Davida Carolina Afzelius-Bohlin née Larsson (1866–1955) 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 ...

who performed in operas and concerts around the turn of the 20th century. She appeared for the first time when she was 17 at a concert in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

, the first of many she would give in Sweden and abroad. In May 1900, she made her debut 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 Amneris in '' Aida''. She was engaged by the Royal Opera until 1902. After marrying the music director Carl Bohlin in 1903, she appeared on occasion as an oratorio and concert singer.

Biography

Born in Gothenburg on 20 December 1866, David Carolina Larsson was the daughter of the farmer Johan Anton Larsson and his wife Hilda née Durchbach. She studied voice in Gothenburg under

Andreas Hallén Johan Andreas Hallén (22 December 1846 – 11 March 1925) was a Swedish Romantic composer, conductor and music teacher, primarily known for his operas, which were heavily influenced by Richard Wagner’s music dramas. Hallén was born in Got ...

(1882–1883), in Stockholm under

Fritz Arlberg Fritz Georg Efraim Arlberg (21 March 1830 in Leksand, Sweden – 21 February 1896 in Christiania, Sweden) was a Swedish baritone, teacher, composer, opera singer, translator of opera libretti and member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. ...

(1891–1892) and in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

under (1896–1898). She first performed in public when she was 17 at a concert in Gothenburg arranged by Hallen. From 1886 to 1888, she performed in various Stockholm theatres. In 1892, she appeared for the Music Association in Stockholm as the alto in

Felix Mendelsohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

's oratorio '' Elijah''. Together with the violinist

Tor Aulin Tor Aulin (10 September 1866, Stockholm – 1 March 1914, Saltsjöbaden) was a Swedish violinist, conductor and composer. Biography Aulin studied music at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm (1877-1883) under Carl Johan Lindberg and ...

, the cellist Frans Neruda and the pianist

Wilhelm Stenhammar Carl Wilhelm Eugen Stenhammar (February 7, 1871 – November 20, 1927) was a Swedish composer, conductor and pianist. Biography Stenhammar was born in Stockholm and was the brother of architect Ernst Stenhammar. He received his first musical e ...

, she went on tour to give recitals abroad in a number of cities including Berlin, Dresden, Braunschweig and Freiburg in Germany. On 14 May 1900, she made her début at the Royal Swedish Opera as Amneris in ''Aida''. Later the same month, she appeared in the title role of

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period (music), classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the ...

's ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

''. She subsequently received an engagement until June 1902, performing roles including Azucena in '' Il trovatore'' and Erda in '' Das Rheingold''. Afzelius-Bohlin was married twice, first from 1885 to 1895 with the Gothenburg doctor Jon Arvid Afzelius (1856–1918) and then in 1903 with the music director Carl Bohlin (1867–1925). After her second marriage, she performed only occasionally, singing in oratorios and giving concert recitals. She was a member of the women's association

Nya Idun Nya Idun is a Swedish cultural association for women founded in 1885, originally as a female counterpart to Sällskapet Idun ('the Idun Society'). Its aim was to "gather educated women in the Stockholm area for informal gatherings". There was a ...

. Davida Carolina Bohlin died in Gothenburg on 13 April 1955.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Afzelius-Bohlin, Davida 1866 births 1955 deaths Actors from Gothenburg 19th-century Swedish women opera singers 20th-century Swedish women opera singers Swedish mezzo-sopranos Members of Nya Idun