Ivar Christian Hallström, born
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, 5 June 1826, died in that city on 11 April 1901 was a Swedish composer, particularly of opera.
[Wiklund A. Ivar Christian Hallström. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.]
Life
Although he learnt the piano, Hallström was self-taught as a composer. He studied law in
Uppsala
Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inha ...
and in 1853 was appointed librarian to
Prince Oscar which assisted him in advancing his career as a composer. His operas in collaboration with the librettist Frans Hedberg launched his operatic career, where he was particularly able to use Swedish folk tunes effectively.
Hallström introduced a flavour of Gallic wit into his light operas, many of them based on French libretti. Fourteen operatic works survive.
He was one of the founding members of
Sällskapet Idun, a men's association founded in Stockholm in 1862.
After many years neglect, Hallström’s operas were revived, in
Umeå
Umeå ( , , , locally ; South Westrobothnian: ;). fi, Uumaja; sju, Ubmeje; sma, Upmeje; se, Ubmi) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County.
Situated on the Ume River, Umeà ...
in 1986 with ''Bergtagna'', seen also at the
York Early Music Festival
The York Early Music Festival is an England, English arts festival devoted mainly to European classical music, classical music from the 18th century and earlier. It was established in 1977, and takes place in York each July, organised by the Nati ...
in 1988,
''Hertig Magnus'' at
Vadstena
Vadstena () is a locality and the seat of Vadstena Municipality, Östergötland County, Sweden, with 5,613 inhabitants in 2010. From 1974 to 1979 Vadstena was administered as part of Motala Municipality.
Despite its small population, Vadstena is ...
in 1988 and 2000, also broadcast on Swedish television, and ''Liten Karin'' in 1997, also at Vadstena, with
Malena Ernman
Sara Magdalena Ernman (born 4 November 1970) is a Swedish opera singer. Besides operas and operettas, she has also performed chansons, cabaret, jazz, and appeared in musicals. She is a member of The Royal Swedish Academy of Music. Ernman repres ...
as Princess Cecilia.
[Guillaume Maijeur, "Vadstena – Wider horizons" 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 ...
'', 1997 Annual Festival Issue, p. 127
Compositions
*''
Hertig Magnus och sjöjungfrun'' (Duke Magnus and the mermaid) – romantic operetta
*''Mjölnarvargen'' (after Le diable au moulin by
Eugène Cormon
Pierre-Étienne Piestre, known as Eugène Cormon (5 May 1810 – March 1903), was a French dramatist and librettist. He used his mother's name, Cormon, during his career.
Cormon wrote dramas, comedies and, from the 1840s, libretti; around 15 ...
and
Michel Carré
Michel Carré (20 October 1821, Besançon – 27 June 1872, Argenteuil) was a prolific French librettist.
He went to Paris in 1840 intending to become a painter but took up writing instead. He wrote verse and plays before turning to writing lib ...
) - operetta
*''Den bergtagna'' (The bride of the mountain king) – romantic opera
*''Vikingarne'' (The Vikings) – romantic opera
*''Neaga'' - opera
*''Per Svinaherde'' (Peter the swineherd) – fairy play
*''Ett äfventyr i Skottland'' (An Adventure in Scotland) - ballet in two acts
*''En dröm'' (A dream) - ballet in one act
References
External links
*
1826 births
1901 deaths
19th-century classical composers
19th-century male musicians
Burials at Maria Magdalena Church
Male opera composers
Musicians from Stockholm
Romantic composers
Swedish classical composers
Swedish male classical composers
Swedish opera composers
20th-century Swedish male musicians
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