Jakob Bloch Jespersen
Bass-Baritone
Bass-Baritone Jakob Bloch Jespersen acquired his initial musical education and interest in singing as a member of the Copenhagen Boy's Choir. This led to his earning a diploma from the Royal Danish Academy of Music and to further studies at the Opera Academy of the Royal Danish Theatre. In 2013 he received the Danish Music Critic’s Choice award.
Jakob Bloch Jespersen made his debut at the Royal Danish Theatre in 2006 as Angelotti in Puccini's Tosca under the direction of Giordano Bellincampi and participated in Carl Nielsen's Maskarade as Magister under the direction of Michael Schönwandt. He has also sung operatic roles such as Collatinus in Britten's Rape of Lucretia, Basilio in Rossini’s The Barber in Seville at The New Opera with Barokksolistene, Masetto in Mozart’s Don Giovanni and Marquese d’Obigny in Verdi’s La Traviata at Opera Hedeland, as well as performances in numerous contemporary opera productions.
Jakob Bloch Jespersen is in demand as a concert singer throughout Europe, with a repertoire stretching from the 17th until the 21st century. He has a particular affinity for German Baroque music, especially J.S. Bach, of whom he has performed numerous cantatas and large-scale works, such as the B-minor Mass with Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Andrea Marcon, Köthener Trauermusik with Lautten Compagney/Wolfgang Katschner, Saint Matthew and Saint John Passions with among others, Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Wroclaw Baroque Orchestra. In addition, he regularly performs with groups such as Trinity Baroque, Barokksolistene, Leipziger Kammerorchester, Concerto Copenhagen and Arte Dei Suonatori, with conductors such as Stephen Layton, Adam Fischer, Morten Schuldt Jensen, Olof Boman, Paul Hillier, Andrew Lawrence-King, and Lars Ulrik Mortensen.
In contemporary repertoire, Jakob Bloch Jespersen has performed music such as Luciano Berio’s Sinfonia, Karheinz Stockhausen’s Stimmung, and sung the part as Christus in Arvo Pärt’s Passio with Paul Hillier’s Theatre of Voices, as well as a number of world premiers in collaboration with ensembles such as Kammerensemble Neue Musik Berlin, Figura Ensemble, and London Sinfonietta.
Amongst his extensive discography are Kurt Weill’s Berliner Requiem on the label Glossa, J.S. Bach with Concerto Copenhagen/Lars Ulrik Mortensen on Deutsche Gramophone and CPO, the Grammy Award and Pulizer Prize-winning Little Match Girl Passion by David Lang with Theatre of Voices on Harmonia Mundi, and several recordings on the Danish label Dacapo, including Poul Schierbecks opera Fête Galante with Danish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Michael Schönwandt, Kasper Holten’s DVD-recording of Carl Nielsen's Maskarade, the part of Christus in the passions of Heinrich Schütz with Ars Nova Copenhagen/Paul Hillier, as well as Buxtehude cantatas with Theatre of Voices.
Jakob Bloch Jespersen has a particular interest in recitals, and he regularly performs major works of the lieder-genre, such as Schumann's Liederkreis op.39 and Schubert's Winterreise.
More on http://www.jakobbloch.com/