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Biography
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| Icelandic
bass, Magnus Baldvinsson studied voice at the Reykjavik School of Singing,
and then earned his Master of Music degree from Indiana University. In
1992, he was selected to become an Adler Fellow with the San Francisco
Opera, where he was also awarded the Florence Bruce Award. In Germany
since 1994, he is now an ensemble member of the Frankfurt Opera, where he
has appeared in Luisa Miller (Walter), Rigoletto (Sparfucile), Der
Fliegende Holländer (Dalland), Il Trovatore (Ferrando), Don Giovanni (Commendatore),
Barber of Seville (Basilio), and Eugene Onegin (Gremin), a role he also
performed for the Flemish National Opera in Brussels. He was most recently
praised by both the public and critics for his performance as the high
priest, Zacharias, in Frankfurt´s premiere production of Nabucco. Among
Mr. Baldvinsson´s other engagements are La Forza del Destino (Guardiano)
at the Icelandic National Theater, Il Vespri Siciliani (Procida) with the
Darmstadt Opera, Wozzeck (Doctor) in Bonn, and Aida (Ramphis) at the
International Opera Festival in Savonlinna, Finland.
In addition to his opera engagements, Magnus is
frequently seen on the concert stage and has aquired an extensive concert
repertoire. This season, he will perform his debut in the role of Sarastro
in the Magic Flute, as well as encore performances of Rigoletto and
Nabucco, and will sing Veit Pogner in Wagner´s Die Meistersinger von
Nurnberg, in Frankfurt. In April 2002, he will make his debut with the
Washington Opera in its production of Salome.
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Future engagements
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Rigoletto
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Sparafucile
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Norwegian Opera
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Salome
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First Nazarene
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Washington Opera (4/02)
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Die Meistersinger
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Pogner
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Frankfurt Opera
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Repertoire
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Magic Flute
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Sarastro
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Frankfurt Opera
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Rigoletto
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Sparafucile
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Frankfurt Opera
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Eugene Onegin
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Gremin
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Flemish National Opera
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Nabucco
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Zacharias
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Frankfurt Opear
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Aida
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Ramphis
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Savonlinna Opera Festival
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I Vespri Sicilliano
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Procida
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Darmstadt Opera
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Il Trovatore
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Ferrando
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Frankfurt Opera
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Wozzeck
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Doctor
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Bonn Opera
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Eugene Onegin
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Gremin
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Frankfurt Opera
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Barber of Seville
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Don Basilio
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Frankfurt Opera
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Barber of Seville
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Don Basilio
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Chautauqua Opera
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Don Giovanni
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Commendatore
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Frankfurt Opera
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Nabucco
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Zacharias
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Saarbrucken Opera
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Der Fliegende Hollander
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Dalland
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Frankfurt Opera
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Luisa Miller
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Waiter
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Frankfurt Opera
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Nabucco
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Zacharias
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Heidenheim Opera Festival
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Otello
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Lodovico
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Heidenheim Opera Festival
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The Lighthouse
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3. Officer/Arthur
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Krefeld/Mönchengladbach
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Elektra
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Orestes
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Krefeld/Mönchengladbach
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Der Bettelstudent
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Ollendorf
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Detmold Opera
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Bluebeard's Castle
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Bluebeard
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Detmold Opera
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The Bartered Bride
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Kezal
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Detmold Opera
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La Forza del Destino
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Guardiano
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Icelandic National Theater
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Die Meistersinger
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Hans Foltz
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San Francisco Opera
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I Vespri Siciliani
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Vaudemont
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San Francisco Opera
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Ariodante
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King
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San Francisco Opera
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Salome
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Second Soldier
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San Francisco Opera
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Concerts
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Joshua (Handel)
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Icelandic Chamber Orchestra
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Dvorak (Requiem)
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Wurttemberg Philharmonic
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The Seasons (Haydn)
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Bad Honnef Concert Series
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Verdi Requiem
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Cologne Philharmonic Orchestra
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Beethoven's Ninth Symphony
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Heidenheim Summer Festival
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Verdi Requiem
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Symphony of the Niederrhein
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Stabat Mater (Rossini)
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Symphony of the Niederrhein
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Verdi Requiem
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Bad Hersfeld Festival Concerts
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Litanei, Kv. 243 (Mozart)
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Mozart Requiem
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Christmas Oratorio (Bach)
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Seven Last Words of Christ (Haydn)
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Mass in B Minor (Bach)
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Christmas Oratorio (Saint-Saens)
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Icelandic Symphony Orchestra
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Petite Messe Solenelle (Rossini)
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San Francisco Opera Orchestra
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Education
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Master of Music, 1989, Indiana University,
Bloomington, IN, USA
Bachelor of Music, 1987, Reykjavik School of Singing, Iceland
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Awards
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Adler Fellowship, 1992, 1993, San
Francisco Opera
Florence Bruce Award, 1991, San Francisco Opera
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Reviews
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Nabucco--Frankfurt Opera
"Magnus Baldvinsson could be
called the ideal casting for Zaccarias.
He possesses not only a striking bass voice for the deep tones, he
handles the top without problems, and he also has a flexible and supple
timbre."
Opernglas, L.E. Gerth (Frankfurt, Germany) June 2001
Magic Flute—Frankfurt Opera
"Magnus Baldvinssons
comfortable bass in the role of Sarastro was not to be overlooked.
His voice gave the parade aria “in diesen heilgen Hallen”
really something Sacred and Solemn. "
Frankfurter Neue Presse, Mattias Gerhard (Frankfurt, Germany) October 8,
2001
I Vespri Siciliani—Darmstadt Opera
"Magnus Baldvinsson sang the
role of the conspirator Procida, with fine phrasing, full of expression
and precisely placed tones. The
voice flowed and functioned clearly more elegantly than his colleague in
the previous performance. Baldvinsson
overcame, without technical difficulty, the high tessitura, with his round
and secure vocal material."
Maintal Tagesanzeiger, L.E. Gerth (Frankfurt, Germany) October 3, 2001
The Bartered Bride--San Francisco
Opera Center
"The pot was kept boiling by
the marriage broker, Kecal, strikingly sung and performed by Magnus
Baldvinsson. Kecal´s gift of gab was tellingly set forth in one
chattering aria after another, some of them with incredibly wide
skips, which Baldvinsson negotiated fetchingly."
San Francisco Chronicle, Marilyn Tucker (San Francisco, CA) July 1991
Nabucco--Heidenheim Opera Festival
"Magnus Baldvinsson was
sensational as Zaccharias"
Opern Welt, Renate Freyeisen (Berlin, Germany) August 1997
"Magnus Baldvinsson´s bass
stood out with majestic strength. The prayer aria in the second act
was splendid."
Heidenheimer Neue Presse, Bettina Schröm (Heidenheim,Germany) July, 1997
Verdi´s Requiem-- Niederrheinische
Symphony Orchestra
"Magnus Baldvinsson was like a
cliff in the surf with his profound bass, in all registers even and
beautiful."
Rheinische Post, OEH (Düsseldorf, Germany) April 1998
"
Magnus Baldvinsson offered an
impressive, exemplary performance that elicited grateful applause
from the front rows to the gallery."
WestDeutche Zeitung, Dita von Szadkowski (Krefeld, Germany) April 1998
Lusia Miller--Frankfurt Opera
"Magnus Baldvinsson gives a
dark and sinister Count Walter."
Frankfurter Neue Presse, Andreas Bomba (Frankfurt, Germany) May 1999
"Magnus Baldvinsson gives the evil
father, Count Walter, a pertinent, dark, bass timbre."
Frankfurter Allgemiene, Julia Spinola, ( Frankfurt, Germany) May 1999
Beethoven´s 9th Symphony--Heidenheim
Opera Festival
"Magnus Baldvinsson impressed
with a great voice, excellent diction, and an outstanding dramatic
interpretation."
Heidenheimer Zeitung, Thomas Hampus (Heidenheim, Germany) July 1998
Nabucco--Saarbrücken Opera
"Magnus Baldvinsson`s
Zaccharias was extremely nobel and intelligent."
Mannheimer Morgan, Susanne Kaulich (Mannheim, Germany) September, 1999
"Solid alone, was the sonorous
Zaccarias from Magnus Baldvinsson."
Die Welt, Axel Bruggeman (Berlin, Germany) September, 1999
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