Songs of the Heart

LEIF ARUHN-SOLÉN The Swedish tenor Leif Aruhn-Solén studied at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and at Oberlin College, USA. At home in both opera and oratorio, Leif has appeared throughout the world. His high tenor voice and his ease for coloratura has made him particularly appreciated in the baroque repertory and in the operas of Mozart and Rossini. Leif has appeared in Monteverdi's "L'Orfeo" both at the Geneva Opera and at Chicago Opera Theater, in Mozart's "Zaide" at the Wuppertal Opera in Germany, in Rossini's "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" at Festival d'Art Lyrique in France, in Strauss' "Die Frau ohne Schatten" at the Göteborg Opera in Sweden, in Rameau's "Hippolyte et Aricie" at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis and in a staged version of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" at New Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv, to mention a few. On the concert stage he has toured with the French baroque orchestra Les Arts Florissants conducted by William Christie and he has sung the large oratorios by Bach and Handel with such prestigious orchestras as the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Capriccio Basel, the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and the Drottningholm Baroque Ensemble. Leif is also passionate about art songs, Scandinavian as well as German, French and English. In 1997 he won the International Lieder Competition in Gorizia, Italy. VIKTOR ÅSLUND Viktor Åslund studied piano, violin, composition and conducting at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm with professors such as Greta Erikson, Jorma Panula and Jin Wang. He also studied with Geoffrey Parsons in London and Pierre Sancan in Nice. After his studies, Viktor Åslund worked for five years as a coach at the Royal Opera in Stockholm. On CD he has recorded songs by Nordic composers and by Richard Strauss. In 2000 he received his diploma in conducting and was appointed 1. Kapellmeister at the Norrlandsoperan. Viktor Åslund has ever since conducted concerts, operas and operettas in Europe and Asia. He conducted and co-produced the first performance of Mozart's "The Magic Flute" in Central-Asia. In the fall of 2004 he made his Berlin debut at the Komische Oper.