Jenny Carlstedt, mezzo soprano

The Swedish-Finnish born singer Jenny Carlstedt received her first degree in singing at Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and continued her studies with Rudolf Piernay at London’s Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She is currently taking lessons with Irina Gavrilovici. She partook in numerous master classes, was a finalist at the highly reputated Timo Mustakallio Competetion in Savonlinna, won the second prize at the Lappeenranta Singing Competition and won the Susan Longfield Competition (GSMD) and the Harold Rosenthal Prize.

At the beginning of her career Jenny Carlstedt focussed on the oratorios of Bach, Händel and Mozart and has been working with Finland’s most renowned orchestra and choirs. Furthermore, she performed in numerous international concert productions, amongst others in a recital at Wigmore Hall in London, in performances of several oratorios and cantatas in Germany and Italy with Helmut Rilling, in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with Roy Goodman and then in the first-ever scenic version of Bach’s Johann Passion under Peter Schreier in Finland, in opera galas, Mahler’s Songs of a Wayfarer and Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony with Jukka-Pekka Saraste, in Sibelius’ Kullervo with Okki Kamu and Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder with Yasuo Shinozaki.

She gave her debut at Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in the role of Dorabella. The same house presented her 2002 in a world premiere of Lars Karlsson’s opera Rödhamn, in which she sang the main part of Greta, especially written for her.

Since the 2002/03 season, Jenny Carlstedt is a constant member of Oper Frankfurt, where she has become a Mozart specialist with roles as Cherubino (Marriage of Figaro), Annio (Clemenza di Tito), Giacinta (Finta Semplice) and recently as Dorabella in a well-received Christoph Loy production of Cosi fan tutte. Other important roles in Frankfurt were Siebel (Faust), Rosina (Barber of Seville), Angelina (La Cenerentola), Varvara (Katja Kabanova) and Hänsel (Hänsel und Gretel) with conductors such as Carlo Franci, Paolo Carignani, Maurizio Barbacini, Julia Jones, Karen Kamensek and Lothar Zagrosek. 

Guest engagements saw her travel to Theater an der Wien as Annio in Clemenza di Tito and to Glyndebourne as Dorabella in Cosi fan tutte.

On CD she is available in a recording of the contemporary opera Katrina with the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Petri Sakari as well as on Scandinavian Songs, accompanied by Gusta Djupsjöacka (Naxos). She also was a soloist in Bach’s Christmas Oratorio and the St Matthew Passion on Finnish television.

Her future concert projects include a recital in Tokyo, Mahler’s Song of the Earth (Schönberg version) in Helsinki and Tibbet’s A Child of our time with Steven Ashbury, St. Matthew’s Passion under the baton of Peter Schreier and Mendelssohn’s Paulus in Helsinki. Her fixed contract at Opera Frankfurt has just been renewed, new roles including Sextus in Clemenza di Tito, Kate in Owen Wingrave, Wellgunde in Rheingold, Smeton in Anna Bolena and Gabrielle in La Rondine . In the season of 2009/10 Jenny Carlstedt was i.a. guest at Royal Opera Kopenhagen making her debut as Olga/Eugen Onegin. In Frankfurt, the current season 2010/11 will see her as Sesto, Cherubino, Nicklausse/Hoffmann and others.

- kr 11/10 -