The Finnish-Swedish mezzo-soprano, Jenny Carlstedt, was born in the Åland Islands. She studied at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and with Rudolf Piernay at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. Between 2002 and 2016 she was a member of ensemble at Oper Frankfurt where she build a strong repertoire with many important roles in the lyric and high mezzo repertoire including, Octavian, Komponist Nicholas/Muse, Sesto, Idamante, Lazuli (L'etoile), Wellgunde. Since autumn 2016 she is again working as a freelance singer.

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 Autumn 2022 she sang the role of "the Waitress" in Kaja Saariahos new highly acclaimed opera Innocence at the Helsinki Opera and in spring 2023 she made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London in the same role. In autumn 2022 she made her critically acclaimed debut as Brangäne in Concert under Susanna Mälkki and Helsinki Philharmonic. Further successful debutes in 2023 was with BBC Symphony Orchestra under Sakari Oramo at PROMS concert in Royal Albert Hall in London. Last season included among other things a recital with Thomas Adés at the piano and musicians from The Finnisch Radio Symphony orchestra with Stravinsky songs and a Recital in Stockholm Concert Hall with a program Mahler Sibelius and Zemlinsky.

 

Jenny has sung guest contracts all across Europe and she also made her highly acclaimed U.S debut in 2016 as Mélisande in Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande with Chicago Symphony Orchestra under Esa-Pekka Salonen. Furthermore she sang Idamante at the opening concert of Stuttgart International Bach Academy Festival. Other guestings includes Hamburg Staatsoper (2018), Theater an der Wien, Basel, Stuttgart, Köln, Royal Opera in Copenhagen, Savonlinna Opera festival , Wiener Festwochen and Berlin Music Festival. She is also a regal guest at Helsinki National Opera where she sung parts as Melisande, Komponist, Nicklausse, Suzuki, Dorabella, and world premier of Jaakko Kuusistos opera Jää 2019.

 

Jenny is also much in demand as a concert singer and has sung the major alto oratorio and orchestra repertoire through Europe. She sang under conductors such as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Matthias Pintscher, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Susanna Mälkki, James Gaffigan,  

Pier Giorgio Morandi, Bertrand de Billy, Patrick Fournillier, Okko Kamu, Christian Curnyn, Jonathan Darlington, Erik Nielsen, Julia Jones, Paolo Carignani, Carlo Franci, Patrick Lange, Sebastian Weigle, Hannu Lintu, Sakari Oramo. She has performed in Productions with directors as e.g.Christoph Loy, Christof Nel, Keith Warner, David Alden, Johannes Erath, Vera Nemirova, Anselm Weber, Brigitte Fassbaender, Peter Konwitschny, Hans Neuenfels, Katharina Thoma, Simon Stone.

 

Furthermore Jenny Carlstedt has been highly acclaimed in several Contemporary Music production including Harper Pitt in Peter Eötwös’ (Angels in America) and Miranda in Thomas Adés "The Tempest". 2014 she also sang two world premiers, a piece for Mezzo soprano and piano by Nina Sênk and the piece "5 Portraits of Women" for mezzo and French horn with Finnish RSO by Aulis Sallinen. She also starred in the World premier of Tapio Tuomelas opera "where four Roads meet" and the worldpremier opera "Ice" at the Finnish National opera 2019. Further she toured with Luigi Nonos "Il Canto Sospeso" with SWR Orchestra under Peter Rundel in Freiburg and Berlin Festspiele, Concert with HR-Orchestra in Frankfurt,

Season 2023/2024 starts with another house debut at Dutch National Opera in Kaija Saariahos opera Innocence and in spring 2024 with role debut as second Norne in Wagners Götterdämmerung at the Finnish National Opera.

 

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SHORT VERISION 

 

The Åland mezzo-soprano Jenny Carlstedt studied at the Sibelius Academy and at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. From 2002-2016, Jenny was a member of the ensemble at the Opera in Frankfurt am Main where she developed a broad repertoire and had the privilege to work with the leading conductors and directors of European music life. She debuted with great success in many Mozart roles, but also sang  bigger lyric Strauss parts as Octavian or the Composer. Lately she also debuted in the more dramatic repertoar, such as Brangäne in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde with the Helsinki City Orchestra under Susanna Mälkki.

 

In 2015 she made her acclaimed US debut as Mélisande (Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande) with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra during the Esa-Pekka Salonen. Jenny has also performed as a guest all around Europe.  Glyndebourne Touring opera, Theater an der Wien, Basel opera, Staatsoper Hamburg, Royal Opera in Copenhagen as well as the festivals in Nyslott, -Vienna and Berliner Festwochen. Jenny has also been in demand as a concert singer and has sung everything from JS Bach's Matthäus Passion with the Bach Collegium Stuttgart to Luciano Berio with the Ensamble Modern in the Amsterdam Musikgebouw and Verdi's Requiem with the Köln Philharmonie. In the summer of 2023, jenny also made a critically acclaimed debut at the PROMS festival in London with Mahler's Third Symphony with the BBC Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sakari Oramo.

 

She is a regular guest at the National Opera in Helsinki. In the spring and autumn of 2023 she debuted both at the the Royal Operahouse Covent Garden in London and at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam and Adelaide Music festival in Australia.

 

Jenny also has a special love for contemporary music. Her repertoire includes works by Thomas Adés, Peter Eötvös, and she has performed world premiers by  among others Kuusisto, Sallinen and Saariaho.  In 2022/23, Carlstedt sang the lead role as The Waitress in Kaija Saariaho's acclaimed masterpiece opera "Innocence" at the National Opera, a role that has taken her around the world. In spring 2026 she will sing the role of the priest Katherine in the world premier of Sebastian Fagerlunds new opera ”the Morning star” at the Finnish Nationalopera and return to Dutch National opera in the leading role as Lisa in Mieczyslaw Weinbergs opera Die Passagerin.