Njål Sparbo
Njål Sparbo (born May 13, 1964) is a Norwegian classical bass-baritone singer.
Njål Sparbo is a merited oratorio singer with more than 50 major oratorioes on his repertoire, and he has sung leading parts in a number of opera productions. He is an advocate of contemporary music and has sung numerous world premiere performances of Norwegian composers, including 10 contemporary opera productions. His solo engagements include all the major Norwegian choirs and orchestras, The Norwegian National Opera, and venues all over Europe, including Russia, U.S. and Japan. Sparbo has had more than 150 Lieder recitals together with Norway's leading pianists, and his recordings of "Grieg & Schubert: Songs", and Franz Schubert’s "Winterreise", have been praised.
(«Exemplary Sparbo, brilliant Schubert: ... I must give him my unreserved congratulations to a recording which leaves you with a sense of loss from the moment it ceases. It is in fact not just the work itself that so strongly spellbinds the listener in me, it is equally Sparbo's interpretation ... Espen Mineur Sætre, Morgenbladet).
Sparbo has released the first recording of a CD-anthology of Norwegian songs: "Norge, mitt Norge!".
He performs regularly at festivals and on television/radio. Among his performances are Mahler’s ”Lieder eines fahrendes Gesellen” with the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields in London, Bach’s ”Christmas Oratorio” with the Drottningholm's Baroque Orchestra in Uppsala and Rossini’s ”Petite Messe Sollenelle” in Köln Philharmonie, Kverno's "St. Matthew Passion" in New York City and Manoa in Handel's "Samson" at the London Handel Festival.
In 2009, Sparbo received the Grieg Award, which is awarded annually by the Edvard Grieg museum Troldhaugen.