Concert review: Lisa Dæhlin sings

Photo: Lisa Daehlin, Singer / Facebook
Lisa Dæhlin singing in Bryant Park, New York City, in June of 2013.

James Stuart Osbourn
New York

Lisa Dæhlin sang in performance on Sunday afternoon, Sept. 14, at the Norwegian Seaman’s Church in Manhattan. The program included works by Grieg, Hahn, Porter, Kern and others. A soprano, her voice soared richly and at other times passages filled the auditorium with softly modulated lyricism.

Dæhlin can interpret the human passions with great sensitivity and is also quite effective at delivering the sound of the hooves of goats clopping over stones and the wind filling the sails of a ship. She is a showman who uses expressive gestures of eye and hand. Impish, at times even goofy, but always unpretentious, she sings with an ecstatic sense of joy. To her credit, the sense of ease with herself and with audience is always evident.

Dæhlin lives in Manhattan but hails from Minnesota. She has performed in concert in Germany and Italy. She has also sung roles such as Amelia in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Mascheria, Angelina in Poulenc’s Dialogues of the Carmelites, Wellgunde in Wagner’s Das Rheingold, and many others. Dæhlin is also quite at home in the cabaret scene and often is heard at the Cornelia Street Cafe in the West Village. Awarded a Masters Degree in Music Education from Teachers College of Columbia University, Dæhlin now operates a private voice studio.

This article originally appeared in the Sept. 19, 2014 issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (800) 305-0271.