| Kirsten Flagstad |
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| CATEGORIES ABOUT KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD | |
| 1895 births | |
| flagstad, kirsten | |
| 1962 deaths | |
| divas | |
| norwegian opera singers | |
| sopranos | |
| hollywood walk of fame | |
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The Norwegian Opera singer Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad ( July 12 1895 – December 7 , 1962 ) was considered one of the greatest Wagnerian (dramatic) Soprano s of the 20th century. A restrained and expressive stage performer, she was admired for her voice's sheer tonal beauty and consistency of line and tone. EARLY LIFE AND CAREER 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 . After further study in Stockholm , she began a career in opera and operetta in Norway. She was engaged in the city theater of Göteborg , Sweden from 1928 to 1932 . After singing operetta and lyric roles such as Marguerite in ''Faust'' for over a decade, Flagstad was convinced to take on heavier operatic roles such as Tosca and Aida. At the time she was almost 40, and was already concidering retirement. 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 Walküre ''. LUSTROUS CAREER AT THE METROPOLITAN AND ELSEWHERE Her Metropolitan Opera début as Sieglinde, broadcast nationwide on February 2 , 1935 , created a sensation. Four days later, Flagstad sang Isolde, and later that month, she performed Brünnhilde in '' Die Walküre ''and '' Götterdämmerung '' for the first time. Later that season, Flagstad sang Elsa in ''Lohengrin'', Elisabeth in ''Tannhäuser'', and her first Kundry in ''Parsifal''. Almost overnight, she had established herself as the pre-eminent Wagnerian soprano of the era. '' Fidelio '' (1936 and later) 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 Brünnhildes in the San Francisco Opera 's Ring Cycle . In 1937 , she first appeared at the Chicago Opera. In 1936 and 1937, Flagstad performed the roles of Isolde, Brünnhilde and Senta at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden under Sir Thomas Beecham , Fritz Reiner and Wilhelm Furtwängler , arousing as much enthusiasm there as in New York. Her rendition of Brünnhilde's Battle Cry from Wagner's '' Die Walküre '' was captured on-screen in a segment of the anthology musical '' The Big Broadcast Of 1938 ''. However, her career at the Met was not without its ups-and-downs. Flagstad got involved in a long-running feud with costar Lauritz Melchior after Melchior took offense to some comments Kirsten made about "stupid publicity photos" that Flagstad felt Melchior pressured her into doing. Flagstad also feuded with Edward Johnson after Arthur Bodansky 's death, when she wanted to be conducted by her accompanist, Edwin MacArthur , rather than Erich Leinsdorf . However, when she left the Met at the start of World War II she had patched up her differences with both Melchior and Johnson. Melchior and Johnson, however, did little to help Flagstad when she was attacked after World War II. WORLD WAR II, AND POST-WAR DIFFICULTIES In 1941 , with the outbreak of World War II , Flagstad returned to Norway to be with her husband and remained there throughout the war. She did not sing in Norway or any German occupied country during the war. Instead, she made a point of singing in Sweden and Switzerland. 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 naiveté on her part created ill-feeling towards her, particularly in the United States where the Norwegian ambassador waged a relentless personal campaign against her. The columnist Walter Winchell also ran an ugly campaign against her, and her former costar Lauritz Melchior and Metropolitan director Edward Johnson both refused to help her. At a concert in Philadelphia audience members threw stink-bombs at her. LATER CAREER During four consecutive Covent Garden seasons, from 1948 to 1952 , Flagstad repeated all her regular Wagnerian roles, including Kundry and Sieglinde. It was also during this time that she gave the world premiere of Richard Strauss 's Vier Letzte Lieder under the baton of Wilhelm Furtwängler at the Royal Albert Hall . This legendary performance of May 22, 1950, was captured on tape and is commercially available today, although the sound is unfortunately quite poor. She toured South America in 1948 and returned to San Francisco in 1949 but was not invited back to the Met until 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, Brünnhilde and Fidelio. She gave her farewell performance at the Met on April 1 , 1952 as the title role in Glück's '' Alceste ''. Her final operatic performances were as Purcell ’s Dido at the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1953, a portrayal that was recorded and issued by EMI . After her retirement from the stage, she continued to give concert performances and record. From 1958 to 1960 , Flagstad was the general manager of the Norwegian National Opera . Of her many recordings, the complete ''Tristan und Isolde'' with Furtwängler 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. Throughout her career she recorded numerous songs, by Grieg and others, and these are evidence of a voice that maintained its stable beauty during her many years in the limelight. Flagstad died in Oslo at the age of 67. Her portrait appears on the Norwegian 100 Kroner bill. The Kirsten Flagstad Museum in Hamar, Norway, contains a private collection of opera artifacts thought to be the largest in the world. Her costumes draw special attention, and include several examples on loan from the Metropolitan Opera Archives. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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