Sissel Kyrkjebø (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈsɪsəl ˈçʏʁçəˌbʷøː], /ˈsisel ˈçyrçeˌbø/; born 24 June 1969), also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.
Sissel is considered one of the world's top crossover sopranos, her musical style ranges from pop recordings and folk songs, to classical vocals and operatic arias. She possesses a "crystalline" voice and wide vocal range, sweeping down from mezzo-soprano notes, in arias such as Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix from Saint-Saëns's opera Samson et Dalila, to the F natural above soprano C. She sings mainly in English and Norwegian, and has also sung songs in Swedish, Danish, Irish, Italian, French, Russian, Icelandic, Faroese, German, Neapolitan, Māori, Japanese, and Latin.
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, Charles Aznavour, José Carreras, Neil Sedaka, Warren G, Brian May, Bryn Terfel, Josh Groban, Diana Krall, Russell Watson and The Chieftains; and her participation on the Titanic film soundtrack.
Kyrkjebø is a former municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. It is located in the northwestern part of the present-day municipality of Høyanger. The municipality existed from 1858 until 1964 when it became part of the new municipality of Høyanger. Prior to its dissolution, the municipality of Kyrkjebø covered a total of 681 square kilometres (263 sq mi) of land on the north and south side of the Sognefjorden. The administrative centre of the municipality was the village of Kyrkjebø, where the main Kyrkjebø Church is located.
The municipality was originally named after the old Klævold farm (Old Norse: Kleppavǫllr). The first element comes from the Old Norse word kleppr meaning "hill" and the second element is identical to the Old Norse word vǫllr meaning "level ground". Therefore the meaning could be a hill in the middle of level ground.
The municipality was later named after the old Kirkebø farm, since Kyrkjebø Church was located there. The first element of the name is identical with the name for "church", and the second element of the name is identical with the word for "farm". It was named this because it was the farm where the church was located. From 1890 until 1917 the name was spelled Kirkebø (using the Bokmål spelling) and then in 1917 it was changed to Kyrkjebø (using the Nynorsk spelling).
Kyrkjebø (historically: Kirkebø) is a village in Høyanger Municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The village is located on the northern shore of the Sognefjorden, about halfway between the small Vadheimsfjorden and Høyangsfjorden arms which branch off the main fjord. The village sits about 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) to the west of the village of Austreim, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) to the southwest of the village of Høyanger (the municipal centre), and 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of the village of Vadheim, where the European route E39 highway passes through the municipality. The 0.29-square-kilometre (72-acre) village has a population (2013) of 277, giving the village a population density of 955 inhabitants per square kilometre (2,470/sq mi).
The village is named after the old Kirkebø farm, since Kyrkjebø Church was located there. The first element of the name is identical with the name for "church", and the second element of the name is identical with the word for "farm". It was named this because it was the farm where the church was located. From 1890 until 1917 the name was spelled Kirkebø (using the Bokmål spelling) and then in 1917 it was changed to Kyrkjebø (using the Nynorsk spelling).