(Credit: Artefact Artist Management)

On March 9, 2022, Norwegian baritone Emil Havold Næshagen passed away at the age of 29.

The cause of death is not yet known, with Emil having been found lifeless in bed by his father.

Born in Ostfold in 1992, Næshagen studied at Barratt-Due Music Institute and the Opera Academy in Oslo, where he graduated in 2018. His professional debut came in 2014 as Count Ceprano in The Oscarsborg Opera’s production of Rigoletto. Other roles included Figaro, Leporello, Dulcamara, Marcello, Gianni Schicchi, Mefistofeles, Donner, and Scarpia.

“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,” writes director Jacopo Spirei. “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.”