This is a list of operatic sopranos and mezzo-sopranos who were born in Finland or whose work is closely associated with that country.
This is a list of operatic sopranos and mezzo-sopranos who were born in Finland or whose work is closely associated with that country.
Torhild Staahlen was a Norwegian operatic mezzo-soprano who was employed at Norwegian National Opera from 1967 to 1969 and from 1971 to 2000. She had her solo debut as Suzuki in Madam Butterfly with The Norwegian National Opera in Oslo in 1971.
Louis-Henri Obin, born in Ascq, near Lille on 4 August 1820, died in Paris on 9 November 1895, was a French operatic bass. He created some of the most notable roles in French grand opera at the Paris Opera, including the part of King Philip II in Verdi's Don Carlos.
Irma Urrila is a Finnish operatic soprano, best known internationally for her role as Pamina in Ingmar Bergman's 1975 film production of Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute.
Großes Sängerlexikon is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The first edition was in two volumes and contained the biographies of nearly 7000 singers from the 1590s through the 1980s. It grew out of Unvergängliche Stimmen. Kleines Sängerlexikon, published in 1962, which covered only singers who had made recordings. A 1992 review in Neue Zeitschrift für Musik described the Großes Sängerlexikon as "indispensable in the search for concise background information about those persons who are undoubtedly the most important to the performance of opera."
Gertrude Förstel was a German operatic dramatic soprano and an academic voice teacher. She performed the soprano solo in Mahler's Fourth Symphony internationally, and participated in the premieres of Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland and Mahler's Eighth Symphony.
Elvira Colonnese was an Italian soprano opera singer.
Heinrich Bensing was a German opera singer.
Leonardus Antony Marinus Riemens was a Dutch musicologist and cultural journalist. He wrote a book about Maria Callas, and together with Karl-Josef Kutsch began a reference book about opera singers in 1962, which grew to Großes Sängerlexikon, the standard reference in the field.
Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, was a German physician and music biographer. With the Dutch musicologist Leo Riemens he co-authored the Großes Sängerlexikon, the standard reference for opera singers.
Irma Lovisa Björck née Krook (1898–1993) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera and operetta singer. After training under Thekla Hofer and Gertrud Grubbstrom-Gronberg, with a year at the Royal Swedish Opera School, she made her début in 1925 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Nancy in Friedrich von Flotow's comic opera Martha. She performed regularly at the Royal Theatre until 1949. She was also successful as a concert performer. In 1918, Björck became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
Carl Josef Nicanor Herou was a Swedish operatic baritone.
Anna Dorothea Oscàr (1875–1915) was a Swedish opera singer. Considered to be Sweden's leading soprano of the period, she made her debut using her maiden name, Anna Thulin, at the Royal Swedish Opera as Papagena in Mozart's The Magic Flute when she was 16. Engaged by the company in 1896, she remained there for the rest of her life singing some 60 different roles in the major German, Italian, French and Swedish operas. Apart from three successful summer tours to the United States in the 1900s, she was otherwise based in Sweden. Married twice, she performed under the name Anna Hellström during her first marriage from 1900 through 1905, and after her second marriage in 1907 to the baritone Martin Oscàr, as Anna Oscàr. In 1908 she was elected a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music.
Magna Elvine Lykseth-Skogman, also known as Magna Lykseth-Schjerven, was a Norwegian-born Swedish operatic soprano. After making her début at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1901 as Santuzza in Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, she was engaged there until 1918 becoming the company's prima donna. She performed leading roles in a wide range of operas but is remembered in particular for her Wagnerian interpretations, creating Brünnhilde in the Swedish premières of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, and Isolde in 1909. Considered to be one of the most outstanding Swedish opera singers of her generation, she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus medal in 1907 and became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1912.
Anna Katarina Bartels née Fernquist (1869–1950) was a Swedish operatic soprano. She made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1897 in the title role of Friedrich von Flotow's Martha. Engaged by the company for the next 20 years, she gained popularity as a soubrette and coloratura soprano but later turned increasingly to mezzo-soprano roles. In 1923, she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus medal.
Olivia (Liva) Järnefelt née Edström was a Swedish mezzo-soprano who specialized in opera. In 1897, after appearing at the Royal Swedish Opera as the Third Boy in Mozart's The Magic Flute and making her actual debut as Pantalis in Boito's Mefistofele, she remained with the company until 1926. She performed major roles in several Wagnerian operas as well as in a variety of Italian works. On the occasion of her 25th anniversary with the Royal Opera, she was enthusiastically acclaimed for her performance in the title role of Bizet's Carmen. Appreciated by both her audiences and her critics for her clear, full-bodied voice and her outstanding stagecraft, she was awarded the Litteris et Artibus in 1920.
Agnes Sofia Charlotta Janson, married name Fischer, (1861–1947) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera singer and recitalist who later moved to Australia. After making her debut in April 1883 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore, she remained with the company until 1885. Thereafter she sang mainly in recitals, principally in the United Kingdom but also in the major concert halls of Europe. In 1906, she settled in Australia, where she taught voice at the Melbourne Conservatory until her retirement in 1927.
Johanna Elisabeth Döbricht, sometimes referred to by her married name Johanna Elisabeth Hesse, was a German soprano active during the first half of the 18th century in concerts and operas. Considered by her contemporaries as the finest German female singer of her era, she was referred to as "Die Döbrichtin" by her admirers. Composer Johann Joachim Quantz, wrote that she had a "beautiful, euphonious high register".
Audrey Langford was an English soprano, conductor, and voice teacher. Musicologist Elizabeth Forbes wrote, "Audrey Langford will no doubt go down in musical history as a superb singing teacher over a period of 50 years, but she also had two other successful careers, as a soprano who sang at Covent Garden in the late 1930s and, after the war, as a conductor, most particularly of the Bromley Philharmonic Choir and the Kentish Opera Group, both of which organizations she founded."
Helen Adams is an Australian soprano. She won the 1987 Australia Opera Awards.
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