Mezzo-soprano, opera director and choir conductor Marika Schultze was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is based in Oslo, Norway, where she graduated in 2019 from the master's program in opera at the Oslo Academy of the Arts (KHiO), with prof. Mona Julsrud as head teacher, after studying classical singing bachelor for prof. Barbro Marklund at the Norwegian Academy of Music. Here, she has also studied Ensemble leadership (choir conducting). In Sweden she studied opera direction at Stockholm Academy of Opera (SKH), Performance art with prof. Gunilla Gårdfeldt at the Academy of Music and Drama (Gothenburg), as well as physical theater at the Nordic Theater School (Kungälv).
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Right after graduating in 2019, Marika made her professional debut as Hansel in Hansel and Gretel at Opera Nordfjord (Norway), a role she has also performed with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra KORK and Oslo Opera Academy KHiO at the Norwegian National Opera earlier that year. Other roles she has done are Nancy in Albert Herring, Anna in The Seven Deadly Sins (K. Weill), Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Marcellina (as well as cover Cherubino) in The Marriage of Figaro and Sesto in Giulio Césare (Händel).
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During her direction studies at Stockholm Academy of Opera (SKH) she had an internship at the Swedish Royal Opera and A Midsummer night's dream (Britten, directed by Tobias Theorell), assisted director Stina Ancker at Folkoperan as SKH Opera did Cendrillon (Massenet) and Dido & Aeneas (Purcell), and developed a concept for Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy). In 2022 Marika was assistant director at Tosca (Puccini) at Trondheim Symphony Orchestra & Opera (directed by Zuzana Gilhuus) and had an internship at the Norwegian National Opera and Calixto Bieto’s production of Carmen (Bizet). Prior to this, she has directed a number of performances for Masque Chamber Opera, including Così fan tutte (Mozart) as well as Liebeslieder/Neue Liebeslieder (J. Brahms) and Hymns from the Rig Veda (G. Holst) at Oslo Opera Festival, and also her own master graduation performance Sesto - Five shades of revenge (Händel) at Oslo Opera Academy KHiO. This summer Marika is assistant director at Berlin Opera Academy and the production of The Magic Flute ((Mozart) at Teater im Delphi.
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Since 2022 Marika has conducted several choirs, and is currently engaged in Nabokoret, Mærradalen Mannskor International and Sangskatten. In 2023 Marika was the artistic leader of Kristiania Opera choir, combining the roles of conductor, director and soloist. As en ensemble/choir singer Marika has sung with Det Norske Damekor, improvisation ensemble Oslo14, and in several of the Oscarsborg Opera's productions, such as Otello, Aida, Carmina Burana and Madama Butterfly, The Regiments Daughter, and Kommendanten. She has also sung with Vocal Art, Vokal Nord and Arctic Philharmonics.
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In 2023 Marika won a children's opera competition by Opera Østfold when she performed the self written opera Sotis, Stripen på Søppelhaugen. Together with this trio she has had several tours and performed the opera on Fredriksten Operafestival, Opera til folket and in kindergartens. The trio will continue touring and performing in Norway and Sweden (Wermlandsoperan) this and next year.
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Marika has a particular interest in the contemporary opera and performance movement. In 2021 she made several collaboration projects with electro composer Rob Seaback, of which the video performance Periphery vol 1. was shown at the Tiny Performance Festival (Gothenburg). She has performed many new written pieces, for instance at the Ultima Contemporary Music Festival (Oslo, Norway) and in Switzerland, where she worked for Texte und Töne with the new composed performative vocal ensemble piece ruâh. She has also performed with the circus group Acting for Climate. Other countries she has performed in include Russia (Marinsky Theatre Concert hall, St Petersburg), Norway, Sweden, Germany and South Africa.
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In March 2020, during the early stages og the Covid-19 lock down, Marika reached a worldwide attention as she founded Quarantine Opera, the world's first completely digital opera house, which brought together hundreds of quarantined musicians from around the world into full orchestra/choir/cast video productions, and have so far reached over 1,5 million views.
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