Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen, “opera’s newest star” (The Economist) has taken the classical music world by storm since winning the much coveted Operalia competition in 2015. Her resounding debuts in all the most prestigious international venues have garnered overwhelming critical attention: “It’s been a long time since a singer has generated as much buzz,” wrote Gramophone in 2019 in the review of her debut album for Decca, which debuted at number one in the UK Classical charts, while in 2023 The Telegraph hailed her “the greatest soprano in the world”. 

Davidsen opens her 24/25 season with a much anticipated stage debut as Puccini’s Tosca which she performs at the Staatsoper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper, Metropolitan Opera and the Wiener Staatsoper. Other highlights include her return to Royal Opera & Ballet as Sieglinde Die Walküre in Barrie Kosky’s new Ring Cycle under the baton of Sir Antonio Pappano, a role which she also performs in Bayreuth; Fidelio at the Metropolitan Opera; and a further double appearance at the Wiener Staatsoper as Sieglinde and Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier. On the concert platform Davidsen makes her debut as Isolde in a performance of the 2nd act of Tristan und Isolde with the Bayerische Rundfunk and Sir Simon Rattle; and as Senta The Flying Dutchman with the Norwegian National Opera Orchestra and Edward Gardner. Other appearances include a concert with Matthias Goerne at Gran Teatre del Liceu; Sieglinde in a performance of the 1st act of Die Walküre at the Tiroler Festspiele Erl together with Jonas Kaufmann; her return to the Verbier Festival as Santuzza Cavalleria rusticana; and recital appearances at the BroadStage Theatre in Los Angeles and at the Gstaad Festival. 

Last season’s highlights included her star performance at the Last Night of the Proms; a sold out solo recital on the stage of Metropolitan Opera; her triumphant company and role debut as Salome at the Opéra national de Paris; the much coveted Summer Night Concert in Vienna together with the Wiener Philharmoniker and Andris Nelsons in front of an audience of over 100,000 people; a new production of La forza del Destino at the Metropolitan Opera; a double appearance at the Bayerische Staatsoper as Giorgetta Il Tabarro and Lisa Queen of Spades; and her Carnegie Hall debut with Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Audiences around the world saw her in recital in Santa Monica at Broad Stage Theatre; the Wiener Staatsoper; Teatro de Zarzuela in Madrid; Wigmore Hall in London; Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia; Gran Teatre del Liceu; and the Salzburg Easter Festival. 

One of the most in demand stars today, Davidsen regularly appears on the most renowned stages such as the Metropolitan Opera (Marschallin Der Rosenkavalier, Eva Die Meistersingers von Nürnberg, the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos, Chrysothemis Elektra and Lisa Queen of Spades); Royal Ballet & Opera, London (Elisabetta Don Carlo, Elisabeth Tannhäuser and Leonore Fidelio); Wiener Staatsoper (Sieglinde Die Walküre, Ellen Orford Peter Grimes, Ariadne auf Naxos); Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona (Giorgetta Il Tabarro); Lyric Opera of Chicago (Jenůfa); Bayerische Staatsoper (Elisabeth Tannhäuser); Deutsche Oper Berlin; Staatsoper Berlin (Elisabeth Tannhäuser); Bayreuth Festival (Elisabeth Tannhäuser and Sieglinde in the new Ring Cycle); Glyndebourne Festival (Ariadne auf Naxos); Festival d’Aix-en-Provence (Ariadne auf Naxos) and Teatro alla Scala Milan, where she reopened the theatre after the Covid closure with a solo concert under the baton of Maestro Riccardo Chailly. 

A multifaceted artist, she regularly performs with orchestras such as Orchestre de Paris, Wiener Philharmoniker, Oslo Philharmonic, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Philharmonia; Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra; Berliner Philharmoniker and Berliner Staatskapelle to just name a few and is a dedicated recitalist. She has held artistic residencies at the Barbican in London, Bergen International Festival and with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra. 

An exclusive Decca artist, her discography includes two solo orchestral recitals (Lise Davidsen and Beethoven-Wagner-Verdi); ‘Christmas From Norway’ which she toured across Norway in December 2023; a recording of Grieg songs together with fellow Norwegian Leif Ove Andsnes and the Grammy nominated Concert for Ukraine together with Metropolitan Opera. She has also recorded Der Freischütz and Fidelio, both released on Pentatone and Sibelius Luonnotar on Chandos. 

Davidsen has graced the covers of numerous publications and her many prizes and awards include the 2022 Opera News Awards, 2021 Female Singer of the Year by the International Opera Awards; 2020 Anders Jahres Art and Culture Prize, 2018 Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Award, Statoil Talent Bursary Award, Léonie Sonning Music Prize and the 2015 Kirstin Flagstad Award. In August 2020 she was one of the first stars featured by the Metropolitan Opera as part of their celebrated series: Met Stars Live in Concert. In 2021 the Norwegian Opera Company released a feature film Lise set to music by Richard Strauss. 

A 2014 graduate of the Opera Academy in Copenhagen, she has studied under Susanna Eken, previously gaining a degree from the Grieg Academy of Music in Bergen. In 2015, Davidsen was crowned winner of both the Operalia and the Queen Sonja competitions. Her breakthrough performances won her the First Prize, the Birgit Nilsson Award and the Audience Prize at the Operalia competition in London as well as the prize for the best performance of Norwegian music and the Ingrid Bjoner Scholarship at the Queen Sonja International Music Competition. She is also a triple winner at the 2015 Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition in Amsterdam.

A phenomenal voice and talent in the tradition of the great Italian tenor voices, Freddie De Tommaso has captured wide spread acclaim with headline grabbing debuts and chart-topping album releases. The British-Italian tenor shot to fame in December 2021 when he jumped in as Cavaradossi in the Royal Ballet & Opera’s production of Tosca, thus becoming at the age of 28 the youngest ever tenor to perform the role on the iconic stage and the first Brit since 1963. De Tommaso, who was due to perform the role at a later date, took to the stage after the first interval when the tenor originally scheduled became unwell during the first of the three acts, prompting the press to unanimously declare that a new star was born.
An exclusive artist with Decca Classics and the first tenor to be signed to the label since 2007, his debut album Passione debuted at number 1 in the classical charts and won the BBC Music Magazine Award for Best Newcomer. In June 2022 his second album Il Tenore shot again straight to number 1 in the charts upon its release, whilst his rendition of Nessun Dorma, featured on the album, reached over one million streams. The 2024/25 season kicks off with a tour of Tosca together with soprano, Lise Davidsen. They perform together at the Staatsoper unter den Linden, Bayerische Staatsoper, the Metropolitan Opera, which is also his eagerly anticipated company debut, and the Wiener Staatsoper.

Another major highlight is the role of Pollione in Bellini’s Norma which he performs in new productions at Teatro alla Scala Milan, Theater an der Wien and at the Wiener Staatsoper. De Tommaso can also be heard as Rodolfo La bohème in Hamburg; Don Jose Carmen at the Royal Ballet & Opera and Wiener Staatsoper; and Cavaradossi in Bonn. On the concert platform, his appearances include his Paris debut with a solo recital together with pianist Jonathan Papp; a concert together with Angela Gheorghiu at the Broadstage Theatre in California; a Gala concert for the Solti Academy at the Hungarian State Opera; and a concert with Lise Davidsen and James Baillieu at the Gstaad Festival.

Last season included several exciting appearances and debuts starting with a triple appearance at Gran Teatre del Liceu as Riccardo Un ballo in Maschera, Maurizio Adriana Lecouvreur and in recital with Lise Davidsen; a concert and recording with Orchestra di Teatro alla Scala and Riccardo Chailly of Inno delle Nazioni and his role debuts as Pollione Norma in Naples and as Adorno Simon Boccanegra at the Wiener Staatsoper. Other engagements included Rodolfo La bohème in Berlin and Vienna and Pinkerton Madama Butterfly in Munich. In concert and recital he sang Verdi Requiem at Teatro Regio di Parma; performed in concert with Teatro di San Carlo Naples; with the Mannheim Philharmonic alongside Sonya Yoncheva; with Lise Davidsen at the Salzburg Easter Festival as well as solo recitals in the Czech Republic, Munich and Sofia.

Recent highlights include Rodolfo La bohème and Cavaradossi at the Royal Ballet & Opera; Rodolfo La bohème at Teatro alla Scala; Cavaradossi at Santa Fe Opera for his US debut; Don José Carmen, Alfredo La traviata and Cavaradossi at Arena di Verona; Macduff Macbeth Wiener Staatsoper; Alfredo La traviata at Staatsoper Berlin and Bayerische Staatsoper; and at the Dutch National Opera with a staged production of Verdi Requiem. Concert appearances have included an open air concert Opera for All in Munich alongside Sonya Yoncheva; the New Year’s Eve Concert at Teatro La Fenice in Venice; Tosca and Verdi Requiem at the Bergen International Festival and with the Orchestre National de Lyon; recitals at the Festival Castell Peralada; the opening concert of the Kissinger Sommer Festival and Verdi Requiem Verbier Festival.

Other recent highlights include his company and role debut at Teatro alla Scala as Maurizio in David McVicar’s production of Adriana Lecouvreur; Don Jose Carmen, Pinkerton Madama Butterfly, Macduff Macbeth, Ismaele Nabucco and The Italian Tenor Der Rosenkavalier, all at the Wiener Staatsoper; Tosca the Bolshoi Theatre and Royal Ballet & Opera; Madama Butterfly at Semperoper Dresden and Royal Ballet & Opera; Alfredo La Traviata at Staatsoper Berlin and Bayerische Staatsoper; Macduff Macbeth at Bayerische Staaysoper; Carmen, Tosca and La Traviata at Arena di Verona; and Riccardo Un ballo in maschera at the Verbier Festival.

After graduating from the Royal Academy of Music and subsequently the Opera Studio of Bayerische Staatsoper in 2019, De Tommaso burst onto the operatic scene as Cassio in Otello at the Royal Ballet & Opera and Ismaele in Nabucco with the Dutch National Opera. He then opened the 2020-21 season of the Wiener Staatsoper as Pinkerton with a new production of Madama Butterfly, aged 27.