass participant)
Sofia Wilkman (Opera Academy pianist & coach), William Tarrach, Antti Mähönen*, Giacomo Schmidt, Ian Marcus Bjørsvik, Albin Jansson, Orsi Fajger (masterclass pianist and head of music, The Royal Danish Opera), Helena Bjarkadottir*, Linnea Nordenback* , Lise Davidsen, Berte Wiggers Lyneborg, Melike Uludag, Louise Engeseth, Mathilda Sidén Silfver*, Magnus Olesønn Løvlie, Andrew Crooks (Leader of the Opera Academy), Ava Line Shokooh*, Julie Husballe Hansen.

Not pictured:
Linnéa Andersson, Mikkel Frees Steensen, Annika Synnøve Beinnes*

With thanks to Det Kongelige Teater and Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium for their support.

26/04/2026

This afternoon at 15:00 ELEVEN of seventeen current students of the Opera Academy will perform in mainstage Det Kongelige Teater productions! TOI TOI TOI to all!

Gamle Scene, 15:00
"L'incoronazione di Poppea"
🔹PREMIERE🔹
• Drusilla: Annika Synnøve Beinnes
• Valletto: Mathilda Sidén Silfver
• Liberto: Ian Marcus Bjørsvik
• Littore: Antti Mähönen

Operaen, Store Scene, 15:00
"Der Rosenkavalier"
🔹 ONLY TWO MORE PERFORMANCES... last is 3.5 🔹
• Modistin: Helena Bjarkadottir
• Drei adlige Weisen: Linnéa Andersson, Louise Engeseth, Berte Wiggers Lyneborg
• Lerchenau'schen: William Tarrach, Mikkel Frees Steensen, Albin Jansson (also as Leopold)

Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium

13/04/2026

Tak for to smukke koncerter på Gamle Scene. Tak til det fantastiske DKDM symfoniorkester. Tak til Damian Iorio (dirigent) og Kasper Wilton (instruktør). Og endelig tak til alle, der var i publikum!

🌹🌹🌹

Thank you for two beautiful concerts at Gamle Scene. Thank you to the wonderful DKDM symphony orchestra. Thank you to Damian Iorio (conductor) and Kasper Wilton (instructor). And finally, thank you to everyone who was in the audience!

🌹🌹🌹

10/04/2026

Congratulations to current OA student, Ian Marcus Bjørsvik, one of ten singers named in this summer's Festival d'Aix-en-Provence Académie.

The Académie received more than 450 applications for this residency. After a first selection, 82 applicants were invited to the final auditions (38 applicants in New York and 44 applicants in Paris, in November 2025). The selection process has been designed to ensure the highest artistic quality as well as vocal diversity, backgrounds, and cultures, in order to achieve the fullest possible representation of the opera world.

Darrell Babidge, vocal coach and chair of the voice department at the Juilliard School, will be at the helm of this residency, offering the artists his listening skills and advice. In addition, the Académie is inviting the soprano Dorothea Röschmann to lead residency. The pianist and vocal coach Marine Thoreau La Salle, and the conductor Leonardo García-Alarcón, will complete this panel of mentoring artists.

The residency programme includes master classes; concerts programmed as part of Aix en juin; musical encounters organised with Passerelles, the cultural initiatives department of the Festival; and, in July, a professional audition, and two concerts during the Festival, including one with Ca****la Mediterranea led by its musical director Leonardo García-Alarcón and the conductor in residence Guillemette Daboval.

For its 28th edition, the Académie has selected 13 artists for the 2026 Voice Residency — ten singers, three pianists/vocal coaches, and one conductor — for this programme focused on improvement and openness.

03/04/2026

🔥 Impressions from our recent Sitzprobe with DKDM's Symfoniorkester, conducted by Damian Iorio, in preparation for concerts of semi-staged scenes and arias next weekend at the beautiful Gamle Scene! Get your tickets NOW! 🔥

Saturday, April 11 – 15:00
Sunday, April 12 – 19:30

▪️TICKETS▪️
https://kglteater.dk/en/whats-on/sason-20252026/opera/concert-with-the-opera-academy

▪️Singers featured in the video▪️
Magnus Løvlie, tenor
Giacomo Schmidt, baritone
Ava Line Shokooh, soprano
Melike Uludag, mezzo
Julie Husballe Hansen, mezzo
Linnea Nordenback, soprano
Ian Marcus Bjørsvik, tenor

▪️Also featured in the concerts▪️
Annika Synnøve Beinnes, soprano
Helena Bjarkadottir, soprano
Linnéa Andersson, soprano
Louise Engeseth, soprano
Berte Wiggers Lyneborg, mezzo
Mathilda Sidén Silfver, mezzo
Albin Jansson, tenor
William Tarrach, baritone
Mikeel Frees Steensen, bass-baritone
Antti Mähönen, bass

Det Kongelige Teater Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium Magnus Olesønn Løvlie Ava Line Shokooh Melike Uludag Julie Husballe Hansen Giacomo Schmidt Ian Marcus Bjørsvik Linnea Nordenback Linnea Nordenback - Soprano Annika Synnøve Beinnes Linnéa Andersson Louise Engeseth Berte Wiggers Lyneborg William Tarrach Mikkel Frees Steensen Antti Mähönen

▪️FACEBOOK event information▪️
https://www.facebook.com/events/1857606864786947/1857606871453613/

26/03/2026

TOI TOI TOI to our six OA students making their Det Kongelige Teater debut tonight in the premiere of Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier! Also to YAP student, Helena Bjarkadottir in the role of Marchande de Mode! And all the best to everyone involved.

Picture #1 L to R:
Albin Jansson, Louise Engeseth, William Tarrach, Berte Wiggers Lyneborg, and Linnéa Andersson

Picture #2: Marchande de Mode (aka Helena Bjarkadottir)!

23/03/2026

The singers are hard at work preparing for concerts with the DKDM Symphony Orchestra on April 11 and 12. This week we have staging rehearsals with Kasper Wilton (director) and musical rehearsals with Damian Iorio (conductor). Sofia Wilkman is playing for these rehearsals and overseeing musical preparation. We meet the orchestra for the first time on Sunday!

The concerts (same programme both dates) will take place:
Saturday, 11 April, at 15:00
Sunday, 12 April at 19:30

Buy your tickets here:
https://kglteater.dk/en/whats-on/sason-20252026/opera/concert-with-the-opera-academy

This year’s program includes selections from Carmen, L’elisir d’amore, Le comte Ory, Les Huguenots, Roméo et Juliette, I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Don Carlo, Les pêcheurs de perles, Pique Dame, Die Schweigsame Frau, and Der Rosenkavalier.

Featuring 2nd year masters and YAP singers:
Annika Synnøve Beinnes, soprano
Antti Mähönen, bass
Ava Line Shokooh, soprano
Giacomo Schmidt, baritone
Helena Bjarkadottir, soprano
Ian Marcus Bjørsvik, tenor
Julie Husballe Hansen, mezzo soprano
Linnea Nordenback, soprano
Magnus Olesønn Løvlie, tenor
Mathilda Sidén Silfver, mezzo soprano
Melike Uludag, mezzo soprano

This year we are especially delighted to also include our 1st year masters singers:
Albin Jansson, tenor
Berte Wiggers Lyneborg, mezzo soprano
Linnéa Andersson, soprano
Louise Engeseth, soprano
Mikkel Frees Steensen, bass-baritone
William Tarrach, baritone

21/03/2026

TOI TOI TOI to those auditioning for the Opera Academy in Copenhagen today!

19/03/2026

Huge congratulations to 2024 Opera Academy alumna, Laura Helene Hansen, who has been named the Copenhagen Opera Festival's Opera Talent of the Year, 2026. This award is presented annually by the Copenhagen Opera Festival to highlight new voices and support the next generation of opera singers.

Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium
Det Kongelige Teater

The award is presented annually by Copenhagen Opera Festival to highlight new voices and support the next generation of opera singers.

13/03/2026

Closing night of La voix and L'heure. TOI TOI TOI to all on and off stage! With gratitude and love to EVERYONE involved, and everyone who has come to see and hear us! ❤️

Athelas Sinfonietta
Amy Lane
Sofia Wilkman
Jong Sun Woo
James Sherlock
Melike Uludag
Ian Marcus Bjørsvik
Julie Husballe Hansen
Giacomo Schmidt
Magnus Olesønn Løvlie
Ava Line Shokooh
Linnea Nordenback - Soprano
Florence Daguerre de Hureaux
Det Kongelige Teater
Det Kongelige Danske Musikkonservatorium
Berit Wolsted Jones
Therese Schoder-Larsen
Kyler Simons
Andrew Crooks

11/03/2026

A five-star review for Poulenc/Ravel! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
https://operaensvenner.dk/aarets-forestilling-med-operaakademiet/
Two more chances...
Thursday 12.3
Friday 13.3
19:30
TICKETS: https://kglteater.dk/det-sker/sason-20252026/opera/arets-forestilling-med-operaakademiet

***

Poulenc:
"Linnea Nordenback har en smuk, lyrisk stemme med en flot intonation, og hun yder en fin og medrivende, detaljeret præstation som Elle." [Linnea Nordenback has a beautiful, lyrical voice with a beautiful intonation, and she gives a fine and captivating, detailed performance as Elle].

Ravel:
"Man fornemmer også, at det må have været sjovt at arbejde med denne opera. Alle de medvirkende er engagerede, og forestillingen emmer af overskud.... Det var en stor fornøjelse at høre og se alle sangerne." [You can also sense that it must have been fun working on this opera. All the cast members are committed, and the performance exudes energy... It was a great pleasure to hear and see all the singers.]

Linnea Nordenback i La Voix Humaine. Foto: Britt Lindemann / DKT I Poulencs og Ravels cirkler   Anmeldt af Pia Fossheim ****** Årets forestilling med Operaakademiet er to franske enaktere: Pou…