Signe Asmussen
{{short description|Danish mezzosoprano singer}}
File:The Tolkien Ensemble.jpg in 2015]]
Signe Asmussen Manuitt (born 1970) is a Danish mezzosoprano singer who has performed widely, not only in classical concerts, chamber music and opera but also in Latin jazz and as a member of The Tolkien Ensemble.{{cite web|url=http://www.grupocubita.dk/DreamHC/Side25.html|title=Signe Asmussen Manuitt|publisher= Grupo Cubita|accessdate=18 June 2018 |language=}} Since 2001, she has made a mark as one of Denmark's most impressive female singers.{{cite news|url=https://www.b.dk/kultur/blandet-selskab-0|title=Blandet selskab |author=Levinsen, Jakob|newspaper=Berlingske|date=26 October 2001|accessdate=18 June 2018 |language=Danish}} In addition to appearances in Denmark, she has given recitals in London's Wigmore Hall and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw.{{cite web|url=http://www.guidopera.com/signe-asmussen|title=Signe Asmussen|publisher=GuidOpera|accessdate=18 June 2018 |language=Danish}} Asmussen recently starred as Hanna Glawari in Operette Kompagniet's production of The Merry Widow.{{cite web|url=https://www.operettekompagniet.dk/single-post/2016/09/26/SIGNE-ER-VORES-HANNA-GLAWARI|title=Signe er vores Hanna Glawari|publisher=Operette Kompagniet|accessdate=18 June 2018 |language=Danish}} She is married to the Cuban Salsa singer Ernesto Manuitt.{{cite web|url=http://www.signeasmussen.dk/side5.html|title=The Latin Side...|publisher=Signe Asmussen|accessdate=18 June 2018 |language=}}
Biography
Born in 1970 in Copenhagen, Signe Asmussen was brought up in a musical family, learning to sing and play the violin from an early age. She studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Music under Bodil Øland and Keld Thaarup, graduating as a soloist in 2001. From the start, she received encouraging support from the critics as she branched out into virtually all genres. She became particularly fond of singing lieder, developing an extensive repertoire as a member of Liedkompagniet founded by Christian Westergaard. She has been accompanied by prominent pianists from Denmark and abroad, including Howard Shelley and Peter Hill, and has sung with orchestras conducted by Thomas Dausgaard, Lan Shui, Michel Tabachnik, Michael Seal and Howard Shelley.
Asmussen has participated in several ensembles, including Theatre of Voices,{{cite web|url=http://theatreofvoices.com/about-tov/signe-asmussen-mezzo/|title=Signe Asmussen, mezzo|publisher=Theatre of Voices|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=}} the Copenhagen Saxophone Quartet,{{cite web|url=http://nordvestjyskmusikkreds.dk/html/cpsax.html|title=Koncert med: Copenhagen Saxophone Quartet og sopranen Signe Asmussen|publisher=Nordvestjysk Musikkreds|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=Danish}} Athelas Sinfonietta,{{cite web|url=https://www.worldconcerthall.com/en/schedule/asmussen_jespersen_and_the_athelas_sinfonietta_play_saariaho_nielsen_holm_and_more_in_copenhagen/26979/|title=Asmussen, Jespersen and the Athelas Sinfonietta play Saariaho, Nielsen, Holm and more in Copenhagen|publisher=World Concert Hall|date=2016|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=}} Figura Ensemble.{{cite web|url=http://seismograf.org/event/2016/11/29/figura-ensemble-signe-asmussen|title=Figura Ensemble // Signe Asmussen|publisher=Seismograf|date=2016|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=}} and the Esbjerg Ensemble.{{cite web|url=https://www.dr.dk/musik/titel/chansons%2Bmad%25c3%25a9casses%252c%2Bnahandove/12321822101-3-1|title=Chansons Madécasses, Nahandove: Esbjerg Ensemble & Signe Asmussen |publisher=DR: Danmarks Radio|date=28 January 2018|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=Danish}} As an opera singer, she has appeared at the Royal Danish Opera and at Den Jyske Opera in a variety of roles, including Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Bertha in The Barber of Seville and Musette in La Bohème.{{cite web|url=http://viaartis.info/songbook-from-eldorado/participants|title=Songbook from Eldorado|publisher=Via Artis|date=2013|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=}}
In 2013, she sang and played the violin in Sangbogen fra Eldorado, a lively baroque concert inspired by 17th and 18th century Latin-American songs.{{cite web|url=http://viaartis.info/songbook-from-eldorado/da|title=Sangbogen fra Eldorado|publisher=Via Artis|date=2013|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=}} As a member of Grupo Cubita, she has also sung modern Cuban numbers.{{cite web|url=http://www.aok.dk/musik/grupo-cubita-live-paa-soepavillonen|title=Grupo Cubita Live på Søpavillonen|publisher=AOK|date=20 April 2009|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=Danish}}
Awards
Signe Asmussen has received a number of grants and scholarships. In 2009, she was awarded the Aksel Schiøtz prize for excellence as a lieder singer.{{cite web|url=http://www.djo-venner.dk/pages/asmussen_pris.asp|title=Signe Asmussen modtager Aksel Schiøtz Prisen|publisher=Den Jyske Operas Venner|date=13 September 2009|accessdate=19 June 2018 |language=Danish}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://signeasmussen.dk/home/about.html Signe Asmussen's website]
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Category:Singers from Copenhagen
Category:Danish operatic mezzo-sopranos
Category:21st-century Danish musicians
Category:Danish women violinists
Category:Royal Danish Academy of Music alumni
Category:21st-century Danish women musicians