This is a list of operatic sopranos and mezzo-sopranos who were born in Sweden or whose work is closely associated with that country.
Contents
This is a list of operatic sopranos and mezzo-sopranos who were born in Sweden or whose work is closely associated with that country.
Kerstin Thorborg was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera singer. She was one of the best dramatic Wagnerian singers in the two decades between 1930 and 1950. By all accounts, Thorborg was a magnificent actor with great stage presence. In addition, she was endowed with a beautifully steady and intense tone.
Sofia Franziska Stading was a Swedish opera singer of German origin. She is referred to as one of the more notable opera singers in Sweden during the Gustavian era. She was a Hovsångare and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1788.
JulieMathilda Berwald was a Swedish concert and opera singer.
Anna Sofia Sevelin née Thunberg was a Swedish opera singer (alto). She was a Hovsångerska and a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts.
Christina Wilhelmina Enbom was a Swedish operatic soprano. She was active at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm in 1819–26, in 1830–41 and 1850–57. She was one of the most notable opera singers in Sweden during the 1830s.
Adelaide Andreyeva von Skilondz was a Russian operatic coloratura soprano.
Amalia Aurora Adelaïde Leuhusen, née Valerius, was a Swedish baroness, painter and concert singer. She was a teacher and benefactor of the famous Swedish opera singer Christina Nilsson, whom she introduced to Paris, where Nilsson started her international career. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. During her lifetime, she was famous throughout Sweden and known for her work outside of her native country.
Events from the year 1826 in Sweden
Thekla Catharina Charlotta Hofer née Falck (1852–1938) was a Swedish operatic soprano and later voice teacher. She made her début at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1879 as Rosina in The Barber of Seville. In addition to performing in various theatres in Sweden, she was a highly applauded guest in Weimar, St Petersburg and Riga. In the mid-1990s, she retired from the stage to teach with pupils including Signe Rappe and Karin Branzell.
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.
Davida Carolina Afzelius-Bohlin née Larsson (1866–1955) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano who performed in operas and concerts around the turn of the 20th century. She appeared for the first time when she was 17 at a concert in Gothenburg, the first of many she would give in Sweden and abroad. In May 1900, she made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera as Amneris in Aida. She was engaged by the Royal Opera until 1902. After marrying the music director Carl Bohlin in 1903, she appeared on occasion as an oratorio and concert singer.
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.
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.
Paula Maria Lindberg Lizell née Frödin (1873–1962) was a Swedish operatic soprano. She made her debut in 1893 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Mathilde in Rossini's William Tell, becoming one of the company's leading sopranos until she retired from the stage in 1911. After first appearing in coloratura roles, she sang in more dramatic works such as the Wagnerian operas where she appeared as Senta and Sieglinde. She later worked as a drama teacher for singers.
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.
Anna Maria Klemming (1864–1889) was a Swedish operatic soprano who made her debut in April 1887 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Mathilde in Rossini's William Tell. Over the next two years, thanks to her clear, high-reaching voice and her attractive Nordic looks, she performed the leading soprano roles in the company's repertoire. She was particularly successful in 1888 as Julia in Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. Her successful career was short, ending abruptly with her untimely death in August 1889.
Helga Görlin was a Swedish soprano and voice teacher. She performed as a resident leading soprano at the Royal Swedish Opera from 1926 to 1951, and later returned as a guest artist at that theatre for her final stage performance in 1954 as Cio-Cio San in Puccini's Madama Butterfly. A frequent romantic stage partner of tenor Jussi Björling during the 1930s and 1940s, she notably portrayed the role of Minnie in the Swedish premiere of Puccini's La fanciulla del West in 1934 with Björling as Dick Johnson. She also created roles in the world premieres of operas by Kurt Atterberg, Natanael Berg, and Hilding Rosenberg during her career.
Sources
Media related to Soprano opera vocalists from Sweden at Wikimedia Commons