Jesper Kongshaug was educated in the USA and has worked on numerous theatre performances, opera, ballet, art exhibitions and televisions. He has created unique lighting designs for the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, most recently for Wagner’s Das Ring des Nibelungens Den Jyske Opera, Hotel Pro Forma, as well as theatres in Norway, Sweden and Germany.
He has done architectural lighting design, most recently in Kastrup Copenhagen airport and Højbro Plads, a complete redesign of an old central square in Copenhagen.
Lighting design for the new Royal Playhouse has given Jesper Kongshaug the Danish Lighting Prize 2008 and Nordic Lighting Prize, Helsinki 2008. He won an invited architectural competition in collaboration with Architects Erik Brandt Dam and Nicolai Bo Andersen of refurbishing the Kings Garden of Odense.
Jesper Kongshaug teaches at Danmarks Designskole (Danish School for Design) and the National Danish Theatre School and acts as consultant for museums, the Tivoli Gardens, private firms and public institutions.
He has created several high profile large-scale light installations both outdoors and indoors, including the 13 km long Vinterlys (Winterlight) during Copenhagen European Cultural Capital 1996.
His international works include extensive travels with Hotel Pro Forma’s Operation ORFEO from 1994, The Magic Flute in Boston Lyric Opera, USA, and the musical production of Hair, a Betty Nansen Theatre production at The Theatre Mogador in Paris, Rosenkavalier at Opera de Lyon in France, Le Grand Macabre at San Francisco Opera, USA and L’Ecole des Femmes in Dramaten, Stockholm. In 2004 he did GOYA with Placido Domingo for Klangbogen Festival at Theater an der Wien, Vienna, where he returned in 2007 with Le Nozze di Figaro. In 2014 he did “Idomeneo” at Staatsoper in Vienna.
He was lighting designer for Jesper Just Opera for Performa 05 in NYC, Donna Karan Studio, La Traviata (2007), Stockholms Opera, Le nozze de Figaro (2008), Theater an der Wien, Don Carlos (2009), Royal Danish Opera and The Nutcracker (2009), The Royal Ballet.