Sissel Kyrkjebø

She rose to prominence in Norway in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and her cover version of Ole Paus' song "Innerst i sjelen" (Deep in My Soul) gained wide popularity in the 1990s.

She is well known for singing the Olympic Hymn (Hymne Olympique) at the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway; for duets with Plácido Domingo and Charles Aznavour at the Christmas in Vienna concert of 1994, José Carreras, Andrea Bocelli, Bryn Terfel, Josh Groban, Neil Sedaka, Mario Frangoulis, Russell Watson, Brian May, Tommy Körberg, Diana Krall, Warren G, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and The Chieftains; and for her participation on the Titanic film soundtrack.

[2] Although Sissel sings mainly in English and Norwegian, she has also sung in Spanish, Swedish, Danish, Irish, Italian, French, Russian, Icelandic, Faroese, German, Neapolitan, Māori, Japanese, and Latin.

[12] In May, Sissel performed "Bergensiana" during the intermission of the Eurovision Song Contest 1986, which took place in Grieg Hall in her home town of Bergen.

In the fall of 1988, Sissel moved to Oslo for a short period to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the Norwegian version of The Sound of Music.

In the summer of the same year, Sissel travelled to the US and performed in New York City on the television program Artists for Our Common Future, which was broadcast around the world, singing "Summertime" and "Somewhere".

On a Swedish television concert recorded in Gothenburg, she met Danish comedian and singer Eddie Skoller, whom she later married, at which they sang "Vårvise" (Springtime) by Sebastian.

He contacted Sissel and the next day they recorded "Fire in Your Heart", an English version of "Se ilden lyse", the official theme song of the Lillehammer Olympics.

Domingo invited Sissel, along with world-renowned French singer Charles Aznavour, to take part in his annual Christmas in Vienna concert later that year.

In celebration of 50 years since VE Day—the end of World War II in Europe—she performed before Charles, then Prince of Wales and other Royal Family members in the London Coliseum, singing the renowned aria "O Mio Babbino Caro" (O My Dear Papa) from the opera Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini, and the Norwegian classic "Vitae Lux" (Light of Life) with the choir Gli Scapoli (The Bachelors).

James Horner, the composer of the film's music, knew Sissel from her album Innerst i sjelen (Deep in My Soul) and he particularly liked how she sang Eg veit i himmerik ei borg (I know in Heaven there is a castle).

Later the same month, she was invited to represent Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, where—after being introduced by Jane Seymour as "the Norwegian star Sissel"[32]—she sang "One Day" and "Weightless", both songs from her album All Good Things.

Inspired by the Kylie Minogue/Nick Cave ballad "Where the Wild Roses Grow", she sang with Sort Sol on the track "Elia Rising" from their album Snakecharmer, released in May 2001.

Sissel made her debut on the big screen in June, playing a female lumberjack, Inga, in the Danish children's film Flyvende farmor (Flying Grandma).

In 2002, Sissel recorded two duets, "Ave Maria" (Hail Mary) and "Bist du Bei Mir" (Are You with Me) (BWV 508), with Plácido Domingo in April for his Sacred Songs album, released in September of that year.

In August, Sissel performed with the Danish Radio Orchestra at two outdoor concerts in the park surrounding Ledreborg Castle near Roskilde in Denmark.

In December 2002, she was once again invited to represent Norway at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert, at which she sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz and "The Prayer" in a duet with Josh Groban.

A Poulsen rose—a rose bred to thrive in cold Scandinavian winters—was named after Sissel on 10 August in Denmark with the accolade, "She spreads joy among all of us with her wonderful voice".

During the award ceremony in the garden of Haraldsted Church, Sissel performed "The Rose", "Vatnet, våren, fela", and "Solveig's Song".

[37][38] The Lord of the Rings composer Howard Shore, who arranged and conducted the music, planned on hiring three soprano singers to handle the vocal chores, but after hearing Sissel, decided she would be enough.

In May 2005, Sissel performed with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in Salt Lake City, Utah, on its radio and television broadcast, Music and the Spoken Word,[39] featured on nearly 2,000 stations across the US and around the world.

She sang the ABBA song "Like An Angel Passing Through My Room"; "Vitae Lux" (Light of Life); the traditional Norwegian hymn "Herre gud, ditt dyre navn og ære" (Lord God, Your Precious Name and Glory); and the Norwegian national anthem "Ja, vi elsker dette landet" (Yes, We Love This Country) with the choir.

[40] In the same month, Sissel was invited to perform in the well-known temple-concert, Ninna-ji Otobutai, in Osaka, Japan,[41] where she sang "Pie Jesu" (Merciful Jesus); "Sancta Maria" (Holy Mary, an intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's opera Cavalleria Rusticana); "You Raise Me Up"; and several other songs.

For the 2007 holiday season, PBS stations aired two concerts starring her as part of the December pledge drive, one with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir titled Spirit of the Season, released on CD and DVD in late September 2007; the other with operatic legend and good friend José Carreras titled Northern Lights, released on CD and DVD in early November 2007.

On 21 August 2011, Sissel performed the Norwegian hymn "Til ungdommen" (To the Youth), by Nordahl Grieg at the National Memorial Ceremony for the victims of the 22 July 2011 terrorist attacks.

[73] In the fifth episode of Season 3 of American television political drama series The Newsroom, which aired in December, a recording of Sissel singing "Oh Shenandoah" was played over the death scene of Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston).

In December, Sissel again was nominated for the 2017 Hall of Fame at Rockheim in Norway,[78] and the 2014 PBS concert Sing Me An Angel with Mario Frangoulis was broadcast on television in the US.

In February 2017 Sissel performed at a television broadcast celebration concert for her friend singer-songwriter Ole Paus in the Opera House in Oslo.

[79] In July, she was again invited to perform with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the orchestra at Temple Square in their Pioneer Day concert, which was also broadcast on YouTube.

In August, she made a special guest appearance on the popular Swedish television show Allsång på Skansen, where she performed two new songs, "Welcome to My World" and "Surrender".

Sissel in 1986
Sissel in 2009
Sissel at an album signing in Norway 2010