The 14 singers are joined by the academy orchestra – consisting of 33 young musicians and their professional mentors and group leaders from renowned opera and symphony orchestras in the Nordic countries and Austria. The concert master is Maxim Brilinsky, 1st violinist from the Wiener Philharmoniker.

The song students have been coached by pedagogues and renowned singers like Swedish baritone Peter Mattei, famed for his role as Don Giovanni at The Met and several other opera houses – together with Solveig Kringlebotn and the Wagner-expert Albert Dohmen.

The four conductor students will also get the chance to conduct the orchestra, coached in advance by Bergen National Opera's artistic director Eivind Gullberg Jensen and his conductor colleague Sascha Goetzel. The stage director for Don Giovanni and Hansel and Gretel is Ivar Tindberg.

The video below:
Listen to soprano Annika Beinnes performing Je veux vivre by Charles Gounod at Opera by the fjord summer 2022, conducted by the fellow academist Rasmus Hella Mikkelsen.

WHAT IS THE SUMMER ACADEMY?
The summer academy Opera by the fjord is aimed at students who are currently in education, or who have recently graduated. Our top team of coaches all have experience from renowned opera houses and symphony orchestras.

Our academy is unique in that singers can rehearse and perform together with an orchestra, in a staged situation, as well as in concert arias. The training program is put into a larger context and will go beyond simply vocal training.

The conductor students will get a tailor-made mentoring in the specialist skills required to be an opera conductor, and two repetiteur students are also joining.

Photos from the Opera at the fjord concerts 2021, 2022 and 2023:

THE FACULTY / ARTISTIC TEAM 2025
Directors and founders:
Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Artistic & General Director of Bergen National Opera, and Chief Conductor of Noord Nederlands Orkest
Sascha Goetzel, Music Director for Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire and National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and Principle Guest Conductor for Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra

Staging team:
 Ivar Emil Tindberg, stage director, writer and composer
Ann-Terese Aasen, assistant stage director, choreographer and stage director

Vocal pedagogues:
Solveig Kringlebotn, soprano and professor at the Academy of Opera in Oslo and Barratt Due Institute of Music in Oslo
Peter Mattei, baritone from Sweden, renowned for the title roles as Don Giovanni and Wozzeck at The Met
Albert Dohmen, bass-baritone from Germany, renowned for his Ring-roles Wotan, Alberich and Hagen at the Bayreuth festival 
Vocal coaches:
Kristin Okerlund, pianist and vocal coach from the Vienna State Opera
Hans-Otto Ehrström, pianist and vocal coach from the Vienna State Opera

Orchestra coaches/section leaders:

1st violin: Maxim Brilinsky, leader of the 1st violin section, Wiener Philharmoniker
2nd violin:  Lucas Takeshi Stratmann, principal 2nd violin, Wiener Staatsoper
Viola:  James Opie, co-principal viola, Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra in Stockholm
Cello:  Erik Wahlgren, solocellist, Royal Swedish Opera Orchestra in Stockholm
Double bass:  Patrick Wilder, co-principal double bass, The Norwegian Opera & Ballet
Woodwind:
Karl-Heinz Schütz, solo flute, Wiener Philharmoniker
Audun Halvorsen, principal bassoon in the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DR SymfoniOrkestret)
Brass:
Rune Brodahl, solo horn, The Norwegian Opera & Ballet
Timpani and percussion:  Manuel Hofstätter*, Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

*Hofstätter is our guest musician, and not a coach at the academy

Opera by the fjord - Summer Academy is presented by Bergen National Opera in collaboration med Oseana kunst- og kultursenter, and is supported by Grieg Foundation, Sparebankstiftelsen DnB, Talent Norge, Vestland fylkeskommune, Sparebank1 SR-Bank og SR-stiftelsen and The GC Rieber Foundations.