Kirsten Flagstad

The Norwegian opera singer Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (July 12 1895 – December 7, 1962) was considered one of the greatest Wagnerian (dramatic) sopranos of the 20th century.

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While not a magnetic stage performer, she was admired for her voice's sheer tonal beauty and consistency of line and tone.

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Flagstad was born at Hamar in a musical family; her father was conductor Michael Flagstad and her mother pianist Marie Flagstad Johnsrud. She received her early musical training in Oslo and made her stage debut at the National Theatre in Oslo as Nuri in Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland in 1913.

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After further study in Stockholm, she began a career in operetta in Norway. In 1921, she made an unspectacular tour of France and was engaged in the city theater of G?teborg, Sweden from 1928 to 1932.

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After singing operetta for over a decade, Flagstad was convinced to take on more serious operatic roles, including eventually Wagner. In 1932, she took on the role of Isolde and appeared to have found her true voice. Ellen Gulbranson (1863-1946), a Norwegian soprano at Bayreuth, convinced Winifred Wagner to audition Flagstad for Bayreuth. Flagstad was hired for minor roles the first year, and then for the role of Sieglinde in Die Walk?re.

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Her Metropolitan Opera d?but as Sieglinde, broadcast nationwide on February 2, 1935, created a sensation. Four days later, Flagstad sang Isolde, and later that month, she performed Br?nhilde in Die Walk?reand G?tterd?mmerung for the first time. Later that season, Flagstad sang Elsa, Elisabeth, and her first Kundry. Almost overnight, she had established herself as the pre-eminent Wagnerian soprano of the era. Fidelio (1936) was her only non-Wagnerian role at the Met before the war. It has been said that she saved the Metropolitan Opera from looming bankruptcy. In 1936, she performed all three Br?nnhildes in the San Francisco Opera's Ring cycle. In 1937, she appeared at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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In 1936 and 1937, Flagstad performed the roles of Isolde, Br?nhilde and Senta at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden under Sir Thomas Beecham, Fritz Reiner and Wilhelm Furtw?ngler, arousing as much enthusiasm there as in New York.

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Her rendition of the Ride of the Valkyries aria from Wagner's Die Walk?re was captured on-screen in a segment of the anthology musical The Big Broadcast of 1938.

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In 1940, with the outbreak of World War II, Flagstad returned to Norway to be with her husband and remained there throughout the war. Although she never sang for the German occupiers, her husband was arrested for war profiteering after the war because he had sold supplies to the Germans. He was already seriously ill and died shortly thereafter, whereupon his estate was impounded by the state. Although her own wartime record was free from controversy, Flagstad's return to Norway during the war and a certain political naivet? on her part created ill-feeling towards her, particularly in the United States.

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During four consecutive Covent Garden seasons, from 1948 to 1951, Flagstad repeated all her regular Wagnerian roles, including Kundry and Sieglinde. She toured South America and also returned to San Francisco in 1948 but was not invited back to the Met until Sir Rudolph Bing became manager. In the 1950-1951 season, although she was well into her 50s, Flagstad showed herself still in remarkable form as Isolde, Br?nnhilde and Fidelio.

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She gave her farewell performance at the Met on April 1, 1952 as the title role in Gl?ck's Alceste. Her final operatic performances was as Purcell?s Dido at the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1953, a performance that was recorded and issued by EMI.

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After her retirement from the stage, she continued to give concert performances and record.

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From 1958 to 1960, Flagstad was the general manager of the Norwegian National Opera

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Of her many recording, the complete Tristan und Isolde with Furtw?ngler is considered the finest representation of her interpretive art in its maturity. Her pre-war recordings, however, are said to showcase her voice in its freshest brilliance and clarity. Later in life she recorded numerous songs, by Grieg and others, and these are evidence of a voice that maintained its stable beauty after many years in the limelight.

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Flagstad died in Oslo at the age of 67. Her portrait appears on the Norwegian 100 kroner bill.

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A Kirsten Flagstad Museum in her birthplace contains a private collection of opera artifacts thought to be the largest in the world. Her costumes draw special attention, since in her day, each singer travelled with "her" Br?nnhilde costume, etc.

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Norwegian: When used as an adjective, Norwegian refers to anything that originates from Norway. It may refer to more than one article:...

Opera: Opera refers to an European art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. Comparable art forms from other parts of the world are usually prefaced with an adjective indicating the region; examples include Chinese opera and Beijing opera....

July 12: July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining....

Kirsten Flagstad related Images and Photos (experimental)

Kirsten

American Singer Dorothy Kirsten Taking Bow after Performing in "La Traviata"