Tragic death of rising opera baritone, 29

The opera community in Norway has been devastated by the death of Emil Havold Næshagen, one of the country’s most promising young singers.

Emil was found lifeless in his bed by his father on the morning of 9 March. The precise cause of death has yet to be determined by a post mortem.

Friends describe Emil as generous, outgoing and extremely charismatic. They say that at times he lived life on the rough side.

Jacopo Spirei writes: ‘ Emil was the greatest talent I’ve ever worked with, at the age of 23 he would audition with Iago and Wotan, he sang Leporello and Figaro at 24 like a god, we have lost a sensational singer, human being, actor. He was all this things and much more. Many things have been said about him and his demons (something that made us understand each other deeply), what I want to scream is that we have to remember him as the great artist he was, he could have been the baritone of his generation, we need to remember his talent, his force, his generosity, nothing else.’

De Unges Konsert 2018. Emil Havold Næshagen, bass from Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra on Vimeo.