Elisabeth Söderström

Elisabeth Söderström ( born May 7, 1927 in Stockholm, † November 20, 2009 ibid ) was a Swedish opera and concert singer (soprano ).

Life

Elisabeth Söderström, the daughter of the director Emanuel Söderström and Russian Anna Palasova, first took private singing lessons with Adelaide of Skilondz before she attended from 1947 to 1949 the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. Her debut was in 1947 as Bastienne in Bastien and Bastienne at the Theater of Drottningholm Palace, where she appeared in Le Tableau parlant of Grétry 1948. Throughout her career, she went back many times at this theater.

1949 could Söderström celebrate their first major success at the Opera House, where she was a member until 1980: the Royal Opera in Stockholm. Here she appeared in the premiere of Heinrich Suter Master The red boots on November 22, 1951 in the Stockholm premieres of Katja Kabanowa (1976 ), The Makropulos Affair (1965) and Doctor Faustus (1969 ) with. Her repertoire also Pamina counted in The Magic Flute, Octavian ( later the Marschallin ) in Der Rosenkavalier, the title role in Charpentier's Louise, Traviata, the four soprano roles in Les Contes d'Hoffmann and Regina in the Swedish premiere of Mathis der Maler

1957-1979 interpreted Söderström numerous roles at the Glyndebourne Festival, so the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos, Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, the Countess in Capriccio and Christine in Intermezzo, in Le nozze di Figaro, Leonore in Fidelio and Susanna Elisabeth rooms in Elegy for Young Lovers by Henze. In 1959 she was invited to the Edinburgh Festival for the first time, where they in the title role of Jenufa and 1992 occurred in Poulenc's La Voix humaine 1974.

At the Salzburg Festival she sang in 1955 Ighino in Palestrina. It was followed by appearances at all the major European opera houses. The season 1959/60 brought her to the Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro debut at the Metropolitan Opera, where she appeared regularly until 1964. In 1983, she returned for four seasons at this house back to the beginning with her ​​appearance in the anniversary evening of the 100th anniversary of the stock "Met" as the Marschallin in the finals of the Rosenkavalier with Kathleen Battle and Frederika von Stade. In other roles she sang the Countess in The Marriage of Figaro and Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes. 1999 Söderström was here with the Countess in The Queen of Spades their official farewell performance of the opera stage.

Since the guest performance of the Royal Opera at Covent Garden Opera in 1960 she was also there to listen often, as in the modern Swedish Opera Aniara of Blomdahl, as Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte and with particular success in 1969 as Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande.

At premieres at the Stockholm Opera in 1970 she appeared as Laura in the Opera Hus med dubbel ingang by Hilding Rosenberg and 1978 as Clitoria in Le Grand Macabre with. In 1988 she sang at the Dallas Opera in the world premiere of the opera The Aspern Papers by Dominick Argento, 1992 in Stockholm, the Swedish premiere.

Highlights its broad operatic repertoire were the Marguerite in Faust, the Marie in Wozzeck, La Traviata, and the three female roles - the Marschallin, Sophie and Octavian - in Der Rosenkavalier.

At the same time she was also a major concert singer and, since her first recital in Stockholm in 1947, a world acclaimed recital singer. She joined since 1958 and often with the Swedish contralto Kerstin Meyer in duets on.

Her autobiography published Söderström 1978 under the title " I min key ". 1991-96 she was the musical director of the Drottningholm Festival. Since 1950 she was married to Sverker Olow and lived in Lidingö.

Awards

• Awarded the title of "Swedish Court Singer " in 1959.
• Member of the Stockholm Academy of Music in 1965.
• Awarded the Order " Litteris et Artibus " 1969.
• Awarding the title of professor in 1996.