Terje Stensvold

Following Terje Stensvold’s sensational debut as Wotan and Wanderer in “Der Ring des Nibelungen” at the Royal Opera Stockholm and the beginning of a new “Ring” at the Frankfurt Opera with “Das Rheingold”, he will continue his work in Frankfurt in the 2010/11 season with “Die Walküre” and, in autumn 2011, with “Siegfried”. At the Leipzig Opera he will appear as Wotan in concert performances of “Die Walküre” and he will also sing the entire “Ring des Nibelungen” at the Finnish National Opera Helsinki.

Terje Stensvold has been singing since his childhood, when he was a member of the renowned 'Sølvguttene' boys choir. He studied in Norway, London, Berlin and Budapest on a five-year Wallenberg Scholarship. His warm, expressive and powerful voice, combined with a strong stage presence and great musicality, are qualities which characterize his performances.

Since 1972 he has been a member of the Norwegian National Opera performing over seventy roles including Klingsor, Scarpia, Escamillo, Jochanaan and Jago - for which he was granted the 'Singer of the Year' award by the Norwegian Opera Society - as well as the title roles in “Yevgeny Onegin”, “Don Giovanni” and “Der fliegende Holländer”.

After marking his 25th anniversary at the Norwegian National Opera in the 1997/98 season Terje Stensvold suddenly embarked on an international career at the highest level starting with his UK debut as Scarpia for Scottish Opera and progressing with the title role in “Der fliegende Holländer” for the Frankfurt Opera, where he also sang Balstrode in “Peter Grimes”, Alfio and Tonio, Barak, Dr. Schön in “Lulu” and Don Pizarro. Other important engagements included Scarpia in Stuttgart, Holländer at the Bavarian State Opera Munich, Sprecher in “Die Zauberflöte” at Covent Garden and Don Pizarro in “Fidelio” under Riccardo Muti for La Scala di Milano.

Another highlight of Terje Stensvold's career has been the production of the entire “Ring des Nibelungen” at the Royal Opera Stockholm, where, under the baton of Gregor Bühl, he sang Wotan in “Das Rheingold” and “Die Walküre”, as well as Wanderer in “Siegfried”. His recent engagements have also included Don Pizarro at Covent Garden, Balstrode for Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Barak in Hamburg and Amsterdam, and Jochanaan at the Vienna State Opera.

A complete CD-recording of “Der fliegende Holländer” is available on the Harmonia Mundi Label.