Vita

The Danish native, in Copenhagen educated coloratura soprano Susanne Elmark has been in great demand in the opera and concert houses of the entire world for the last twenty years.

With the roles of Zerbinetta (ARIADNE AUF NAXOS), Queen of the Night (THE MAGIC FLUTE), Konstanze (THE ABDUCTION FROM SERAGLIO), Lulu (LULU), Fiakermilli (ARABELLA) and Marie (DIE SOLDATEN) Susanne Elmark has been engaged in houses like Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, Staatsoper Hamburg, Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona, Teatro Real Madrid, Opera Oslo, Oper Frankfurt, Oper Köln, Opernhaus Zürich, Volksoper in Vienna, Royal Opera Copenhagen and Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires.

Besides the classical opera and concert repertoire Susanne Elmark often performs in contemporary music; several pieces are dedicated to her, und she has participated in numerous first performances. She has sung at big festivals in Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Germany, France and Spain, including cooperations with the famous ensembles German Ensemble Modern in alte Oper Frankfurt and French Ensemble Intercontemporain of Pierre Boulez at The Lucerne Festival.

In oratorio, Susanne Elmark has sung the solo roles in such works as Mozart’s Requiem, C major Mass and Exsultate Jubilate, Berg’s Lulu-Suite, Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions, Handel’s Messiah, Mendelsohn’s Elijah and Orff’s Carmina Burana at various venues including the Oslo Koncerthus, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, the Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Philharmonie Luxembourg and the Vienna Konzerthaus.

In the recent past, she took the part of Lady Macbeth (debut) in a new production of Verdi´s MACBETH at the Luzerner Theater,  Inanna in in a new production of Jörg Widmann’s BABYLON at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin, Agnes (WRITTEN ON SKIN) in concert performances with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Beethoven´s Symphony No. IX with Gustavo Dudamel in Barcelona and Madrid, the outstanding and complex masterpeace NOT I by Heinz Holliger at the Luzern Festival, Maima in a new production of Jacques Offenbach´s BARKOUF at the Oper Köln and Dronning Lovisa in the new production (world premiere) of Karsten Fundal´s opera INKOGNITO ROYAL at the Den Jyske Opera in Aarhus.

Susanne Elmark has worked with conductors such as Gary Bertini, Michael Boder, Sir Colin Davis, Gustavo Dudamel, Adam Fischer, Eliahu Inbal, Marek Janowski, Philippe Jordan, Paul McCreesh, Kent Nagano, Kazushi Ono, Carlo Rizzi, Michael Schønwandt, Peter Schreier, Christian Thielemann and Marcello Viotti, and she has made several CD recordings, for example as Celia in Mozart’s opera Lucio Silla. In October 2016 her first solo album was released on Naxos, Arias: Ch’il bel Sogno with South Denmark Philharmonic and conductor Robert Reimer with opera arias by Verdi, Puccini and Mozart.

Over the last years Susanne Elmark has started giving masterclasses and opera coaching, including several masterclasses at the Bolshoi Opera in Moscow, in Berlin and in San Sebastián. In October 2016 a book about her 25 years on stage, her way to an international carreer and a life in a suitcase “Det var med vilje” (“It was at will”) was published in Denmark. 2010 Susanne Elmark received the honourable Elisabeth Don’s Memorial Fund from The Royal Danish Opera.

October 2016 saw the publication in Denmark of her book about her 25 years on the stage, her path to an international career and living out of a suitcase: Det var med vilje (“It was what I wanted”). At the same time, Naxos brought out her first solo album, Arias: Ch’il bel Sogno with opera arias by Verdi, Puccini and Mozart. She is accompanied by the South Denmark Philharmonic under the direction of Robert Reimer.

2022-08-30

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