Karen Mathilde Heier Hovd is a Norwegian singer based in Oslo, where she graduated from the National Opera Academy in 2023. Over the last couple of years Karen has had the pleasure of participating in several exciting productions both as a student and as a freelance artist. Some of the parts Karen has been heard in lately are «Lisetta» in Haydn’s Il Mondo della Luna and «Amor» in Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice with the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra (TSO), as «Irene» in Händel’s Atalanta with Orkester Nord, «Dido» in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Barokksolistene (and stage direction by Stefan Herheim), as «Don Ramiro» in Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera with The Norwegian Radio Orchestra (KORK), and as «Juno» in Graupner’s Mit Pauken und Trompeten at the Bachfest Leipzig. 

Additionally Karen also does a lot of modern music, and has on several occasions had music written specifically for her voice. In 2023, Karen was a soloist in a modern music project with the Oslo Philharmonic (OFO). That same year she was also one of two soloists at the world premiere of Håkon Daniel Nystedt’s Stabat Mater performed in the Oslo Cathedral during the Oslo Church Music Festival, as well as performing one of the main roles in the world premiere of Nystedt’s new opera Anima. In the autumn of 2023, Karen was selected as one of four participants (amongst hundreds of applicants) to join a three-day workshop with the world famous mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato at Carnegie Hall. Parts of this was livestreamed by MediciTV, the world’s leading online platform for classical music. Starting the autumn of 2024 Karen will be a talent profile for the organization Talent Norway/Talent Trondheim.