Sissel Kyrkjebø

Sissel Kyrkjebø (; born 24 June 1969), also known abroad as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano. She is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos. Her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs to classical vocals and operatic arias.

She rose to prominence in Norway in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and her cover version of Ole Paus' song " Innerst i sjelen" (Deep in My Soul) gained wide popularity in the 1990s. She is well known for singing the Olympic Hymn (Hymne Olympique) at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway; for duets with Plácido Domingo and Charles Aznavour at the Christmas in Vienna concert of 1994, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Josh Groban, Neil Sedaka, Mario Frangoulis, Russell Watson, Brian May, Tommy Körberg, Diana Krall, Warren G, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and The Chieftains; and for her participation on the ''Titanic'' film soundtrack.

Sissel received her first US Grammy nominations on 6 December 2007 for a collaboration with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. '' Spirit of the Season,'' a collection of songs from the choir's 2006 Christmas concert at Temple Square, was nominated for the Best Classical Crossover Album of the Year as well as Best Engineered Classical Album.

Sissel's combined solo record sales—not including soundtracks and other albums to which she contributed—amount to 10 million albums, most of them in Norway, a country with 5 million people. Her albums have also sold well in Sweden, Denmark, and Japan. She and Odd Nordstoga are the only Norwegian artists to have an album go 11 times platinum in album sales for ''Strålande Jul'' (Glorious Christmas).

Although Sissel sings mainly in English and Norwegian, she has also sung in Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Irish, Italian, French, Russian, Icelandic, Faroese, German, Neapolitan, Māori, Japanese, and Latin.

In Norway she is mostly known as Sissel Kyrkjebø, her last name meaning "church farm" or "church field". She started using her first name mononymously abroad later in her career.

Early life

Sissel grew up in Lønborg in Bergen Municipality with two older brothers, Eirik and Bjørn. She and her parents often took hikes in the mountains surrounding Bergen. In her early years she wanted to be a nurse, but at the age of nine music became her passion.

She joined her first children's choir under the direction of New Zealand-born conductor Felicity Laurence. She stayed with the choir for seven years and said of her experience, "That was my musical education. We sang everything: classical and jazz, folk and even Māori songs. People said we sounded like an angel choir because we had this very clean pure sound, almost like an English boys' choir."

Sissel won her first local talent competition when she was ten. She was influenced by various musical genres; her parents were interested in country music and classical music and her brothers in rock music. She has also stated that Barbra Streisand, Kathleen Battle, and Kate Bush were inspirations.

Her first name " Sissel" is a Norwegian variant of "Cecilia". This is a popular first name from Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of church music. Her last name, meaning "church farm" or "church field", may be derived from an agricultural property owned by or located near the local church.

Career

1983–1985: First television appearances, ''Syng med oss''

In 1980, she appeared in the sing-along program ''Syng med oss'' (Sing with us) together with a children's choir. Her first solo appearance was in 1984, when she sang the Norwegian folk song "Ung Åslaug". Sissel performed in this program many times until 1989. Her first solo television appearance without the choir was in 1983 on Norwegian television, with the song "Evergreen" in the children's program '. Later in the same year, she and Rune Larsen, her later manager, guested the television program ' ("Do You Remember?"), hosted by Odd Grythe, in which she performed "Barndomshjemmet" (Childhood Home) and "Sukiyaki".

Her signature song has been "Å, Vestland, Vestland" (O, Westland, Westland) ever since she first sang it on ''Syng med oss'' in 1985.

1986–1994: Rise to prominence in Norway, ''Sissel'', ''Soria Moria,'' and ''Innerst i sjelen''

In January 1986, Sissel appeared on the Norwegian television show ''Kanal 1'', hosted by Ivar Dyrhaug. She performed " You Don't Bring Me Flowers", by Barbra Streisand, and later, in February, she performed " Comin' In and Out of Your Life" on the '' 1986 Alpine Skiing World Cup'' television show in Norway. In May, Sissel performed " Bergensiana" during the intermission of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, which took place in Grieg Hall in her home town of Bergen. That was her big breakthrough and in the same year, her first album, '' Sissel'', was released. It sold more than 500,000 copies, making it the best-selling album in Norway at that time.

In 1987, Sissel made her debut on Danish television on ''Under Uret'', hosted by Hans Otto Bisgaard. She performed two songs: "Vårvise" (Springtime), with Danish singer/composer Sebastian, and " Summertime". Later that year, in November, Sissel released her Christmas album '' Glade Jul'' (Merry Christmas) with several traditional Christmas carols. It broke her previous record for best-selling album in Norway, and still holds the record. Upon its release, it sold more than 600,000 copies in a country with a population of fewer than 5 million. To date, it has sold approximately 1 million copies. In Sweden, a Swedish-language version was released, called ''Stilla natt'' (Silent Night). Norwegian newspaper ''Dagbladet'' honored her as "The Name of the Year" in December. Sissel also was invited that year to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 1987, but she declined, wanting a break from her music career.

She attended a commercial upper-secondary school in Bergen, but in February of 1988 she performed at the memorial concert for singer/songwriter Trygve Henrik Hoff in Tromsø. He had written several of the songs on her debut album, '' Sissel,'' from 1986 but died in 1987. In the fall of 1988, Sissel moved to Oslo for a short period to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the Norwegian version of ''The Sound of Music''. This production set box-office records and was seen by over 110,000 people.

In 1989, she released her third album, '' Soria Moria'', named after a Norwegian fairy tale, which sold 180,000 copies. In the summer of the same year, Sissel travelled to the US and performed in New York City on the television program '' Artists for Our Common Future'', which was broadcast around the world, singing " Summertime" and "Somewhere".
On a Swedish television concert recorded in Gothenburg, she met Danish comedian and singer Eddie Skoller, whom she later married, at which they sang "Vårvise" (Springtime) by Sebastian.

In 1990, Sissel recorded the singing parts of the character Princess Ariel for the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish versions of the 1989 Disney movie ''The Little Mermaid'', and played the voice role of Ariel in the Norwegian and Swedish versions. In the same year Sissel visited the Faeroe Islands, developing a project called "Kystland" (Coastland). It resulted in two television programs, ''Med Sissel til Kirkjubø'' (With Sissel to Kirkjubø) and the church concert Tidin rennur (Time is Running Out).

In December 1990, Sissel opened the new concert hall in Oslo, Oslo Spektrum, at the Christmas concert Å gi er å se (To Give Is to See) .

In 1991, Sissel toured Norway and Denmark with her very successful church concert Tidin rennur (Time is Running Out). In the fall of 1991, Sissel met and performed with Neil Sedaka on the Norwegian television show '' Momarkedet'', singing Sedaka's song "Solitaire" while he played the piano. He was very impressed, and they collaborated on her next album, '' Gift of Love,'' which would come out the next year as her first album featuring only songs with English lyrics. On it Sissel sang three songs written by Sedaka, including a duet with him on " Breaking Up Is Hard To Do".

In the winter of 1992, Sissel made a short appearance at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in Albertville, France. Dressed as a princess and seated on a giant fake polar bear as in the Norwegian folktale '' Kvitebjørn kong Valemon'' (White Bear King Valemon), she performed "Molde Canticle" (Molde is the name of the location of an annual music festival in Norway) by Jan Garbarek. She was also named one of the official musicians for the upcoming 1994 Winter Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway. In October, Sissel's album ''Gift of Love'' was released but sold only 60,000 copies, receiving criticism for her new style. Later that year, she joined Neil Sedaka on his fall tour in Norway and also did several event performances in the US.

In the summer of 1993, Sissel played the role of Solveig in ''Peer Gynt,'' by Henrik Ibsen, at Den Nationale Scene (The National Scene) in Bergen, a performance that was very well received by critics. Later, in August, her marriage to Eddie Skoller took place in Mariakirken (St. Mary's Church) in Bergen. Thousands of fans waited in the rain outside the church to get a glimpse of Sissel after the wedding ceremony. The wedding received a great deal of attention from the Norwegian and Danish press.

In February 1994, Sissel performed during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.
During the Olympics, legendary Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo visited Norway, where he came across one of her earlier albums. He contacted Sissel and the next day they recorded " Se ilden lyse (Fire in Your Heart), Fire in Your Heart", an English version of "Se ilden lyse", the official theme song of the Lillehammer Olympics. These two versions of the song were released in February 1994 on Sissel's solo album '' Innerst i sjelen'' (Deep in My Soul), a collection of Nordic folk songs. Domingo invited Sissel, along with world-renowned French singer Charles Aznavour, to take part in his annual Christmas in Vienna concert later that year. The concert was broadcast around the world and released as an album internationally.

1995–2001: Climb to international recognition, ''All Good Things'' and ''In Symphony''

In 1995, Sissel was invited to perform at the 1995 Live For Peace – Royal Gala in London. In celebration of 50 years since VE Day—the end of World War II in Europe—she performed before Charles, then Prince of Wales and other Royal Family members in the London Coliseum, singing the renowned aria " O Mio Babbino Caro" (O My Dear Papa) from the opera '' Gianni Schicchi'' by Giacomo Puccini, and the Norwegian classic "Vitae Lux" (Light of Life) with the choir Gli Scapoli (The Bachelors).

In 1997, Sissel toured the US with the Irish group The Chieftains. They appeared, among other places, on the Late Show with David Letterman and in Carnegie Hall. Later that summer, Sissel was involved in recording the soundtrack to the film ''Titanic''. The soundtrack, titled '' Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture'', became immensely popular, reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts and selling more than 30 million copies worldwide. James Horner, the composer of the film's music, knew Sissel from her album '' Innerst i sjelen'' (Deep in My Soul) and he particularly liked how she sang '' Eg veit i himmerik ei borg'' (I know in Heaven there is a castle). Horner had tried out 25 or 30 singers before deciding on Sissel. She was then scheduled to record the theme song to James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster film ''Titanic'', but Celine Dion's vocals were preferred due to Horner's decision to support Dion's career. In an interview from December 2014, Horner said: "When I had completed the ''Titanic'' ovie I had to decide for Celine Dion or Sissel s ocals Sissel I am very close, while Celine I had known since she was 18, and I had already written three film songs for er But that was before Celine was known and filmmakers and marketing people had not done what they should have done for Celine and ersongs. So I felt I owed her a ''Titanic'' chance, but I could tillhave used Sissel there." Instead, Sissel completed much of the film score for the soundtrack album.

Sissel had a No.1 hit across Europe in 1998 with " Prince Igor", a duet with an American rapper Warren G on the concept album ''The Rapsody Overture'', which combined American rappers with European opera singers. She sang an aria from Alexander Borodin's opera '' Prince Igor'' during the chorus, while Warren G rapped. When the song was recorded, she had just a half hour to learn the Russian lyrics. She got help from a Russian taxi driver in New York City—whose name, coincidentally, was Igor. Although she had been on her way to the airport, the taxi driver drove her directly to the studio and followed her in. He helped her sing the Russian words correctly while she recorded her part of the lyrics. In the end, he was satisfied and they made it to the airport afterwards.

On St. Patrick's Day that year, Sissel made her second performance on the ''Late Show'', singing "Love, Will You Marry Me?" with The Chieftains.

In 1999, Sissel started working on a new album with producer Rick Chertoff, and travelled between Copenhagen and New York. Although the CD was to be released in 2000, she was unhappy with the results of the recording sessions and scrapped the album. That year she sang the Irish Gaelic song '' Siúil A Rún'' on The Chieftains' 1999 album '' Tears of Stone''.

At the beginning of 2000, Bergen was designated as the "European city of culture" and Sissel performed at the opening ceremony. In May, as a part of Bergen's Nattjazz Festival'','' she performed at a concert at which she sang several duets with jazz singer Diana Krall. In November 2000, Sissel released (in Norway only) her album, '' All Good Things'', which was her first solo album in nearly seven years. Following high sales of 300,000 copies, the album was released throughout Europe and Asia the following year, including a duet with fellow Norwegian singer Espen Lind on " Where the Lost Ones Go" that was also released on his album ''This Is Pop Music'' the next year. In early December, Sissel performed Christmas carols and a few of her new tunes at the Festival of Lights (Lysfest) in Bergen, culminating the city's celebration of being the European city of culture and broadcast live online. Later the same month, she was invited to represent Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, where—after being introduced by Jane Seymour as "the Norwegian star Sissel"—she sang "One Day" and "Weightless", both songs from her album '' All Good Things''.

Sissel also released a greatest-hits collection in Japan that included two new songs in collaboration with Gheorghe Zamfir, a Romanian pan-flutist. These songs were used on the Japanese television show '' Summer Snow'', one of which was the show's theme song. Enormously popular in Japan, Sissel has released several Japanese versions of her albums there.

In 2001, Sissel was asked to sing a duet with the Danish goth rockers Sort Sol (Black Sun). Inspired by the Kylie Minogue/Nick Cave ballad " Where the Wild Roses Grow", she sang with Sort Sol on the track "Elia Rising" from their album ''Snakecharmer'', released in May 2001. She and this group also performed together at Tivoli in Copenhagen and the Roskilde Festival that year—at the latter, before a raucous audience of 50,000 rock fans at 2 am.

Sissel made her debut on the big screen in June, playing a female lumberjack, Inga, in the Danish children's film " Flyvende farmor" (Flying Grandma). In this movie, Sissel sang the Danish song "Himlen over Himmelbjerget" (The Sky above Himmelbjerget). In September, Sissel played two In Symphony concerts in Drammen, Norway, with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and special guests. The concert was broadcast in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark and was also released as a live CD, '' Sissel in Symphony'', which sold 240,000 copies.

Later in autumn 2001, Sissel toured Scandinavia and sang at a memorial ceremony in October at Copenhagen Airport. Sissel then performed at a memorial concert for a 17-year-old boy, Benjamin Hermansen, the victim of a racially motivated murder in a suburb of Oslo. She also performed at an AIDS/HIV benefit concert in Kulturkirken Jakob (Jacob Culture Church), Oslo, where she sang " Eg ser" (I See). On 6 December, Sissel performed with the Oslo Gospel Choir in Washington, DC, as part of Norwegian Visions 2001.

2002–2008: More international success, ''My Heart'', ''Nordisk Vinternatt'' and ''Into Paradise''

In 2002, Sissel recorded two duets, "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary) and "Bist du Bei Mir" (Are You with Me) (BWV 508), with Plácido Domingo in April for his ''Sacred Songs'' album, released in September of that year. On 24 May 2002, dressed in traditional Norwegian costume, Sissel performed the Norwegian psalm "Lær meg å kjenne" (Get to Know Me) at the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise of Norway and Ari Behn in the Nidaros Cathedral. In August, Sissel performed with the Danish Radio Orchestra at two outdoor concerts in the park surrounding Ledreborg Castle near Roskilde in Denmark. In addition to the orchestra, Sissel entertained the sold-out crowd of 22,000, along with guest artists such as Paddy Moloney and The Pilatze Brothers.

On 1 October 2002, Sissel released her first album in the US, which sold over 100,000 copies in its first three months of release with hardly any advertising or marketing
—better than Decca Records, Decca record executives had expected, their initial goal having been 100,000 copies in the first ''nine'' months. The album, titled ''Sissel'', was largely a re-recording of songs from her Norwegian album, '' All Good Things'' with the addition of two songs, "Solitaire" and " Shenandoah". In late 2002, one of Sissel's concerts was filmed at the Oslo Spektrum and later broadcast on PBS in the US in March 2003. Among her guests was British singer Russell Watson. The production was subsequently released as the DVD ''Sissel in Concert''. In December 2002, she was once again invited to represent Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, at which she sang " Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from '' The Wizard of Oz'' and " The Prayer" in a duet with Josh Groban.

Sissel closed out 2002 by performing at a Christmas concert, Christmas in Moscow 2003, in Moscow, Russia with José Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Emma Shapplin. The concert garnered mixed reviews from the Russian media, although Sissel received all-around high marks. Originally broadcast on Russian television, it was released on CD in October 2014.

In April 2003, Sissel performed in Tokyo, Japan. During April and May, she also toured the US, visiting Philadelphia, St. Louis, and New York City. A Poulsen rose—a rose bred to thrive in cold Scandinavian winters—was named after Sissel on 10 August in Denmark with the accolade, "She spreads joy among all of us with her wonderful voice". During the award ceremony in the garden of Haraldsted Church, Sissel performed " The Rose", "Vatnet, våren, fela", and " Solveig's Song". Later that year, she sang with Swedish singer Peter Jöback on the Christmas single " Gå inte forbi" (Don't Pass By) for his new holiday CD and also guested him on his Christmas tour in Sweden.

Sissel released her second US album, ''My Heart'', in March 2004. It was a classical crossover album, including two pop songs written by Richard Marx and one ballad, "Wait A While", written by Jon Lord of Deep Purple. ''My Heart'' reached No. 3 on the Billboard Classical Album Chart after debuting at No. 7 and spent 31 weeks there. In the summer and fall of 2004, Sissel went on tour with The Lord of the Rings Symphony.
She was a featured Solo (music), soloist for an orchestral performance dedicated to the music from ''The Lord of the Rings'' films. ''The Lord of the Rings'' composer Howard Shore, who arranged and conducted the music, planned on hiring three soprano singers to handle the vocal chores, but after hearing Sissel, decided she would be enough. At each performance, Sissel performed with a symphony orchestra and choirs with 200 musicians on stage. Shore commented: "Ancient Norwegian mythology and culture had a great influence on Tolkien's work. It is very thrilling to have the Norwegian singer Sissel perform as a soloist in The Lord of the Rings Symphony. Sissel's radiant voice illuminates this work." When asked about the tour in an interview, Sissel replied: "I love the music. It's such a wonderful feeling to be sitting in the middle of a symphony orchestra, surrounded by the beautiful voices of the choir and all those gorgeous melodies."