Marianne Beate Kielland
Mezzo-soprano
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Marianne Beate Kielland is recognised as one of Europe’s leading concert singers. She is known for her calm intensity, a deep connection to language and line, and the clarity of her musical intentions. Dreh-Punkt-Kultur described her as “a singer with such a charisma [who] challenged her colleagues,” while Gramophone noted “a voice pure in quality, wide in range and unfalteringly true in intonation, imaginative in her treatment of words.” With more than 25 years of experience, she has developed a repertoire that spans from early Baroque to contemporary works, and performs regularly with major orchestras, ensembles, and festivals across Europe, Asia, and North America.
Highlights of the 2025/26 season include Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde with the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, Berg’s Sieben frühe Lieder with the Brandenburger Symphoniker, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Wiener Symphoniker, and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony with the Bergen Philharmonic. She returns to the Orchestra of the 18th Century for Bach’s St Matthew Passion, and to the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia for a programme of Bach and Vivaldi. In recital, she appears with Nils Anders Mortensen in Oslo, Utrecht and Trondheim, and tours with Oslo Circles in Germany and Switzerland with the programme Lamento.
In 2024/25, she rejoined Bach Collegium Japan and Masato Suzuki for performances of Bach’s Mass in B minor in Tokyo and Saitama, followed by a European tour of Mozart’s Requiem. She also worked again with Jordi Savall and Le Concert des Nations for concerts and recordings of Mozart’s c-minor Mass and Schumann’s Das Paradies und die Peri. Other engagements included Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 with the Oslo Philharmonic and Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 with the Calgary Philharmonic, and Bach’s Passions with the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra and the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra under Daniel Reuss.
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Recent seasons brought her to the stage as Cornelia in Händel’s Giulio Cesare on tour in Japan, Annio in Mozart’s La clemenza di Tito at the Salzburg Mozartwoche, Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo at Opéra Comique Paris, and Fux’s Corona d’Arianna at the Styriarte Festival in Graz. In concert, she appeared with the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Münchner Philharmoniker, Dutch Radio Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, in works ranging from Bach’s oratorios and Frank Martin’s Golgotha to songs by Alma Mahler.
Particularly associated with early repertoire, Kielland has sung Dido (Dido and Aeneas), Cornelia and Giulio Cesare (Giulio Cesare), Merope (Oracolo in Messenia), Fernando (La fede nei tradimenti), Proserpina and Messaggiera (L’Orfeo), and Ercole (Il più bel nome). She has also performed Wagner’s Fricka (Das Rheingold).
Her collaborations span a wide and rich network of orchestras and ensembles—from the Wiener Symphoniker, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Belgian National Orchestra to the Oslo Philharmonic, Bergen Philharmonic, Iceland Symphony Orchestra, and NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover. She is regularly invited by leading period-instrument ensembles including Bach Collegium Japan, Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Freiburger Barockorchester, Concerto Köln, Gli Angeli Genève, Les Talens Lyriques, and the Orchestra of the 18th Century.
She has worked with a broad spectrum of conductors, among them Herbert Blomstedt, Jordi Savall, Masaaki Suzuki, Philippe Herreweghe, Andrew Manze, Fabio Biondi, Ottavio Dantone, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Rune Bergmann, Marc Minkowski, Manfred Honeck, Thomas Søndergård, Vashegyi György, and Fabio Luisi.
Her discography includes over 70 recordings, with repertoire ranging from Bach, Händel and Vivaldi to Mahler, Chausson, Martin, Schönberg, and Sigurd Islandsmoen. The recording Veslemøy synsk by Olav Anton Thommessen earned her a Grammy nomination and remains a landmark in her work with Nordic contemporary music.
Kielland performs regularly in recital with Nils Anders Mortensen, with appearances at the Philharmonie in Cologne, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and in concert halls across Norway, Finland, Estonia, and Russia. She has also worked with Leif Ove Andsnes, Pascal Rogé, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Lise de la Salle, and Jos van Immerseel.
She studied with Svein Bjørkøy at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and later with Oren Brown and Barbara Bonney. She has been involved as artistic leader for several chamber music festivals in Norway, such as Risør chamber music festival and Oslo Chamber Music Festival. She is Associate Professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music.
General Management: Tiben Artists
