Karen-Marie Flagstad (November 24, 1904 – December 25, 1992) was a Norwegian

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 ...

opera singer. Flagstad was born in OsloKutsch, Karl-Josef Kutsch, & Leo Riemens. 2003. ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', 4th ed, vol. 4. Munich: K. G. Saur, . and was one of Norway's leading singers in her time. She was the sister of the world-renowned singer Kirsten Flagstad, and the daughter of the conductor

Michael Flagstad Michael Flagstad (4 February 1869 – 1 December 1930) was a Norwegian musician and conductor from Hamar. Biography Flagstad studied violin with Gudbrand Bøhn, and he was the conductor at the Central TheaterVogt, Howard. 1987. ''Flagstad: Sing ...

and the pianist

Maja Flagstad Marie "Maja" Flagstad (née Johnsrud) (15 November 1871 – 18 January 1958) was a Norwegian pianist, choral conductor, and répétiteur.Randel, Don Michael. 1996. ''The Harvard Biographical Dictionary of Music''. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Press ...

. She played minor roles as part of her family's engagement with the short-lived Opera Comique (1918–1921), and had her serious stage debut (1926) as Hannah in

Eduard Künneke Eduard Künneke (also seen as Edward and spelled Künnecke) (27 January 1885 – 27 October 1953 in Berlin) was a German composer notable for his operettas, operas, theatre music and some orchestral works. Kuenneke was born in Emmerich am Rhein, ...

's '' The Cousin from Nowhere''. Another of her early roles was in Emmerich Kálmán's '' Die Bajadere''. Her first major roles were as Amor in

Christoph Willibald 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 ''

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 ...

'' ( Central Theater, 1933) and Giuiletta in Jacques Offenbach's '' The Tales of Hoffmann'' ( National Theatre, 1938) under the direction of

Olav Kielland Olav Løchen Kielland (16 August 1901 in Trondheim – 5 August 1985 in Bø, Telemark) was a Norwegian composer and conductor. Early life and education Olav Løchen Kielland was born the son of Gabriel Kielland (1871–1960) and Margit Løchen ...

. Flagstad traveled abroad and sang on American radio. On the German stage, she played Salome in

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

's opera of the same name, and Ariadne in his '' Ariadne auf Naxos''. She was married to the Austrian pianist Johann Crkal (1891–1939) and she performed in Italy and France as Karen Maria Crkal, first as a guest together with her sister as Brünnhilde at La Scala as Ortlinde in Wagner's '' Die Walküre'' (1949). She repeated the role in Rome (1952) and then in Bordeaux together with

Beate Asserson Beate Asserson Saxlund (March 9, 1913 – January 29, 2000) was a Norwegian mezzo-soprano opera singer.Karl-Josef Kutsch, & Leo Riemens. 2003. ''Großes Sängerlexikon'', 4th ed, vol. 4. Munich: K. G. Saur, . Asserson was born in Bjelland in Vest- ...

(1954). She performed again at La Scala in 1953 as Wellgunde in Götterdämmerung.Maud Hurums operaoversikt: Beate Asserson (1913–2000). 2008. Oslo: UiO Institutt for musikkvitenskap.
/ref> She also appeared in other operas (including Carl Maria von Weber's '' Der Freischütz'', Beethoven's '' Fidelio'', and Eugen d'Albert's '' Tiefland'' for NRK), appeared on radio with her brother Lasse Flagstad on piano (1946), was a director in the Norwegian Opera Association (''Norsk Operaforbund''), and worked with the People's Theater in Oslo. Flagstad was employed at the

Norwegian National Opera and Ballet The Norwegian National Opera and Ballet ( no, Den Norske Opera & Ballett, links=no) is a Norwegian opera company and ballet company. The first fully professional company each for opera and ballet in Norway and the only such professional organisati ...

(led by her sister) from 1958 to 1961, where she was acclaimed in the role of Ågot in Waldemar Thrane's ''Fjeldeventyret'' (The Mountain Tale, 1960) and later worked as a répétiteur (like her mother). She died in Oslo.

Releases

Richard 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'' (1950). Live from

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. Directed by Wilhelm Furtwängler. *Richard Wagner's ''Die Walküre'' (1955). From the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

. *Richard Wagner's '' Götterdämmerung'' (Decca, 1956). With Norwegian artists and director

Øivin Fjeldstad Øivin Fjeldstad (2 May 1903 – 16 October 1983) was a Norway, Norwegian Conducting, conductor and violinist. Fjeldstad was artistic director and principal conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic from 1962 to 1969. Biography A native of Oslo, Øivi ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flagstad, Karen Marie Norwegian operatic sopranos Musicians from Oslo 1904 births 1992 deaths 20th-century Norwegian women opera singers