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The Norwegian boy soprano (treble), Aksel Rykkvin, has received singing lessons since he was 8 years old from voice teacher Helene Haarr. From 2013 onwards, Marianne Willumsen Lewis has been his main voice teacher, also in the preparation of the repertoire for his album. In 2015, he was accepted into “Musikk på Majorstuen”, an audition-based program for classical music talents that Majorstuen school in Oslo offers with the Barratt Due Institute of Music.
Aksel Rykkvin is a classically trained treble from the Children’s Chorus of the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet and Oslo Cathedral Boys’ Choir. He is in high demand as a soloist in operas, concerts and music festivals all across Norway. In March 2016 he received international acclaim for his role as 'the boy' in Rolf Wallin's new opera Elysium. The Financial Times wrote that Aksel was “freakishly good, with a musical assurance and richness of tone that are almost superhuman”, and Frankfürter Allgemeine called him an «outstanding, fabulously confident boy soprano».
In January 2016, Aksel Rykkvin recorded his debut album in London, with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, directed by Nigel Short. The album is titled "AKSEL! Arias by Bach, Handel & Mozart", and will be released in September 2016. Part of the recording was funded by a crowdfunding campaign that garnered extensive international support.
Aksel Rykkvin has held very well attended solo concerts in Oslo and Nidaros Cathedrals, as well as solo church and house concerts. At several official functions, he has sung for the Prime Minister of Norway, the Crown Prince and Crown Princess of Norway, and also for the Secretary General of NATO. In November 2015 he sang with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra for a full Oslo Concert Hall. For summer 2016, he was booked for multiple performances at the chamber music festivals in Risør and Oslo. In June 2015 he was invited by assistant Director of Music Ben Parry to sing a solo program in King’s College Chapel, Cambridge. He has performed erfoming as a soloist with many prominent musicians and ensembles in Norway and UK:
Aksel Rykkvin's career accelerated from November 2014, when he won the class for singers aged 10-15 years in the Norwegian Music Competition for Youth, achieving the maximum score. The jury (Elizabeth Norberg-Schulz, Ingebjørg Kosmo and Ståle Ytterli) wrote that Aksel was “a rare musical talent” and that he “gives the audience goosebumps when he sings”.
Aksel Rykkvin has received excellent reviews for soloist parts with the Children’s Chorus of the Norwegian National Opera & Ballet, lead by Edle Stray-Pedersen. Recently he played the title role in Kurt Weill’s learning opera Der Jasager.
NRK TV Hovedscenen made a 20-minute TV feature about the recording of Aksel's debut album, which has been re-run several times. In addition, Aksel has performed as a soloist on national television and radio on "TV2s Artistgalla” and “NRK P2 Spillerom”, on national evening news and Christmas specials, and in live broadcasts from church mass. He has a strong presence online, with his own English-language website, Facebook page and a very popular YouTube channel reaching an international audience. |
