Love moves, transforms and binds us together—and few art forms portray its many faces better than music. In this concert we hear highlights from the famous romantic operas La Bohème and La Traviata.
With soprano Heloïse Baldelli, tenor Espen Solsbak and Sandnes Opera Choir, this season’s final opera café becomes a true “Night at the Opera”.
The evening offers not only passion and drama, but also humour and charm with gems from musical theatre, operetta and cabaret – a reminder that love contains both seriousness and playfulness. This is a unique opportunity to hear soprano Héloïse Baldelli and tenor Espen Solsbak reunited after their studies at the University of Stavanger. Together with a special appearance from Sandnes Opera Choir, they promise an unforgettable “Night at the Opera” experience.
Espen Solsbak is a highly versatile singer with great musicality and expressive ability. He is also a member of the critically acclaimed vocal trio Nordic Tenors. They tour Norway every year, spreading joy and Christmas spirit across the country. Espen has, on several occasions, been a substitute member of the Opera Chorus at The Norwegian National Opera & Ballet. He is educated at the Faculty of Performing Arts at the University of Stavanger, the Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia in Rome, and the Oslo National Academy of the Arts (Opera School in Oslo).
The Franco-Italian soprano Héloïse Baldelli is a versatile singer with a broad repertoire ranging from early music to contemporary opera. In summer 2025 she made her debut in the title role of Puccini’s Suor Angelica at the Prague Summer Festival, in addition to touring various concert programmes in Italy and Norway. In spring 2024 she debuted as Monica in Menotti’s The Medium at Sandnes Culture House and as the Countess in Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro at the Viterbo Summer Festival in Italy, and in February 2024 she sang the soprano solo in Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater with Ghislain Gourvennec at the organ.
Héloïse has previously performed roles such as Juliet in The Little Sweep, Cavaliere Armidoro in La Cecchina, and Euridice in Orfeo. As a PhD candidate at the University of Stavanger, she researches performance practice in the songs of Satie and other French modernist composers, as well as creating performances where dance and theatre are integrated with classical vocal chamber music. She has performed at festivals such as Stavanger Art and Music Festival, Arctic Opera Festival, Oslo Opera Festival, Gloppen Music Festival and Chianciano Music Festival, and has worked with conductors such as Michelle Di Russo, Federico Amendola, Per Kristian Skalstad, Terje Kvam, Peter Szilvay and Gabriele Bonolis, among others. She holds a Master’s degree in classical singing from the University of Stavanger under the guidance of international soprano Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, and a specialisation in opera from the University of Tor Vergata, Rome.
Dorina Komani – piano (b. 1989) is a classical pianist who has won several international solo competitions in Italy, North Macedonia and Albania. She has been a soloist with several Norwegian orchestras and is a sought-after chamber musician. She has taken part in festivals such as the Kirsten Flagstad Festival, Fredriksten Opera Festival, Arctic Opera Festival, and has toured Norway in 2016, 2019 and 2022, Germany in 2014 and 2015, Spain in 2014 and 2017, and Italy in 2022. She has collaborated with many of the country’s leading singers such as Caroline Wettergreen, Yngve Søberg and Thomas Ruud. She is the principal repetiteur at Ringsaker Opera from 2018 to the present, participates annually in the Oslo Opera Festival, and in 2022 began a collaboration with the Rogaland Opera. In August 2022, Dorina won the audition for the position of associate professor accompanist at the University of Stavanger, where she now works full-time.