Queer Voices creates an arena that provides employment opportunities and room for the development of queer talents and stories. Queer audiences and artists have long been part of the opera community, and they aim to meet this group's need to see their own stories told through the opera format.

Welcome to a beautiful and humorous evening featuring outstanding singers in a relaxed setting. You will gain insight into the singers’ motivations and individuality, and receive an accessible introduction to the music, enriched with personal anecdotes and historical stories.

About the performers:

Queer Voices Opera Company is created by, with, and for queer people. The opera company consists of the opera singers Eldrid Gorset (she/her), Angelle Khachik (they/them), and Maria Dale Johannessen (she/her), whose academic backgrounds include the Norwegian Academy of Music, the Barratt Due Institute of Music, and the Opera Academy at the Oslo National Academy of the Arts.

They aim to create an arena that provides work opportunities and room for the development of queer talents and stories. Queer audience members and artists have long been part of the opera community, and Queer Voices therefore seeks to meet this group's need to see their own stories told through the opera format.

Since the company’s founding in 2018, they have participated in the opening of Oslo Pride 2019, Trondheim Pride 2020–2023, the Opera Festival Weeks in Kristiansund 2022, the Rainbow Days in Bergen 2022, Tromsø, NeadalsPride, and much more. In September 2022, Queer Voices premiered its first full opera production, The Merry Wives of Windsor by Otto Nicolai, at Rosendal Theatre during Trondheim Pride 2022. Earlier that year, they had been invited to the prestigious Grimethorpe? (text appears to say “Grimeborn”) Opera Festival in London, England, becoming the first Norwegian and first queer company ever to participate.

2024 was a busy year with several projects. Queer Voices served as co-producers and performers at Norway’s first queer opera festival, Folk er Folk, together with Opera Trøndelag. During Pride they hosted their own Opera Café at Rosendal Theatre, performed as soloists at the Rainbow Mass in Nidaros Cathedral, and appeared in the major Pride show at the city square. Most recently, they were seen in Trondheim at Opera Café at Rosendal and with their own New Year’s concert in January.

Knut Erik Jensen, pianist (he/him), has worked closely with Queer Voices Opera Company over the past five years.

Knut Erik Jensen lives in Selbu and is an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Department of Music. He leads the piano class at the Saturday School and at Trondheim Municipal Music and Performing Arts School, and has an extensive freelance career. He holds a master’s degree in piano performance from the Trondheim Conservatory.

For many years he has been a sought-after musician in Trøndelag, particularly in opera as an accompanist and répétiteur, as well as a chamber musician and soloist. Since 2007, he has performed nearly 200 concerts in the United States, mostly as a solo artist, but also with singers and as a soloist with orchestras. Recent highlights include performances of all of Edvard Grieg’s songs in Seattle, USA, spread across seven concerts, and appearances as soloist in Grieg and Klaus Egge piano concertos.

In his own projects, he works extensively with Norwegian piano music, both by commissioning new works from composers and by rediscovering pieces that are rarely performed. In 2013 he commissioned and premiered Ståle Kleiberg’s piano sonata Ruf und Nachklang, and in 2022 he was the pianist on the recording Requiem, Læreren som ikke ble, and Trisyn by Marcus Paus, together with Knut ... (the text continues beyond the visible portion of the image).