Johanne Marie Magdalene Krarup-Hansen (1870–1958) was a Danish operatic mezzo-soprano. When 29, she made her début 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 s ...

as Orpheus in

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. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

's '' Orpheus and Euridice'' to wide acclaim. She is remembered in particular for being the first Danish Brünnhilde in

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 ...

's ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

'' in 1902. She was honoured by

King Frederik VIII Frederick VIII ( da, Christian Frederik Vilhelm Carl; 3 June 1843 – 14 May 1912) was King of Denmark from 29 January 1906 until his death in 1912. The eldest son of King Christian IX, nicknamed the ''Father-in-law of Europe'', Frederic ...

in 1908 with the title Royal Chamber Singer.

Biography

Born on 15 June 1890 in

Vejle Vejle () is a city in Denmark, in the southeast of the Jutland Peninsula at the head of Vejle Fjord, where the Vejle River and Grejs River and their valleys converge. It is the site of the councils of Vejle Municipality ('' kommune'') and th ...

, Johanne Marie Magdalene Krarup-Hansen was the daughter of the schoolteacher Hans Christian Mathias Krarup-Hansen (1836–1907) and his partner Christine Marie Jørgensen (1937–1916). She grew up in a musical home with her two sisters before moving to Copenhagen where she became a pupil of Agnes Adler for piano and of

Leopold Rosenfeld Leopold Rosenfeld (21 July 1849 – 19 July 1909) was a Danish composer and singing teacher. He was also a music critic at the newspapers ''Danneborg'', ''Musikbladet'' and ''Tidsskrift for Musik og Teater''. In 1889, he was titled professor. On ...

for voice. She later studied voice under Hermann Kutzschbach in Dresden. It was not until March 1899 when aged 29 she made her début at the Royal Danish Theatre as Orpheus, impressing her audience with her deep, full-bodied mezzo delivery. Under

Johan Svendsen Johan Severin Svendsen (30 September 184014 June 1911) was a Norwegian composer, conductor and violinist. Born in Christiania (now Oslo), Norway, he lived most his life in Copenhagen, Denmark. Svendsen's output includes two symphonies, a violin ...

and later Georg Hoeberg she developed proficiency in performing Wagnerian roles such as Ortrud in ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' and Kundry in ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

''. She is particularly remembered as Brünnhilde in ''Die Walküre'' in 1902, becoming the first Dane to take the role which had previously been performed by the Swede Ellen Gulbranson. She was also admired for her Verdi roles Amneris and Azucena, as well as for the title role in '' Carmen'' and Delila in ''

Samson and Delilah Samson and Delilah are Biblical figures. Samson and Delilah may also refer to: In music * ''Samson and Delilah'' (opera), an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns * ''Samson & Delilah'' (album), released in 2013 by V V Brown * "Samson and Delilah" (t ...

''. In 1919, after performing Ortrud for the last time, she retired from the stage, devoting the remainder of her career to teaching. Johanne Krarup-Hansen died in

Ribe Ribe () is a town in south-west Jutland, Denmark, with a population of 8,257 (2022). It is the seat of the Diocese of Ribe covering southwestern Jutland. Until 1 January 2007, Ribe was the seat of both a surrounding municipality and county. It ...

on 5 March 1958 and is buried in

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (behind Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2022, the city proper had a population of 180,863 while Odense Municipality had a population of 20 ...

Awards

In 1908, she was elevated to the rank of Royal Chamber Singer by King Frederik VIII. In recognition of her services, in 1934 she received the special award for women,

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krarup-Hansen, Johanne 1870 births 1958 deaths People from Vejle Municipality Musicians from the Region of Southern Denmark Danish operatic mezzo-sopranos 19th-century Danish actresses Danish stage actresses 20th-century Danish actresses