Claes-Håkan Ahnsjö (born 1 August 1942) is a Swedish

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

particularly associated with the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

repertoire and

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

works.

Life and career

Born in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden, Ahnsjö first obtained a degree in teaching before turning to musical studies in 1967. He joined the Opera School of the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

with private studies with Erik Saedén, Aksel Schiøtz and Max Lorenz. He made his debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1969, as Tamino in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

'', later singing Belmonte, Idamante, Don Ottavio and Ferrando. From 1969, he also became a regular at the summer opera festival at

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre () is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original stage machinery. Currently, the r ...

, which focused on works by Handel, Gluck,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

, and Mozart. In 1973, he joined the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where he sang a large number of lyric roles including Armand des Grieux in '' Boulevard Solitude'', Almaviva in '' Il barbiere di Siviglia'', Nemorino in '' L'elisir d'amore'', Ernesto in '' Don Pasquale'', Duke of Mantua in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'', Alfredo in '' La traviata'', Fenton in '' Falstaff'', Des Grieux in '' Manon'', Nicias in '' Thaïs'', David in ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'' and the title role in Britten's '' Albert Herring''. During the late 1970s, Ahnsjö featured greatly in the Haydn Eszterháza Opera Cycle on

Philips Records Philips Records is a record label founded by Netherlands, Dutch electronics company Philips and in 1999 was absorbed into Netherlands, Dutch-United States, American music corporation Universal Music Group. It was founded as Philips Phonograph ...

, with Antal Doráti conducting the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. He sang in '' Armida'', ''

L'incontro improvviso ''L’incontro improvviso'' (The unexpected encounter) (Hob. XXVIII:6) is an opera in three acts by Joseph Haydn first performed at Eszterháza on 29 August 1775 to mark the four-day visit of Ferdinand I, Archduke of Austria-Este, Archduke Ferdina ...

'', '' L'infedeltà delusa'', '' La vera costanza'' and '' Orlando paladino''. In 1991, he played the role of Agenore in a live staging of Mozart's '' Il re pastore'', alongside Sylvia McNair, Jerry Hadley and Iris Vermillion, with Neville Marriner conducting the Academy of St Martin in the Fields. This was digitally remastered later that year to be used as Volume 35 of the Complete Mozart Edition. Ahnsjö made guest appearances at most of the major opera theatres in Europe and North America as well as in Japan. He also enjoyed a successful career as a concertist, notably in

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s and

lied In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

er. He was made a

Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...

in Munich in 1977. He was married to

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

Helena Jungwirth (1945–2023).

Sources

* ''Dictionnaire des interprètes'', Alain Pâris, Éditions Robert Laffont, Paris, 1989.

External links

Bach Cantatas Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahnsjoe, Claes-Hakan 1942 births Swedish operatic tenors Living people Singers from Stockholm 20th-century Swedish male opera singers Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni