Edith Johanne Oldrup-Björling (18 June 1912 – 4 June 1999) was a Danish operatic soprano. She made her début at the

Royal Danish Opera 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 ...

in 1935 where she performed until 1949. She is remembered in particular for her roles in the operas of

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

and

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

. Oldrup made over 60 recordings.

Biography

Born in Copenhagen on 18 June 1912, Edith Johanne Oldrup Pedersen was the daughter of Charles Peter Ferdinand Oldrup Pedersen (1885-1946) and Hulda Marie Larsen (1885-1969). She was brought up in a well-to-do area of Frederiksberg. After attending the French School until she was 16, she studied song and dance under the operatic tenor

Vilhelm Herold Vilhelm Christoffer Herold (born March 19, 1865, in Hasle, Bornholm – died December 15, 1937, in Copenhagen) was an operatic tenor, voice teacher, and theatre director. Herold created the role of David in Carl Nielsen's opera '' Saul og David ...

. When she was 20, she entered the Opera Academy at the Royal Theatre where she made her début in 1934 as Micaëla in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

'', becoming an immediate success. Her most effective roles were those in the Mozart operas, especially Fiordiligi and Despina in '' Cosi fan tutte'', Papagena in '' The Magic Flute'', Zerlina 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 ...

'' and Susanna in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

''. She also excelled in

's works, as Mimi in '' La bohème'' and the title role in '' Madame Butterfly''. During her 15 years with the Royal Theatre, Oldrup performed in some 40 different roles. Many recordings were made in connection with the film ''

Jeg har elsket og levet ''Jeg har el sket og levet'' is a 1940 Danish family film directed by George Schnéevoigt. The film stars Erling Schroeder and Johannes Meyer. Cast *Erling Schroeder as C.E.F. Weyse * Ellen Gottschalch as Henriette Frisch * Johannes Meyer as ...

'' tracing the life of

Christoph Ernst Friedrich Weyse Christoph(er) Ernst Friedrich Weyse (5 March 1774 – 8 October 1842) was a Denmark, Danish composer during the Danish Golden Age. Biography Weyse was born at Altona, Hamburg, Altona in Holstein, which was in a personal union with Denmark. ...

. In 1949, Oldrup married the Swedish baritone opera singer Sigurd Carl Björling and moved to Sweden. Thereafter she performed only as a guest in both Denmark and in Sweden where she her performances at Drottningholm Palace Theatre were greatly appreciated. Later she served as a music consultant to the Gladsakse Music School and as a voice teacher in Helsingborg. Edith Oldrup died on 4 June 1999 in Helsingborg, Sweden.

Awards

In 1949, Oldrup received the

Tagea Brandt Rejselegat The Tagea Brandts ''Rejselegat'' (Travel Scholarship) is a Danish award to women who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art. The grant, which is given without application, was created and endowed by Danish industrialist ...

. In 1960, she was honoured as a

Knight of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

and in 1964, she received the Drottningholm Medal in gold.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oldrup, Edith Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Singers from Copenhagen 1912 births 1999 deaths Singers awarded knighthoods Danish operatic sopranos 20th-century Danish women opera singers