Agnes Sofia Charlotta Janson, married name Fischer, (1861–1947) was a Swedish

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

opera singer and recitalist who later moved to Australia. After making her debut in April 1883 at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

as Azucena in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's '' Il trovatore'', she remained with the company until 1885. Thereafter she sang mainly in recitals, principally in the United Kingdom but also in the major concert halls of Europe. In 1906, she settled in Australia, where she taught voice at the Melbourne Conservatory until her retirement in 1927.

Early life, family and education

Born in Stockholm on 20 June 1861, Agnes Sofie Charlotta Janson was the daughter of the mason Per Adolf Jansson and his wife Johanna Maria née Lund. Thanks to her good voice and musical ear from an early age, she studied voice at the Swedish Conservatory (1876–81) where she was a pupil of Julius Günther and later Hugo Beyer. In 1896, she married the Swedish-Norwegian diplomat Andreas Morten Hammer Fisher.

Career

She made her first public appearance in 1882 at a concert arranged by the Music Society, in the role of Oluf's mother in

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's '' Elverskud''. The following year on 30 April she made her debut at the Royal Opera as Azucena in ''Il travatore'', after which she was engaged by the company in July and remained there until 1885. Among her most successful roles were Amneris in

's '' Aida'' and Fidès in

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's '' Le prophète''.. While continuing her voice studies in Rome and London, she was also a successful performer in both recitals and operas. In the early 1890s and again in 1903, she performed at London's

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and became a member of the

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. Her stage appearances included the title role in

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's ''

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'', Siebel and Marthe in Gounod's '' Faust'' and Mamma Lucia in Pietro Mascagni's '' Cavalleria rusticana''. In 1900 she travelled to Australia with

George Musgrove George Musgrove (21 January 1854 – 21 January 1916) was an English-born Australian theatre producer. Early life Musgrove was born at Surbiton, England, the son of Thomas John Watson Musgrove, an accountant, and his wife, Fanny Hodson, an act ...

's Grand Opera Company where she was acclaimed an outstanding singer. She returned in 1906 when she became a voice teacher at the Melbourne Conservatory until her retirement in 1927. Agnes Janson died on 17 January in Diamond Creek, Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Janson, Agnes 1861 births 1947 deaths Actresses from Stockholm Swedish operatic sopranos Voice teachers 19th-century Swedish opera singers 20th-century Swedish opera singers Academic staff of the University of Melbourne Litteris et Artibus recipients