Stjernekamp 2023 - Opera, September 23 - Reviews and recommendations

Tonight we’ll hear eight opera buffs stumble and sway their way toward a usable score.

After technically powerful singer Melis was forced to give up last Saturday, Marie Bella and Odd René Andersen are probably the ones he can trust the most tonight.

Mia Gundersen has extensive experience in many different vocal genres, and can certainly be a stranger to the best performances, but tonight is primarily about breathing technique, power and, not least, communication.

Evening concerts in order:

The curious Rene Andersen: “La donna è mobile”

From “Rigoletto” By Giuseppe Verdi (1851)

Odd René has made a smart choice here – La Donna É Mobile is known to the vast majority of people, and this makes it easier for him to show viewers and judges that he achieves what he needs to achieve.

As usual, there’s nothing to complain about Odd René’s grasp of tone, but of course you can hear the soul rock singer in the upper parts. Empathy and storytelling, on the other hand, are average.

After all, opera often has to be as theatrical as possible, and here Odd René can go a little further. It’s very loose in its own genre, so there’s definitely something theatrical about it!

Of course, Odd René does it with flawless vocals, but it was never the big challenge either. One might just wish the roles were explained more explicitly.

Damly ringtone: “Les Tringles des Sisters Tintaient”

from “Carmen” By Georges Bizet (1875)

The tone definitely nailed the story here!

She excels as the seductive girl who threatens her life, and not only that, she also manages to handle the extremely difficult song, which is never anything but very demanding.

It’s no surprise, basically, that Tone is a very skilled singer.

I have to pretend to be amazed and impressed, although of course there are some rather comical parts where the breathing and strokes are a bit short. But my god, that wasn’t the worst, toon!

Elle Maija Klefstad Bær: “Duetto buffo di Due gatti” (duet two shots)

Based on “Otello” By Gioachino Rossini (1816)

Elle Maija, the meaty one, of course chose something meaty. “Duetto buffo di Due gatti” is inspired by Rossini’s “Otello”, and is a duet for two takes. Tonight is only one cat, and therefore one must master the art of imagining that one is two cats.

It is ridiculous that.

Elle Maija is the funniest, and perhaps also the bravest, participant in Stjernekamp, and that comes in handy when you have to experiment with a genre in which you’re completely out of touch.

He makes the audience laugh, and shows that his comedic timing is very good. This quickly deteriorates into a kind of opera parody, and thus goes down in Star Wars history as one of the funniest things we’ve ever seen.

Here, our best manages to kill two birds with one stone: she shows that she’s an excellent comedienne, and one of the smartest contestants ever.

If you can’t perform opera, pick up some meat. lovable!

Mia Gundersen: “Habanera”

From “Carmen” by Georges Bizet (1875)

Then it’s time for Mia! He chose my new favorite Habanera from Bizet’s opera Carmen, and was thus the second Carmen entrant of the evening.

Unlike Tone, Mia chooses to resort to English translation, but this takes nothing away from Carmen herself – a character Mia believes she can identify with. This tough character dresses a few participants better than Mia does, so she’s a good fit. Mia looks absolutely gorgeous in this outfit.

However, singing has nothing to do with opera, and Mia rarely captures the great power and powerful vibrato of this work. Is this reminiscent of a rock opera musical?

Whatever the genre – Mia Gundersen is also a fine acting talent, a talent that comes into its own here. Mia is definitely used to playing a stage role, so except for her vocals not quite matching the genre, it went really well!