Torhild Staahlen

Torhild Staahlen (born 25 September 1947 in Skien Norway) is a Norwegian operatic mezzo-soprano who was employed at Norwegian National Opera from 1967 to 1969 and from 1971 to 2000. She had her solo debut as Suzuki in Madam Butterfly with The Norwegian National Opera in Oslo in 1971.

She studied at Oslo Conservatory of Music and graduated from the Norwegian College of Opera in Oslo in 1971. She has studied with the famous opera singers Astrid Varnay, Ingrid Bjoner and Aase Nordmo Løvberg.

She has sung more than sixty roles, including the title role in Carmen in three productions, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, Azucena in Il trovatore, Amneris in Aida and Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera.

She has sung in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Scotland, England and the USA and performed many oratorios and concerts, and sung on Radio and TV. Her repertoire of more than twenty works includes Bach's Mass in B Minor, Händel’s Messiah, Brahms’ Alto Rhapsody, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony and Elgar’s Sea Pictures.

Torhild Staahlen has established her own scholarship for singers, musicians and composers. It was awarded for the first time on 17 May 1997. She was married to the Scottish musician Neil David Percival Dodd (19 August 1939 – 2 June 2005), who was first répétiteur and conductor on The Norwegian National Opera.

She has now moved back to Skien.

References and external links

• International Who's Who in Classical Music, pp 746, David M. Cummings, Europa Publications, 2003, ISBN 1-85743-174-X
• Cappelens Musikkleksikon, Vol. 6, pp 213, J.W Cappelens Forlag as, 1980, ISBN 82-02-03689-5 (A Norwegian Music Dictionary)
• Maud Hurum's Opera Survey (In Norwegian)
• Aase Nordmo Løvberg on Norwegian Wikipedia.