Else Marie Schøtt (24 March 1895 – 29 April 1989) was a Danish
operatic 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 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 ...
from 1919 until she retired from the stage in 1951. Initially she frequently stood in for
Tenna Kraft
Hortensia (Tenna) Kristine Sofie Erogine Kraft née Frederiksen (1885–1954) was a Danish operatic soprano. One of the Royal Danish Theatre's outstanding sopranos in the early 20th century, she sang in operas by Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Richar ...
but became increasingly recognized as a significant performer in her own right, taking key roles in the works 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 ...
,
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 ...
and
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
as well in several Danish operas. In 1941, she played the title role in
Paul von Klenau Paul August von Klenau (11 February 1883 in Copenhagen – 31 August 1946 in Copenhagen) was a Danish-born composer who worked primarily in Germany and Austria.
Biography
Klenau was born in Copenhagen, where he studied under Otto Malling. Already a ...
's Danish première of ''Elisabeth von England'' to wide acclaim. Schøtt was also a successful teacher, with pupils including
Ruth Guldbæk and Tove Hyldgaard.
Biography
Born in
Middelfart
Middelfart is a town in central Denmark, with a population of 16,277 . The town is the municipal seat of Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen ( da, Fyn).
Etymology
The name Middelfart, first recorded as "Mæthælfar" in Valdemar's Cen ...
on 24 March 1895, Else Marie Schøtt was the daughter of the innkeeper Jacob Peter Schøtt (1864–1917) and his wife Joanne Henriette née Lund (1859–1942). After schooling in
Nørre Aaby
Nørre Aaby is a town in central Denmark, located in Middelfart Municipality on the island of Funen. Until ''Kommunalreformen'' ("The Municipality Reform" of 2007) it was the site of the municipal council of the now former Nørre Aaby Municip ...
, she took a preparatory course in singing given by the soprano Karen Marie Nielsen in Copenhagen. She then underwent thorough voice training under the Danish baritone Albert Høeberg and the Norwegian soprano Lona Gyldenhrone. She later became a student of the Czech opera singer
Emil Burian
Emil Burian (12 December 1876 – 9 October 1926) was a Czech operatic baritone. He was the father of poet and composer Emil František Burian and the grandfather of Czech songwriter and poet Jan Burian.
Born in Rakovník, he was the younger broth ...
in Prague and the Austrian
Luise Reuss-Belce in Berlin. The Swedish actress Anna Norrie instructed her in drama. She completed her musical education at the Royal Danish Opera School (1921–1923), after which she was engaged by the Royal Theatre as an opera singer in July 1923.
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 ...
'', Anna and Elvira 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 ...
'', Pamina in ''The Magic Flute
''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...
'', Leonore in ''Fidelio
''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...
'' and Elisabeth in ''Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...
''. She also performed in Danish operas, playing Michal in Nielsen's ''Saul og David
Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...
'' and Ingeborg in Heise Heise may refer to:
People with the surname
* Bob Heise (born 1947), American Major League Baseball player
* David R. Heise (born 1937), American sociologist
* Geoff Heise, American actor
* Georg Arnold Heise (1778–1851), an influential Germa ...
's ''Drot og marsk
''Drot og marsk'' (''King and Marshal'') is an opera by the Danish composer Peter Heise. The libretto, by Christian Richardt, is based on Carsten Hauch's play ''Marsk Stig'' (1850). The opera was first performed at the Royal Theatre, Copenhagen, ...
''. She also performed as a guest in Stockholm, Lübeck and Prague. Her successful career included a number of concerts and broadcasts.[
]
Awards
Schøtt was honoured by King Christian X
Christian X ( da, Christian Carl Frederik Albert Alexander Vilhelm; 26 September 1870 – 20 April 1947) was King of Denmark from 1912 to his death in 1947, and the only King of Iceland as Kristján X, in the form of a personal union rather ...
in 1934 as a Royal Chamber Singer. In 1942 she received the Ingenio et Arti and in 1945 was presented the special award for successful women, 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 ...
.[
]
References
External links
Discography of Else Schøtt by René Aagaard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schott, Else
1895 births
1989 deaths
People from Middelfart Municipality
20th-century Danish actresses
Danish operatic sopranos
20th-century Danish women opera singers
Recipients of Ingenio et Arti