Vita

Norwegian contralto Julie-Marie Sundal is acclaimed for her dark-hued timbre and exceptional vocal range, making her a sought-after artist both on the opera stage and in the concert and oratorio repertoire. Recent engagements have included L’Opinion Publique in Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers at Theater Aachen, Hänsel in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel at the Hamburg State Opera, and alto soloist in Franz Schmidt’s The Book with Seven Seals and Beethoven’s Missa solemnis at the Berlin Philharmonie with the Philharmonischer Chor Berlin and the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt under Jörg-Peter Weigle. She has also appeared in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3, Puccini’s Il trittico at the Hamburg State Opera, and numerous concert and oratorio projects.

In 2009, Sundal joined the International Opera Studio at Theater Lübeck, where, under the baton of Roman Brogli-Sacher, she performed Erda, Flosshilde, and Schwertleite in Anthony Pilavachi’s award-winning production of Wagner’s Ring des Nibelungen.

She subsequently became a member of the ensemble at the Niedersächsisches Staatstheater Hannover, where from 2010 to 2019 she performed over fifty roles. These included Ottone (L’incoronazione di Poppea), Baronin von Günwiesel (Der junge Lord), Zita (Gianni Schicchi), Quickly (Falstaff), Mary (Der fliegende Holländer), the First Norn, Flosshilde, Schwertleite, and Erda (Ring des Nibelungen), Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), Orlofsky (Die Fledermaus), Olga (Eugene Onegin), Sonjetka (Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk), and Hippolyta (A Midsummer Night’s Dream).

Her guest appearances have taken her to the Aalto Theatre Essen, Hamburg State Opera, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Theater Bremen, Theater Lübeck, Theater Koblenz, the Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt, and the Daegu Opera House in South Korea.

Equally in demand as a concert soloist, Sundal’s repertoire includes oratorios by Bach, Handel, and Schumann (Ruth), Brahms’s Alto Rhapsody, Mahler’s Second and Third Symphonies, Stravinsky’s Les Noces, Mozart’s Requiem, and Oedipus Rex. A career highlight was performing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in a benefit concert in Hong Kong, organized by Medart.

She has collaborated with stage directors such as Sebastian Baumgarten, Michiel Dijkema, Dietrich Hilsdorf, Frank Hilbrich, Barry Kosky, Balász Kovalik, Bernd Mottl, Benedikt von Peter, Anthony Pilavachi, and Floris Visser, and with conductors including Howard Arman, Wolfgang Bozic, Karen Kamensek, Roman Brogli-Sacher, Benjamin Reiners, Ivan Repušić, Mark Rohde, and Stefan Soltesz.

Julie-Marie Sundal studied voice and drama at Tonneheim Folkehøgskole and the University of Stavanger (Norway), and at the University of Massachusetts (USA).

2025-08-11

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Theater Lübeck | MONTEZUMA

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