The Norwegian soprano Birgitte Christensen studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.
Her career started as a member of the ensemble at the opera in Innsbruck. Since then she has appeared at opera houses and festivals such as Opéra National de Paris, Staatsoper Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, Staatsoper Stuttgart, National Theater Mannheim, Komische Oper Berlin, Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe, Theater an der Wien, Teatro Municipal de Chile, Opéra de Versailles, Opéra de Rouen Haute-Normandie, Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, Ruhrtriennale, Innsbruck Festival of Early Music and most frequently; the Norwegian National Opera.
Her roles include the title role in Gluck’s ALCESTE, the title role in Haydn’s ARMIDA, Donna Anna in DON GIOVANNI, Vitellia in LA CLEMENZA DI TITO, Konstanze in DIE ENTFÜHRUNG AUS DEM SERAIL, Elisabetta in DON CARLO, Amelia in UN BALLO IN MASCHERA, Violetta in LA TRAVIATA, Liu in TURANDOT, Nedda in I PAGLIACCI, Micaëla in CARMEN, Desdemona in Rossini’s OTELLO, Fiorilla in IL TURCO IN ITALIA, Ellen Orford in PETER GRIMES, Helena in Britten’s A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, Musetta in LA BOHÈME, Mrs. Fluth in THE MERRY WIVES OF WINDSOR, Rosalinde in DIE FLEDERMAUS, Hanna Glawari in DIE LUSTIGE WITWE, Jenny in MAHAGONNY and Cunegonde in CANDIDE. She has also sung several roles in baroque operas, including the title roles in Handel’s ALCINA and PARTENOPE, Cleopatra in Handel’s GIULIO CESARE, Bellezza in Handel’s IL TRIONFO DEL TEMPO E DEL DISINGANNO, Iphis in Handel’s JEPHTHA, Edronica in Telemann’s DER GEDULDIGE SOCRATES, Gionata in Conti’s DAVID and the title role in Monteverdi’s L’INCORONAZIONE DI POPPEA.
Birgitte Christensen frequently appears in concert halls and festivals throughout Europe. Her exceptionally wide repertoire include works by Monteverdi, Pergolesi, Bach, Handel, Telemann, Haydn, Mozart, Rossini, Beethoven, Bruch, Brahms, Mendelssohn, Fauré, Verdi, Strauss, Mahler, Debussy, Britten, Weill and a large number of works of contemporary composers.
She regularly works with conductors such as Rinaldo Alessandrini, Fabio Biondi, Jürgen Budday, Gregor Bühl, Herbert Böck, Gianluca Capuano, Paolo Carignani, Francesco Corti, Teodor Currentzis, Alan Curtis, Paul Daniel, Thomas Dausgaard, Alessandro De Marchi, Diego Fasolis, John Helmer Fiore, Adam Fischer, Mikhail Granovsky, Leopold Hager, Olaf Henzold, Manfred Honeck, Robert Howarth, Leo Hussain, René Jacobs, Alexander Joel, Ralf Kircher, Nicholas Kraemer, Stefan Klingele, Christian Lindberg, Andrew Manze, Enrique Mazzola, Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, Stefano Montanari, Christopher Moulds, Tobias Ringborg, Jukka Pekka Saraste, Federico Maria Sardelli, Peter Schreier, Steven Sloane, Marc Soustrot, Thomas Søndergård, Alexander Vedernikov, Mario Venzago, Bruno Weil, Michael Alexander Willens and Lothar Zagrosek.
2019 has started with the role of Eva in Scarlatti’s IL PRIMO OMICIDIO at the Opéra National de Paris and at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and Bruckner’s TE DEUM as well as Haydn’s HARMONIEMESSE with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra.
