Operakafe Carpe Diem

About the Concert

The program explores the tension between seizing the moment and being caught in the web of the past. It will feature excerpts from two of Norway's most important song cycles: Grieg's "Haugtussa" and Irgens-Jensen's "Japanischer Frühling." The concert will also present diverse characters from the opera repertoire, including the freedom-seeking Carmen, the mysterious Mélisande, the doubting Charlotte, and the devout Adalgisa. Interspersed with these will be piano works by Grieg and Liszt.

Bio

Eira Huse is a mezzo-soprano who has performed as a soloist at prestigious venues such as The Verbier Festival, Festival d'Aix-en-Provence, Opéra de Lyon, Royal Opera House Muscat, Oslo Chamber Music Festival, and Oslo Church Music Festival. In 2022, she performed the title role of Carmen with Opera Rogaland. She has received several scholarships, including the Lilly Scholarship and the State 2-year Working Grant for Young Artists, and won 1st prize at the Nina SOLO Competition.

Jan Gunnar Sørbø (1982) gave his first solo recital at 14 and has performed in various contexts since. He participated in numerous piano competitions from a young age, winning the Youth Piano Championship at 17 and taking part in NRK Talentiaden two years earlier. He studied piano primarily with professors Erling Eriksen, Einar Steen-Nøkleberg, Jens Harald Bratlie, Christina Bjørkøe, and Michael Endres. In 2018, he completed his soloist education at the Southern Denmark University (Odense, DK) with an official debut concert.

In his PhD degree from the Norwegian Academy of Music (2017), he worked on the interpretation of solo works by Beethoven and Chopin, based on Hans von Bülow's instructive editions. Sørbø's interpretations are noted for their profound performances both technically and intellectually. In addition to active performing, he has also taught at the Norwegian Academy of Music. In 2019, he worked as a district musician in Suldal and toured with the Stavanger Piano Quartet. In 2021, he made his international soloist debut with Grieg's A minor concerto in Slovakia, conducted by Theodore Kuchar, leading to further engagements with European orchestras.

Together with soprano Eir Inderhaug, he has created the performance "Operagalskap," which is performed around Norway. He has also collaborated with various other prominent string players and singers and regularly participates in opera cafes in Sandnes.