Catharine Elisabeth Simonsen née Ryssländer (7 March 1816 – 3 May 1849) was a Danish

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

who performed in

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first ser ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

. In 1843, she was awarded the prestigious title of Royal Chamber Singer by King Christian VIII.

Biography

Born on 7 March 1816 in Copenhagen, Catharine Rysslaender was the daughter of the Finnish house painter Niels Rysslaender and Juliane Marie Strøm, a Swede. Although she was brought up in a poor environment, her musical talents were recognized at an early age. When she was eight, she was given piano and singing lessons. From 1829, she attended

Giuseppe Siboni Giuseppe Siboni (27 January 1780 – 28 March 1839) was an Italian operatic tenor, opera director, choir conductor, and voice teacher. He began his career in his native country in 1797 and actively performed in major Italian opera houses up thro ...

's conservatory, continuing to receive instruction from him until his death ten years later. She was given her first singing role at the Royal Theatre when she was just 14, where she played the part of a young bride in ''Marie''. She a strong, rich soprano voice, and was confident when on stage. She was signed on at the opera in 1834 and given a repertoire. The same year, she married the violinist Hans Sophus Simonsen after which her career was inhibited as she gave birth to several children. She was forced to retire prematurely in 1836 but returned the following year, encouraged by her audiences. In the 1840s, as Italian opera became increasingly popular, she excelled in works by

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

, Bellini,

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and

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 ...

. Simonsen last performed in November 1848 when only 32, in the role of Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

''. A few months later, in May 1849, she died while delivering yet another child. Among her eight children were the opera singer Niels Juel Simonsen and Fanny Simonsen, mother of the singer

Erik Schmedes Erik Anton Julius Schmedes (27 August 1868, in Gentofte, Denmark – 21 March 1931, in Vienna) was an operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in operas by Richard Wagner. He was a brother-in-law by marriage of Vaslav Nijinsky. Career ...

and the composer Hakon Schmedes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonsen, Catharine 1816 births 1849 deaths 19th-century Danish women opera singers Danish operatic sopranos Singers from Copenhagen