Decca Classics to Release LISE DAVIDSEN: LIVE AT THE MET

Decca Classics will present Lise Davidsen: Live at the Met, a live recital recorded during the soprano’s landmark solo appearance at the Metropolitan Opera in September 2023. The album will be released on March 6, 2026.

Lise Davidsen has a close relationship with the Met, where she has appeared regularly since her 2019 debut in leading roles by Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Strauss, Verdi, Puccini, and Beethoven. The invitation for this recital came directly from Peter Gelb, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera. “I consider the Met my second home,” Davidsen says, “but being asked for something like this was very special.”

Accompanied by pianist James Baillieu, the program reflects the full spectrum of Davidsen’s range, moving effortlessly between opera, song, and musical theatre. 

Opera highlights include Wagner’s “Dich, teure Halle” from Tannhäuser and Amelia’s Act III aria from Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, and Puccini’s “Vissi d’arte”. These are paired with songs by Schubert, alongside music by Grieg and Sibelius, in a tribute to Davidsen’s Scandinavian heritage.

Peter Gelb has described Davidsen’s voice as possessing “incredible beauty but amazing power,” sounding “extraordinary in the Met’s luxurious acoustics,” and praised her ability to move between styles and scale, noting that she is “capable of wrapping her voice around the nuanced subtlety of Grieg, Sibelius, Schubert and Strauss,” while also able to “explode with power in ‘Dich, teure Halle’.”

The program also reveals a lighter side of Davidsen’s artistry, with operetta and musical theatre, including “I Could Have Danced All Night” from My Fair Lady. Reflecting on the recital, Davidsen says, “It felt so unique, a once in a lifetime experience.”

The release follows Davidsen’s acclaimed Wagner album, Der fliegende Holländer, recorded live with the Norwegian National Opera and released on Decca Classics, which won the 2025 Gramophone Award for Best Opera Recording and received widespread critical praise.

The album captures Davidsen at a pivotal moment in her career. In 2026, she makes her role debut as Isolde in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu, followed by a run of performances at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from March 9 to April 2, 2026. Tristan und Isolde is one of the ultimate roles for a dramatic soprano and a highlight of the Met’s 2025-26 season.

Further engagements include Verdi’s Macbeth in Copenhagen, as well as recital appearances with James Baillieu across Europe and the United States. In June 2026, Davidsen will appear at the Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts in two special events: on June 12 she leads the Festival Academy Masterclass with alumni singers from the Britten Pears Young Artist Programme, accompanied by James Baillieu, and on June 13 she makes her Aldeburgh Festival recital debut at Snape Maltings Concert Hall, performing a program of songs by Schubert, including “Gretchen am Spinnrade”, songs from “Wilhelm Meister”, “Der Tod und das Mädchen” and “Erlkönig”.

Tracklist

Puccini
     “Vissi d’arte” Tosca (Act II · Floria Tosca)
Verdi
     “Morrò, ma prima in grazia” Un ballo in maschera (Act III · Amelia)
R. Strauss
     Gedichte aus “Letzte Blätter” 
     No.1 Zueignung 
     No.8 Allerseelen
     No.4 Befreit
     No.4 Morgen! 
Schubert
     An die Musik D.547
     Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 118
     Litanei auf das Fest Aller Seelen, D. 343
Sibelius
     Den första kyssen, Op. 37, No. 1
     Var det en dröm?, Op. 37, No. 4
     Flickan kom ifrån sin älsklings möte, Op. 37, No. 5
     Svarta rosor, Op. 36, No. 1
Kálmán
     Die Csárdásfürstin, Act I: I
Loewe
     My Fair Lady, Act I: I Could Have Danced All Night
Wagner
     Tannhäuser, Act II: Dich, teure Halle
Grieg
     Våren