The coming of age of a singer into an important Dramatic baritone is a transformation to reckon with, and Danish/Norwegian baritone Lars Fosser’s musical and theatrical heritage is a reflection of life with a stage director father, and a singer mother. His artistic upbringing introduced him to a long and loving relationship with Grand Opera, intimate lieder, and even American show tunes.
The baritone’s exuberant performances in such magnificent roles as Verdi’s Rigoletto, Nabucco, Posa in Don Carlos, and Don Carlo in Ernani, as well as Giacomo Puccini’s Scarpia in Tosca, and Sharpless in Madama Butterfly, shower him with critical acclaim in this repertoire, dubbing him a “magnificent baritone with a weighty and well balanced voice, that will bring anyone who hears him to ecstasy,” — as well as — “the new Danish superbaritone.”
2015 starts out with Lars Fosser’s first major role at the Danish Royal Opera, in Copenhagen, where he will be singing the Forester in Janacek’s opera The Cunning little Vixen. He sings Father Germont in Verdi’s La Traviata, with Øresundsoperaen, and repeats the sucsess of Thomas Prokop in Paul Schwarz Orpheus68 at the Trondheim Opera. He makes his debut as a Wagner singer in an adapted version, by Jonathan Dove and Graham Vick, of Der Ring des Nibelungen, singing all three Alberich parts, as well as Wotan in Die Walküre, in Kopenhagen.
2013 brought exiting new challenges, Singing the Duke in Bartoks Bluebeards Castle under the Direction of Tamas Vetö, Concerts with the Norwegian Rikskoncertene and Aalborg Symphony Orchestra, singing Aaron Coplands Old American Songs, as well as the world premiere of Orpheus68 by american composer Paul Schwarz.
2011 brought him to Austria to perform Orff’s Carmina Burana with Artensemble, in Vienna in May and again in Oslo, Norway, at the Oslo Fortress Festival in August, and saw his first Count Luna in Verdi’s Il Trovatore at the Danish National Opera, in Århus .
He made his debut at the Royal Danish Opera as the Mandarin in Puccini’s Turandot. He also performed Rigoletto at the Aalborg Opera Festival, in their decennial production at the beginning of the year. He performed with Odense Symphony Orchestra in August at their 10th anniversary of “Opera på Engen,” singing exerps from La Traviata, Carmen and Porgy and Bess.
In November he went to Vilnius, Lithuania to sing at the Kristian Benedikt Gala, at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre. He finished off the year singing Händel’s Messiah with the Århus Symphony Orchestra.
The summer of 2010 began a busy schedule with liederabends with the Societa Pro Musica and St. Markus Church in Århus, Denmark. He appeared as Marquis de Chevreuse in Donizetti’s Maria de Rohan for the Danish Bel Canto Society, and joined the International Operafestival in Fredrikstad, Norway, for a series of Opera Gala Concerts and as Scarpia in Tosca.
He sang Leporello in Don Giovanni with the Steyr Music Festival in Austria, followed by a newly commissioned work by Fredrik Österling, Robert and Clara, the story of the Schumans, with the Helsingborg Symphony in Sweden.
His recently released debut aria recording, The Bad Guy on the Danish CDKLASSISK label – a collection of baritone leading roles from I Pagliacci to Tosca – was hailed by the critical press as operatic “pure song” – proclaiming “What a voice, and what an interpretation! One has to listen when Fosser sings and one can do nothing but to be captivated by it.”
Lars Fosser is also a frequent concert artist, thrilling audiences in major venues such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Danish Radio Symphony Hall, as well as the Tivoli Symphony Hall in Copenhagen, Mercedes Halle in Berlin and Braunschweigs grosses Kulturhaus, with such fine orchestras as Staatskapelle Berlin, Staatskapelle Braunschweig, The Seeland Symphony Orchestra, Danish National Radio Symfony Orcestra, and many others . His interpretations of Mephisto in Schumann’s 7 Szenen aus Goethe’s Faust as well as soloist in Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, were broadcast live on Danish National Radio. He continues to be in demand at regular lieder-abends and oratory concerts. He is a laureate of several international singing competitions, taking Prizes at the Kammeroper Schloss Rheinsberg International singing competition and the CCO International Singing Competition in New York, as well as being the recipient of the Audience Choice Award during his engagement as the leading baritone with the Stadttheater Görlitz, Germany.
Recordings
Fredrik Osterling: Narcissus – Osterling / Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra / Borregaard – Label: Db Productions Catalog#: 134
The Bad Guy – Aria CD with an all Italian repertoire consisting solely of villains and antiheroes. – Label ClassicO 2009
Stig Fogh Andersen (tenor) – Wagner Live from Ruse – ClassicO 2009
Elias – Mendelsohn – Kongsberg Kantori & Oslo Symphony Orchestra – 1998 -KKCD 1-98
