Kirsten Malfried Flagstad ( Norwegian Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad ; July 12, 1895 , Hamar , Swedish-Norwegian Union - December 7, 1962 , Oslo , Norway ) - Norwegian opera singer, dramatic soprano . Recognized as one of the greatest performers of parts in Wagner's musical dramas. Her voice was distinguished by strength, flexibility, timbre richness, lyricism.
| Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten flagstad | |
|---|---|
 1940s | |
| basic information | |
| Date of Birth | July 12, 1895 |
| Place of Birth | Hamar , Swedish-Norwegian Union |
| Date of death | December 7, 1962 (67 years) |
| Place of death | Oslo , Norway |
| Buried | |
| A country |  Norway |
| Professions | Opera singer |
| Singing voice | soprano |
| Instruments | |
| Awards | |
| kirsten-flagstad.no | |
Biography
Kirsten Flagstad was born in a musical family (her father was a conductor, her mother was a pianist). She studied in Oslo and Stockholm . On the operatic stage she made her debut in 1913 in a small part by Nuri in Eugène d'Albert 's opera Dolina (Oslo National Theater). Over the next 18 years, her career was associated only with Scandinavia. She performed various parts in operas by Weber , Verdi , Bizet , Gounod and other composers, as well as in operetta.
Fame came to Flagstad in 1932 when she first performed the Isolde part in Wagner 's Tristan and Isolde . Since then, the Wagnerian parties have occupied the main place in her repertoire. The following year, she was invited to the Bayreuth festival . In 1935 she debuted with great success in the Metropolitan Opera in New York in the party of Ziglinda in “Valkyrie” . Since then, she has performed frequently in the USA and London . In addition to Wagner’s roles (Isolde, Brünnhilde, Sieglinda, Elizaveta, Elsa, and others), she often played the role of Leonora in Beethoven ’s Fidelio . The singer has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, such as Wilhelm Furtwängler , Fritz Reiner , Sir Thomas Beecham and others; her partner was the great tenor Laurits Melchior .
Wartime Flagstad held in Norway. Her husband was then accused of having links with the Nazis and died in prison in 1946. Accusations were made against the singer herself; although she was not involved, but in the early postwar years her career was difficult. Soon, she again successfully performed in New York and London. One of her last great achievements is the Dido party in Dido and Aeneas Purcell . On May 22, 1950 in London, she sang at the premiere of "The Four Last Songs" by Richard Strauss . In 1952, Kirsten Flagstad participated in the recording of "Tristan and Isolde" with Ludwig Zyuthaus under the direction of Furtwängler - this record is still considered the pinnacle of Wagner's performance.
Kirsten Flagstad left the stage in 1955 (in 1957 her last concert took place, during which she performed Grieg songs); in 1958-1960 she was artistic director of the Norwegian Opera. In 1958, she participated in the recording of the opera “ Gold of the Rhine ”, directed by Georg Solti - in the party Freaks (the rest of the operas of the Nibelung Ring series were recorded by the conductor after the singer's death, which was later replaced by Frista Christa Ludwig ).
In 1985, the Kirsten Flagstad Museum was opened in the hometown of the singer Hamar.
The bronze monument of Kirsten Flagstad is installed next to the Oslo Opera House.