Field of Art: Singing and Knitting
Website: www.lisadaehlin.com & YouTube Channel
LISA DAEHLIN has performed numerous operatic roles including Amelia (Un Ballo in Maschera), Fiordiligi (Cosi Fan Tutte), Tatiana (Eugene Onegin), Angelica (Suor Angelica), Madame Lidoine (Dialogues of the Carmelites), First Lady (Magic Flute) and the High Priestess (Aida). Maestro Richard Woitach cast her to sing the role of Wellgunde (Das Rhinegold), and as his soprano in the concert Woitach and Friends 3-1/2. In New York City, Lisa performs at St. Paul’s Chapel, Cornelia Street Café, Performance Space 122, The Players Club, Gustavus Adolphus Swedish Lutheran Church, and at Sjømannskirken, The Norwegian Seamen’s Church. She has been heard on European concert stages in Italy, Germany, and Scandinavia.
In the summer of 2015, Lisa was an invited singer for the International Edvard Grieg Society in Bergen, Norway, where she had the opportunity to perform songs of Grieg in his villa at Troldhaugen. An extended concert tour of Norway included performances in Haugesund, Karmøy, Lillesand, Lindesnes, Lunner, and Gran. One particular highlight was singing with Mannskoret KK in Nikolaikirke, one of the famous and unique “sister churches” in Granavollen, Hadeland. This region, specifically the farm called “Dæhlin”, is one of Lisa’s ancestral homes in Norway. Other places from whence the branches of her family come include Tynset and Telemark. Daehlin’s family emigrated to the Upper Midwest region of the United States, settling in Wisconsin and Minnesota. She attended Concordia College in Moorhead, MN, earning her Bachelor’s degree in Music, and singing in the Concordia Choir under the direction of Paul J. Christiansen. She has the distinction of being Dr. Christiansen’s final soloist during his tenure as conductor of that renowned choir.
Singing and the voice brought Lisa to New York City, where she has consistently performed in opera, concert, church, and cabaret. Her concert repertoire focuses extensively on Norwegian, French, and American chanson, cabaret and art song. She sings a variety of styles and genres in venues as varied as the underground club to the concert hall. That blending and crossing over of styles is hinted at by the titles of her concerts: Raining of the Heart; All About Eve; Hark! What schtick through yonder window breaks?; Songs of Renewal and the Spring, Something Weill This Way Comes; Move Into the Light, and Transcending Exotic: Embracing Familiar. Whether she is performing the songs of Grieg and classical romantic composers in New York, Norway, or Minnesota; “chanteuse-ing and diseuse-ing” Dorothy Parker songs at the historic Algonquin’s Oak Room; or premiering newly-composed works at City Center and in collaboration with dance companies at Lincoln Center, the pendulum of Ms. Daehlin’s interest in song swings widely. One such theatre piece, marrying her work in the realm of fiber arts to that of classical song, is her performance of OperaKnit Cabaret, a one-woman show. This has further developed into subsequent performances of Twisted Stitch: Songs of Love and Knitting, which has been featured in cabarets, city parks, and yarn shops, and weaves together classical art song, popular music, and a world premier cycle of songs. As a fiber artist, some of Lisa’s improvisational lace designs take as their inspiration characters and emotions from Norwegian art song, including the magical Veslemøy of the Haugtussa.
Recently awarded a Masters Degree in Music and Music Education from the Teachers College of Columbia University, Lisa Daehlin operates a private voice studio in New York City.