Berit Norbakken is one of Scandinavia’s leading sopranos. Her versatility and flexibility of voice have allowed her to master a repertoire ranging from Baroque to contemporary, including folk music. She regularly appears in performances of oratorios, passions, and masses, and continues her work with leading ensembles, orchestras and conductors in major concert halls all over the world.

Her many recordings have garnered high critical acclaim both in Norway and abroad. In particular her recording of Arriaga’s vocal music, together with the BBC Philharmonic under the leading of Juanjo Mena, has received glowing reviews internationally.

Norbakken appeared at the Sydney Opera House, Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall, at the Cincinnati May Festival as well as in several programs touring throughout Europe.

As a research fellow through The Norwegian Artistic Research Program, she has worked closely with the Swedish composer Karin Rehnqvist.

Other parts include Marzelline (Beethoven/Fidelio), Rosina (Rossini/Il Barbiere de Sevilla) Balkis (Haydn/L’Incontro Improvviso), Aci (Händel/Aci, Galatea e Polifemo), Adonis (Scarlatti/Il Giardino di Amore), Abel (Scarlatti/ Il Primo Omicidio), first soprano in Mozart/Great Mass in C Minor, Mozart/Exsultate, jubilate, Haydn/Schöpfung, Haydn/Jahreszeiten and Mendelssohn/Elias.

Upcoming engagements includes Bach/John Passion, Bach/Matthew Passion, Britten/Les Illuminations, Ligeti/Mysteries of the Macabre, Rehnqvist/And also thorns, Rehnqvist/Timpanum Songs - Herding Calls, Grieg/Haugtussa, Mendelssohn/Elias and Haydn/The Creation. 

‘Carrying all of this emotional weight was soprano Berit Norbakken Solset, whose rendition of each song was astonishingly gorgeous, making them deeply moving. Nowhere more so than in the third of the songs, ‘Perfume of the instant’, its enraptured, intimate sensuality practically inducing the sensation of wafts of fragrance in the concert hall. Throughout the work, Solset made the music marvellously tactile, her voice seemingly communicating to each one of us in the audience personally. i can honestly say that if this was the last performance i ever heard, i would have died perfectly happily. Amazing.’

5against4/review of Opening Concert Nordic Music Days 2019, Kaija Saariaho: Quatre Instants, Arctic Philharmonic Sinfonietta/Tim Weiss.

‘...Two vocal works are included: the cantata “Herminie” and “Air de l’Opéra Médée” The 15-minute cantata is, quite simply, a masterwork of vocal writing. It hints at what the operatic world lost with Arriaga’s early death.

Soprano Berit Norbakken Solset sings with a clear, pure tone that continually delights. Her delivery reinforces the stylistic similarities between Arriaga and Mozart...’charlottesvilleclassical.org/Chandos release of Arriaga/BBC Philharmonic/Juanjo Mena, 2018