NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 鈥淒avidsen Goes out with a Bang,鈥� read the headline in Broadway World鈥檚 review of the revival of Beethoven鈥檚 鈥淔idelio.鈥�
And indeed Lise Davidsen is in a sense 鈥済oing out.鈥� After she gives her final performance as the wife who disguises herself as a man to save her husband, she鈥檒l head home to Norway to prepare for a new role 鈥�
But the soprano鈥檚 fans will also have something new to savor while she鈥檚 on maternity leave. Decca is releasing a recording of Wagner鈥檚 鈥淒er Fliegende Holl盲nder鈥� (鈥淭he Flying Dutchman鈥�), an opera she had never sung before and may never do again.
What convinced Davidsen to record 鈥楾he Flying Dutchman鈥�
The role of Senta, the sea captain鈥檚 daughter who is obsessed with rescuing the Dutchman from eternal damnation, is one that Davidsen said she had been 鈥渁sked to do for almost 10 years,鈥� but always turned down because 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 feel ready.鈥�
That might seem surprising since the role is relatively short and is often grouped with other Wagnerian roles she has already sung, like Elisabeth in "Tannh盲user鈥� or Sieglinde in 鈥淒ie Walk眉re.鈥�
But the tessitura of the role 鈥� the amount of time the voice spends in a particular range 鈥� 鈥渨as difficult for me six or seven years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t lies in a tricky place and is surprisingly dramatic in the high range. For me, it was a little bit too high for too long a time.鈥�
What changed her mind, she said, was mastering the title role of Richard Strauss鈥檚 鈥淪alome,鈥� another opera that requires the soprano to sing near the top of her range much of the time. She performed that to
Added incentives to record Senta came from the team Decca assembled and the fact that it was taped in two live performances at the Oslo Opera House. Edward Gardner, music director of the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet, was the conductor, and the role of the Dutchman was sung by baritone Gerald Finley, a singer she has long admired.
In their great second-act duet, Davidsen said that when Finley sang his opening phrases in an otherworldly hush, 鈥淚t just gave me goosebumps because his sound is so beautiful. It鈥檚 so inspiring and clear.
鈥淚 wanted to take his voice and put it in my pocket and have it with me for a sad day.鈥�
Davidsen matches him, scaling back her enormous voice to sing with aching purity, then unleashing a torrent of sound for the climaxes.
The recording, also featuring bass Brindley Sharratt as Senta鈥檚 father Daland, and tenor Stanislas de Barbeyrac as her hapless suitor Erik, will be released April 18.
Now that the project is behind her she said she has no plans to sing the role on stage.
鈥淚 can never say never,鈥� she said, 鈥渁nd maybe in five years something changes. But for now there鈥檚 a lot of other roles I have coming.鈥�
What's next for Davidsen onstage
Chief among those are the two pinnacles of the Wagnerian repertory for dramatic soprano, Isolde in 鈥淭ristan und Isolde,鈥� and Br眉nnhilde in the 鈥淩ing鈥� cycle. Both have been announced for upcoming productions at the Met directed by Yuval Sharon with the Isolde in just a year from now.
In addition she is determined to keep exploring the Italian repertory. Already she has scored success in two major Verdi roles: Elisabetta in 鈥淒on Carlo鈥� and Leonora in 鈥淟a Forza del Destino.鈥�
A very different Verdi role she鈥檚 eager to add is the murderous Lady Macbeth in 鈥淢acbeth.鈥� She will open the Met鈥檚 2026-27 season in a new production of the work.
鈥淚 just love that woman,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 something so loco in her, and I鈥檓 anxious to see where I can go with it. The other ladies are pure, but she鈥檚 on a different planet.鈥�
Davidsen鈥檚 twins are due in June, and she plans to extend her leave from singing for the rest of 2025. 鈥淚n America they think that鈥檚 a very long leave,鈥� she said, 鈥渂ut back home they think it鈥檚 very short.鈥�
Once she does return, she鈥檒l be doing fewer concert tours that require quickly jumping from city to city. 鈥淭he back and forth, here and there, I don鈥檛 want to do it,鈥� she said.
鈥淭he good thing with new opera productions is we can all be here together,鈥� she said. Between rehearsals and performances, a new production typically allows for at least a two-month stay in one place.
Meanwhile, the final 鈥淔idelio鈥� on Saturday afternoon will be broadcast live in HD to movie theaters worldwide. Susanna M盲lkki conducts a cast that includes tenor David Butt Philip as the unjustly imprisoned Florestan; bass Rene Pap茅 as the jailer Rocco, soprano Ying Fang as his daughter Marzelline, and baritone Tomasz Konieczny as the villainous Don Pizarro.
Mike Silverman, The Associated Press
