CURRICULUM VITAE

Jens Krogsgaard – opera singer, classical voice teacher, stage director – was a rock singer and guitarist before he trained as an opera singer. Since his debut in 1996, he has been a prominent singer of his generation in Denmark.

Debuted in 2002 at the Royal Danish Theatre (DKT) as Captain Vere in Billy Budd by Britten. For his portrayal of Captain Vere, Jens Krogsgaard earned a nomination for the 2003 Reumert of the Year in the category Singer of the Year (most prominent Theater Prize in Denmark) and received the Friends of Opera’s – Honorary Award from the society Friends of Opera.

Debuted at the Danish National Opera (DJO) in 1996 as Tom Rakewell in Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress and was member of the soloist ensemble at DJO from 1999 to 2007. In addition, he has had an extensive freelance business

In 2008, he took a master’s degree in Elite Voice Pedagogy from the Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen (DKDM), where he taught singing as a major in the period 2009-2022.

From 2017 he has taught music drama and since 2021 singing as major subject at the Royal Academy of Music (DJM). Since 2024 Jens Krogsgaard has been an assistant professor in Classical Singing and Music-drama at DJM.

From 2020 he has taught as an External Lecturer in singing at Aarhus University.

He has also been involved in talent development, including 2013-2023 as a member of the jury in the talent competition Unge Sangere (Young Singers) in Ikast.

As an opera director, Jens Krogsgaard has staged LiedTeater Digteren og Døden at DJO, Lænker by Svend Hvidtfelt Nielsen (libretto by the composer and Jens Krogsgaard) and the double performance Mozart and Salieri / Il Maestro di Cappella at Aarhus Summer Opera, Lille Soldat by Niels Marthinsen, at Den Fynske Opera (DFO). Grænser for Venskab (Borders of friendships) and Grænsemageren (The Maker of Borders) for Opera På Grænsen/Sønderjyllands Symphony Orchestra.

He is also the initiator of the project opera OPERA:S.

In 2016 Jens Krogsgaard and pianist Jan Ole Christiansen released Rued Langgaard – 18 songs (DACOCD 771).

Education

The Royal Danish Academy of Music – Master in Elite Singing Pedagogy 2008
Private singing studies with prof. Werner Hollweg (Freiburg i/B) 1994 – 1999
Soloist class, The Royal Academy of Music,1996
The Royal Academy of Music – Diploma, 1994

Repertoire

Opera repertoire includes Hoffmann in Les contes d’Hoffmann, Max in Freischütz, Florestan in Fidelio, Canio in Pagliacci, Caliban in The Tempest by Thomas Adés, Lensky in Egen Onegin, Peter Grimes in Peter Grimes, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte, Tito in La clemenza di Tito, Male Chorus in The Rape of Lucrezia, Gilgamesh in Gilgamesh by Per Nørgård.

Art Songs has always been a passion with a particular interest in the cyclical forms, such as An die gerne Geliebte by Beethoven, Die Schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang by Schubert, Dichterliebe by Schumann, The Holy Sonnets of John Donne and Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo by Britten and On Wenlock Edge by Vaughan-Williams, Brahms op. 32, as well as various individual songs.

The oratorio repertoire includes Johannes Passion (evangelist) Bach, Die Schöpfung by Haydn, Elias by Mendelssohn, Messiah by Handel, Requiem by Mozart, Verdi, Dvorak and Lloyd Webber, 9th Symphony by Beethoven, Stabat Mater by Dvorak, Fynsk Forår by Nielsen, Petit Messe Solennelle by Rossini.

CD releases:
Rued Langgaard – 18 songs Danacord (DACOCD 771) with pianist Jan Ole Christiansen.
Sinfonia Interna by Rued Langgaard with the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra conducted by Frans Rasmussen
Dichterliebe by Robert Schumann with pianist Ulrich Stærk.

Awards:
The Friends of the Opera’s Honorary Award (2003), Edith Aller’s Memorial Award (1997)
The Yellow Widow’s Music Award (1996) and the HN Prize (1995)