CHRISTINA AF KLINTEBERG HERRESTHAL

Leonie Sonning Talent Prize winner Christina Sofia af Klinteberg Herresthal is a Norwegian-Swedish Mezzo Soprano who is particularly passionate about chamber music, baroque repertoire and contemporary composers. Herresthal graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Music in August 2024 with a Master Degree and the highest possible grade, and has already gained experience as a soloist with orchestras and ensembles such as Orkester Nord, Arctic Philharmonic, The Finnish Baroque Orchestra, The Danish Sinfonietta, Nordic Baroque,The Baroque Society, Concerto Copenhagen, Ensemble Esbjerg and Nordic String Quartet Additionally, Herresthal is active with her own chamber music ensemble Hehku, focusing on baroque and contemporary repertoire. 

 

Highlights include her debut as a soloist with The Finnish Baroque Orchestra at Turku Music Festival 2024 with an exciting program centered around Èlisabeth Jaquet de la Guerre ́s ”Judith” cantata staged by Aleksi Barrière, and singing the Alto Solo in St. John’s Passion (Bach) in Nidarosdomen with Orkester Nord and Trondheim Vocal Ensemble led by Martin Wåhlberg (will be transmitted to Mezzo and QwestTV). Herresthal made her operatic debut as Ishara in Gilgamesh (Nørgård) with Ensemble Esbjerg and Ensemble MidtVest, followed by debuts as Mezzo Soloist in the world premiere of Katinka Fogh Vindelev ́s opera "Hologrammet" with The Danish Sinfonietta led by David Riddell, as well as the part of Johanna/Eye in the world premiere of The Amputaters (Rachel Peters/Royce Varcek) with Arctic Philharmonic at The Arctic Chamber Music Festival.  ​

 

With her own chamber music ensemble Hehku (mezzo,vln,vla,cello,flute,harp and conductor), Herresthal is giving the world premiere of ”SUS” by Aya Yoshida and ”Landet som icke är” by Frederik Zeuthen, as part of the VÆKST festival in Copenhagen Music House. Hehku ́s music film ”Songs from a Changing Evening Land”, recorded with Millimeter Media in 2022 in honor of Danish Composer Per Nørgård, is also played continuously in venues such as Gothenburg Concert House, Oslo Ultima Festival and Copenhagen Music House. Furthermore, Herresthal forms a duo with Swedish lutenist and baroque guitarist Fredrik Bock, performing programs combining baroque repertoire, Nordic folk music and contemporary works.

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Passionate about working with living composers, Herresthal has a close collaboration with American composer Maya Miro Johnson who, mentored by Missy Mazzoli, is writing an opera entitled Patience concerning the genius and suffering of artists in female-assigned bodies who experience psycho-physiological torment in the health care system because of their biological sex, with the main role being tailor written for Herresthal ́s voice. Herresthal has also sung for composers such as Kaija Saariaho, Missy Mazzoli and Per Nørgård.

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Inspiring guidance from artists such as Tuuli Lindeberg, Tuva Semmingsen, Lars Ulrik Mortensen, Emma Kirkby, Petteri Pitko, Anders Dahlin, Randi Stene and Marianne Beate Kielland continues to be essential to Herresthal in terms of stylistic specialization and artistic expression.

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EDUCATION

In August 2024, Herresthal completed her Master Degree at The Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen, studying with Tuva Semmingsen and Susanna Eken. In Master Class, she has also worked with Emma Kirkby, Lars-Ulrik Mortensen, Anders Dahlin and Tuuli Lindeberg, and she is currently studying with Marianne Beate Kielland. 

 

As a member of the Norwegian National Opera’s Children’s Choir from age 7-17, Herresthal performed in numerous productions both as children choir in main stage productions, as well as solist parts in children operas on stage 2 in roles such as Kia (Knerten og Lillebror) and The Herold (Maxwell Davis: Cinderella). 

 

In the opera productions of The Royal Danish Academy of Music, Herresthal performed the following parts: Nurse Renault (Vestergård:Titanic), Euridice/Euretti 2 (Landi: La Morte d’Orfeo), Ariadne (”Se den vandklare kilde” by Abrahamsen in FRAKTAL) and Maman/La Libellule/Une Pâtre (Ravel: L’enfant et les sortilèges).

 

 

GRANTS AND AWARDS

Herresthal was a 2024 recepient of the prestigious Léonie Sonning Talent Prize, and is grateful to have received grants from Fegersten Foundation , Helge Axsson Foundation, Wilhelmsen Foundation, Signe Butenschøn Foundation, Sveaas Foundation, Poul and Ellen Herz Foundation and Feldthusen Foundation.