Reviews & biography
Excerpts from reviews, quoted in the critic's own language and linked to the full text, and two biographies to use in programmes and announcements.
Elektra
“the Elektra of Ingela Brimberg (making her UK debut) was magnificent … in an amazing characterisation of magnificent stamina.”“Brimberg tackled the formidable title role with poise, grit and stamina, capturing Elektra’s obsessive, consuming grief and rage with intensity.”“Sie füllt lange Phrasen leuchtend und unangestrengt … Brimberg ist eine Meisterin der Zwischentöne und der musikalischen Expression psychischer Gefährdung.”She fills long phrases radiantly and without strain … Brimberg is a mistress of nuance and of the musical expression of psychological peril.
Der fliegende Holländer · Senta
“Ingela Brimberg need fear comparisons with no other Senta on record. She sings the part with power, heroism and also great vocal beauty.”“la soprano suédoise Ingela Brimberg … livre une performance lumineuse et intense en Senta.”the Swedish soprano Ingela Brimberg … gives a luminous and intense performance as Senta.
“La voix, aux teintes assez sombres, est longue, puissante mais souple, capable de legato et de nuances”The voice, rather dark in colour, is long, powerful yet supple, capable of legato and nuance
“Swedish soprano Ingela Brimberg, with her clear ringing voice, was fully convincing as the young girl Senta, in love with a myth.”“Lo mejor de la velada estuvo en la Senta de la soprano sueca Ingela Brimberg … Demostró tener ya mimbres de excelente wagneriana”The best of the evening was the Senta of the Swedish soprano Ingela Brimberg … She showed she already has the makings of an excellent Wagnerian
“Elle chante Senta pour la première fois … et elle s’empare du personnage avec une autorité confondante.”She is singing Senta for the first time … and she takes hold of the character with astonishing authority.
Der Ring des Nibelungen · Brünnhilde
“Ingela Brimberg … has the measure of Brünnhilde’s final top C as well as lending an unforced, lyric tenderness to her tricky awakening.”“Vocalement, la prestation impressionne : la résistance est étonnante … les contre-ut sont fièrement dardés”Vocally, the performance impresses: the stamina is astonishing … the top Cs are proudly hurled out
“she delivered a stellar Brünnhilde with an especially impressive top register. “Heil, Sonne” was secure and refulgent”Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk · Katerina Izmailova
“Eine Sensation als Katerina ist Ingela Brimberg, die alle Töne ihrer Riesenpartie beißt, attackiert, metallisch flutet und in ihrer unüberbrückbaren Einsamkeit ans Herz rührt.”Ingela Brimberg is a sensation as Katerina: she bites into and attacks every note of her enormous part, floods it with metal, and in her unbridgeable loneliness touches the heart.
Fidelio · Leonore
“… gestaltete auch die schwedische Sopranistin Ingela Brimberg ihre Rolle mit vielen einfühlsamen Momenten mit warmer manchmal rauer Stimme sicher und sensibel.”… the Swedish soprano Ingela Brimberg shaped her role with many sensitive moments, in a warm, sometimes rough voice, securely and sensitively.
Turandot
“Brimberg’s ‘In questa reggia’ and much else besides was sung with suitably imperious effect.”Peter Grimes · Ellen Orford
“Ingela Brimberg in her first role at the Royal Opera was a sensationally good Ellen Orford, vocally glowing and heroic, scenically vulnerable and affecting.”Biography
Free to use in programmes, announcements and press releases. For photos and interviews, please contact her management.
Contact →Short biography
Ingela Brimberg is a Swedish dramatic soprano, celebrated for the heroines of Wagner and Strauss. She has sung Brünnhilde, Elektra, Senta and Isolde at houses including La Monnaie, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Teatro Real, Theater an der Wien, the Grand Théâtre de Genève and the Royal Swedish Opera.
Full biography
Ingela Brimberg is a Swedish dramatic soprano, celebrated for her interpretations of the heroines of Wagner and Strauss. Born in Stockholm, she trained at the Academy of Music and Drama at the University of Gothenburg and began her career as a mezzo-soprano before moving into the soprano repertoire in 2003.
Her international breakthrough came in 2011 as Valentine in Meyerbeer's Les Huguenots at La Monnaie in Brussels, conducted by Marc Minkowski. She has since sung Brünnhilde in the Ring at La Monnaie, the Theater an der Wien and the Teatro Real, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées and Oper Leipzig, and Elektra at the Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Royal Swedish Opera, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg and the Edinburgh International Festival.
She has worked with conductors including Alain Altinoglu, Karina Canellakis, Alan Gilbert, Pablo Heras-Casado, Marc Minkowski, Donald Runnicles and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Her recordings include Der fliegende Holländer on CD (Naïve) and on DVD (Naxos, Harmonia Mundi) and Elektra on DVD (C Major). She received the Svenska Dagbladet Opera Prize in 2012 and the royal medal Litteris et Artibus in 2026.