Soprano, born in Hamar, E Norway. She studied in Stockholm and Oslo, where she made her operatic debut in 1913. She excelled in Wagnerian roles, and was acclaimed in most of the world's major opera houses. In 1958 she was made director of the Norwegian State Opera.
The Norwegian opera singer Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad (July 12, 1895 – December 7, 1962) is considered one of the greatest Wagnerian (dramatic) sopranos of the 20th century.
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.
After further study in Stockholm, she began a career in opera and operetta in Norway.
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. 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.
Illustrious 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.
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. 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. 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.
Later career
During four consecutive Covent Garden seasons, from 1948 to 1952, Flagstad repeated all her regular Wagnerian roles, including Kundry and Sieglinde. 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.
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.
Flagstad died in Oslo at the age of 67.
The Kirsten Flagstad Museum in Hamar, Norway, contains a private collection of opera artifacts thought to be the largest in the world.
Representative Recordings
A comprehensive survey of Flagstad's recordings was released in several volumes on the Simax label, which seems to be mostly unavailable or out of print in the US.
Her pre-war recordings include important studio recordings of Wagner arias, Beethoven arias, and Grieg songs, as well as duets from Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Tristan und Isolde with Lauritz Melchior.
Many Metropolitan Opera broadcasts survive and have circulated among collectors and more recently on CD.
After World War II, many important studio recordings followed including:
Wagner Scenes including the final duet from Siegfried (Testament CDs, licensed from EMI) Götterdämmerung: Final Scene with Furtwängler - EMI Norwegian Songs: EMIPerhaps her most famous operatic recording is the 1951 Tristan with Furtwängler, which has never been out of print.
After about 1955, she moved to Decca where in the autumn of her career further important studio recordings followed:
Several albums of Grieg, Sibelius, Brahms, etc., with orchestra and piano Wagner arias with Knappertsbusch (stereo) Acts I and III of Die Walküre (as Sieglinde and Brünnhilde respectively) as well as the Brünnhilde/Siegmund duet from Act II (these conducted variously by Knappertsbusch and Solti, as a sort of preparation for Decca's complete Ring project).
User Comments Add a comment…