BARK
The international, Copenhagen based ensemble BARK consists of three singers, colleagues and friends from the Royal Danish Opera Chorus: Trine Vestergaard (a Danish soprano), Lucie Szabová (a Slovakian alto) and Carl Rahmqvist (a Swedish tenor).
Brought together by a passion for the music from the end of the 19th century up to and including present day, they decided to form BARK: a trio that specialises in finding and combining fascinating music that has been rarely performed in Denmark with more well known compositions. Their diverse backgrounds, great interest in languages and classical literature is reflected in how they explore hidden meanings and nuances in the songs.
Their first endeavour together was Dimitri Schostakovich’ “From Jewish Folk Poetry”: a song-cycle that they perform in it’s original language, Russian. In this piece the composer’s dangerous criticism of the regime is disguised as Jewish- inspired folk music.
BARK’s dream is to revive the musical soirees where the closeness to the artists makes the words and music draw in and envelop the audience.
TRINE ELMELUND VESTERGAARD,
soprano, graduated from The Royal Danish Academy of Music in 2006. After her graduation she has continued her vocal studies with Philip Doghan (London) and since 2016 with Neil Semer (New York).
Besides her work as a chorus singer Trine has sung solo roles as Pamina (The Magic Flute), Atalanta (Xerxes, G. F. Händel), Frasquita (Carmen) and Michaela at the Theatre Hedeland’s version of Carmen for children. She also enjoys singing oratorios and has sung solo soprano-parts i. a. in Exultate Jubilate and Requiem (W. A. Mozart), Stabat Mater (J. B. Pergolesi), oratorios by J. S. Bach and masses by G. F. Händel.
Trine is fond of the Lied and song repertoire where she finds delight in the inherent musicality and expression of various languages and the small microcosmos hidden in each small song.
CARL RAHMQVIST,
tenor, born and raised in Stockholm, where he also attended The University College of Opera from 1997 to 2001. He studied at the Mariinsky Academy in Saint Petersburg during 2002, where learned Russian and became well acquainted with the Russian song repertoire. Besides singing in the opera chorus Carl is a demanded soloist as well. In August he sung the role of Duke Orsino in Håkan Carlsson’s newly composed opera Twelth Night at the HöörsSummer Opera, where he has also sung the title roles in Peer Gynt and H. C. Andersen a Saga (Viggo Edén), and the role of Clem in The Little Sweep (B. Britten).
He regularly sings smaller roles at Royal Danish Opera House, i.e. The fourth Jew in Salome, The first priest in The Magic Flute and Lonigan in Wonderful Town (L. Bernstein) in a concert version. He is a very active singer of oratorios and Lieder.
He regularly sings smaller roles at Royal Danish Opera House, i.e. The fourth Jew in Salome, The first priest in The Magic Flute and Lonigan in Wonderful Town (L. Bernstein) in a concert version.
He is a very active singer of oratorios and Lieder.
LUCIE SZABOVÁ,
mezzosoprano from Slovakia. At the age of 19 she was a guest soloist at the Slovak National Theatre in Svätopluk (E. Suchoň). She continued her studies at the Janáček’s Academy of Music in Brno, where she has also performed roles of Olga in Eugen Onegin and Dorabella from Cosi fan tutte at the Chamber Opera Brno.
She has participated at the Festival Janáček Brno in the stage adaptation of The Diary of the One Who Disappeared (L. Janáček). In Denmark you could hear Lucie i.e., as the Third Lady in The Magic Flute in Tivolis Koncert Hall, as a soloist at the Copenhagen Opera Festival in OPERAP (2018) and in a solo pop-up concerts (2020), with trio Les Voix at the Herning Opera Festival, in Grundtvig’s Church in Messiah or at The Royal Danish Opera House where she has had several smaller roles.
Lucie is interested in various voice techniques and styles and therefore you should not be surprised meeting her free improvising at a jazz club.