Nicolai Elsberg

Operatic Bass

Media & Reviews

Reviews

"...the superb Danish bass Nicolai Elsberg creates an exceptional King Marke, unusually human and moving."

"For his first Wagnerian role, the young Danish bass Nicolai Elsberg is fully up to the task in his incarnation of King Marke.  The voice flows with art and ease, broad and powerful, and with a deep bass that delights the ear."

"As King Marke, Nicolai Elsberg has all the necessary resources: a deep voice with an ebony tone and a knowledge of the word that turns his monologue towards a pain which quite appropriately is being supressed."

"Nicolai Elsberg makes a superb King Marke of sovereign nobility."

"Nicolai Elsberg has the bass of rare depth that befits King Marke."

“Nicolai Elsberg's King Marke imposes his presence despite the surrounding darkness with the aura of his powerful and deep bass…”

"Nicolai Elsberg, Danish bass, plays King Marke, the first Wagnerian role to my knowledge of his career. The voice is beautiful and true, very powerful..."

"...the sepulchral, telluric timbre of Oroveso, the young Danish bass Nicolai Elsberg, whose stature is as imposing as his sonic power (and his aria with the chorus, “Guerrieri! A voi venirme!”, in Act II, is a beauty of musical line and feeling)."

"The danish bass Nicolai Elsberg enforces a magnificent Oroveso, at the same time gloomy and sonorous, with an impeccable musicality."

"The tall Nicolai Elsberg created a twilight Oroveso with a huge bass."

"...the huge deep bass of imposing stature as Oroveso."

"The cast is dominated by the Danish bass Nicolai Elsberg's mighty Sarastro. He has an imposing voice, powerfully projected and sonorous, put at the service of a particularly beautiful vocal line, very expressive and endowed with a deep bass. His tall figure is impressive!"

"But how can you take your eyes off of the huge Danish bass Nicolai Elsberg towering above all the other protagonists? Detaching each syllable in a skilfull rhythm that sublimates the tired nobility of the character, endowed with a rare delicacy, his cavernous bass touches the heart and delights the ear thanks to a dark timbre and a powerful voice with immense potential."

"The Dane Nicolai Elsberg is exceptional as Sarastro, with a tone nurtured by a satin-like darkness, a phrasing and an art of legato — all of this bringing tears to the eyes."

"Nicolai Elsberg as Sarastro impresses with his presence and the sonorous depth of his low register."

"…but the most breathtaking, Nicolai Elsberg with an often richly colored, deep bass… Nicolai Elsberg then truly unfolded in the section about the flames of hell, “Confutatis”. He created an intensely lectured scene with equal parts excitement and powerlessness, and no matter where he was, in depth or height, in powerful or soft dynamics, the bass voice was projected into an expressive and sonorous aura."

"The Great-singing, sky-tall bass Nicolai Elsberg, needs to be highlighted for eminent presence as arrogant Newspaper Clerk in wheelchair and decorative Doctor, as a take-off from the Russian country-aristocracy."

"Talent spotters may already have caught sight and sound of Nicolai Elsberg, a Danish basso profundo who in 2021 represented his country at both Cardiff Singer of the World and Operalia. He has swept the board of opera prizes at home in Denmark, where in 2020 he joined the ensemble of the Royal Danish Opera. His voice has extraordinary presence. And as the former frontman of a Danish pop group, he knows how to hold the stage."

"The sky-tall new Danish Bass Nicolai Elsberg was outstanding as Commendatore."

"Tuba mirum' about the wonderful sound of the doomsday trumpet stood out with a splendid performance by the bass Nicolai Elsberg, a warm and richly modulated voice. …Elsberg held the flag high as the performance's musical authority."

"The jury hears a singer with a deeply personal timbre that communicates directly to his audience. One must lean back and enjoy his performances time after time."

"Not since the young Stephen Milling have I heard this great a bass talent in Denmark."

"Denmark once again has a black-as-coal bass with a lyric and heartfelt approach to his craft."

"Elsberg’s coat aria is the best interpretation I have yet heard – maybe helped by that his bass voice was more beautiful than any."

Reviews [in danish]
Pages
Videos
Audio
V. Bellini – Ite sul colle (Norma, Opèra de Lausanne, June 2023) – Nicolai Elsberg
W. A. Mozart – Don Giovanni a cenar teco (Don Giovanni, Opéra de Rouen 2024) How Montague Rendall, Peter Kellner, Nicolai Elsberg – Recorded by Radio Classique