Marianne Beate Kielland

Marianne Beate Kielland

Mezzo-soprano

Marianne Beate Kielland is managed worldwide by Rozemarijn Tiben. 

Contact:
E: rozemarijn.tiben@interartists.nl
T: +31 6 34 272 282

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Renowned for her charisma and musical integrity, Grammy-nominated mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland is celebrated as one of Europe’s foremost concert artists. Described by Gramophone as "imaginative in her treatment of words, with a voice pure in quality, wide in range, and unfalteringly true in intonation," she has built an extraordinary career spanning over 25 years. From Baroque to contemporary works, Kielland’s performances on the world’s premier concert stages and opera houses consistently showcase her artistic depth and vocal brilliance.

In the 2024/25 season, Marianne Beate Kielland embarks on a tour with Bach Collegium Japan and Masato Suzuki, performing Bach’s b-minor Mass in Tokyo and Saitama, followed by a tour of Mozart’s Requiem across France, Spain, the Netherlands, and Germany. She also reunites with Jordi Savall and Concert des Nations to perform and record Mozart’s c-minor Mass and Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri. Returning to the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, she will be the soloist in Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 under Jukka-Pekka Saraste. Additionally, Kielland will perform Bach’s Johannes-Passion with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, both under Daniel Reuss, and Matthäus-Passion in Tokyo and Saitama with Bach Collegium Japan, led by Masaaki Suzuki.

Highlights of her 2023/24 season included performing the role of Cornelia in Händel’s Giulio Cesare on tour in Japan with Bach Collegium Japan and the role of Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg. In concert, she appeared in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony with the Rotterdam and Münchner Philharmonic Orchestras, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra, St John’s Passion with the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, and Alma Mahler songs with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra. She also performed Frank Martin’s Golgotha with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic. Other notable performances included Händel’s Giulio Cesare at Tokyo’s New National Theatre, Monteverdi’s L'Orfeo at Opéra Comique Paris, and Fux’s Corona d’Arianna for the Graz festival.

Recent concert highlights have seen Kielland perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with Bach Collegium Japan and Masato Suzuki, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra and Ottavio Dantone, Mozart’s c-minor Mass in Salzburg with Jordi Savall, and several performances with the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest, the Gulbenkian Orchestra, and the NDR Orchester Hannover, conducted by Andrew Manze. She has also performed Caldara’s Maddalena ai piedi di Cristo with the Freiburger Barockorchester and René Jacobs, and Mozart’s Requiem with Jordi Savall. Additional projects include performances of Haydn’s Stabat Mater at the Salzburger Festspiele, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, and Schumann’s Frauenliebe und Leben with Anima Eterna. Kielland also appeared at the Haydneum inauguration festival in Budapest under Vashegyi György and at the Handel Festival in Moscow.

Her collaborations with major orchestras and ensembles are extensive, including the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, and Wiener Symphoniker. She has performed with esteemed period ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concerto Köln, Gli Angeli Genève, Les Talens Lyriques, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra, working under renowned conductors including Fabio Biondi, Herbert Blomstedt, Philippe Herreweghe, Manfred Honeck, Marc Minkowski, and Jordi Savall.

Known for her commanding presence in Baroque opera roles, Kielland has portrayed Dido in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Merope in Vivaldi’s Oracolo in Messenia (touring with Europa Galante), Messaggiera and Proserpina in Monteverdi’s Orfeo, Fernando in Ariosti’s La Fede nei tradimenti, and Apollo in Handel’s Terpsichore. She has also taken on roles in Caldara’s Il piu bel nome and Monteverdi's Il Combattimento di Tancredi e Clorinda, among others.

With more than 60 recordings to her name, Kielland’s discography covers a wide range of repertoire, including works by Bach, Händel, Vivaldi, Caldara, Beethoven, Schumann, Mahler, and Schönberg. She frequently collaborates with pianist Nils Anders Mortensen, performing recitals at venues such as the Philharmonie in Cologne and Musée d’Orsay, and giving concerts in Norway, Estonia, Russia, and Finland. She has also partnered with renowned pianists like Leif Ove Andsnes, Pascal Rogé, and Lise de la Salle.

In addition to her flourishing freelance career, Marianne Beate Kielland is the artistic leader of the Oslo Chamber Music Festival and a part-time associate professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music.

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Highlights 2023/24

October:
Cornelia in Händel’s Giulio Cesare on tour in Japan with Bach Collegium Japan led by Masato Suziki in Nishinomiya and in Tokyo.

November:
Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra led by Han-Na Chang.

December:
Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra led by Andrew Manze.

Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Gulbenkian Choir and Orchestra led by Michel Corboz.

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 with the Münchner Philharmoniker led by Pablo Heras-Casado.

January-February:
Annio in Mozart’s La Clemenza di Tito at the Mozartwoche in Salzburg with Les Concert des Nations led by Jordi Savall.
Songs by Alma Mahler with Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra.

March:
Frank Martin’s Golgotha with the Dutch Radio Philharmonic and the Groot Omroepkoor led by Stephan Zilias in TivoliVredenburg, Utrecht.

April:
J.S. Bach’s St John’s Passion with Stavanger Symphony Orchestra.

May:
J.S. Bach B-minor Mass at the Barocktage Melk with Concentus Musicus Wien.

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Reviews

“The Norwegian mezzo-soprano Marianne Beate Kielland embodies these multiple emotions with her warm timbre, which boasts brilliant high notes, moving from Grieg to Schumann, from bitter passion to a calmer love. Her diction is precise, both in her mother tongue at the beginning of the concert and in German afterwards, lending herself as an actress to Strauss’ storytelling and mischievous humour. She fully adapts to the form of the recital and to the hall, which implies a more measured emission than in opera, more in proximity with the public. Nils Anders Mortensen’s accompaniment is very delicate, the notes seeming to flow of their own accord, especially in Grieg, but he also knows how to be more percussive when the piece demands it, in Strauss.

The concert closes with Isolde’s Liebestod, a song of love and death that is the logical culmination of the theme developed throughout the evening. Of course, a Liebestod resonates differently in a recital than when it completes a performance of the Wagnerian work from which it comes, accompanied by a vibrant orchestra. Here, the emotion is more intimate, which does not detract from its impact on the audience, which is perceptibly touched long after the last note has sounded. The audience gives the artists a warm applause.”

— Olyrix

“Marianne Beate Kielland was the surprise of the evening. Kielland showed us an absolutely equal record in both the highs and the low ones. Her easy capacity for the legato left us precious phrases without prejudice to a great capacity for drama and power in the most forte passages. In addition her cadences were a delight.”

— Ritmo.es: Nebra with Al Ayre Espanol

“As a matter of fact Marianne Beate Kielland is just as marvelous as I had hoped for. And question is whether she has ever sung as lovingly beautiful as here. Now in her mid-forties her tone has adopted a youthful silvery sheen that is wholly enticing.”

— Music web international: Schumann Lieder

“But the real power of these songs come from the vocal writing, and here Marianne Beate Kielland was truly golden in her interpretation. In possession of a rich, piercing Mezzo sound and excellent German diction Ms. Kielland made these old world songs feel fresh and immediate. She sang without the use of a score, as if the words and feelings were springing from her naturally. In her high notes, her voice throbbed with emotion. It was only 16-minutes long, but it made the whole concert worthwhile. “Songs of a Wayfarer” is one of the highlights of the NJSO season so far.”

— NJ.com: Mahler songs with New Jersey Symphony

“The incredible voice of Marianne Beate Kielland has left its mark on the 2019 Salzburger Festspiele | Salzburg Festival: “A particularly lucky choice had been made with Marianne Beate Kielland (Soprano II). She presented her Laudamus te in highly characteristic fashion, clearly articulated, also quick at hand with lyric elements. A singer with such charisma was almost a challenge for her colleagues. The three of them gave a well-balanced ensemble.”

— DrehPunktKultur.at