Karin Hillevi Langebo-Lilliebjörn (1927–2019) was a Swedish soprano opera singer, harpist and voice teacher. She made her stage debut in 1956 at the

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre ( sv , Drottningholms slottsteater) is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original ...

as Ninetta in

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 ...

opera buffa ''Opera buffa'' (; "comic opera", plural: ''opere buffe'') is a genre of opera. It was first used as an informal description of Italian comic operas variously classified by their authors as ''commedia in musica'', ''commedia per musica'', ''dramm ...

La finta semplice ''La finta semplice'' (''The Fake Innocent''), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in ...

''. In addition to performing roles at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern side ...

, from 1962 to 1966 she was engaged by the

Norwegian National Opera 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 ...

. She also performed as a harpist with various orchestras and was a member of the Swedish radio choir.

Early life and family

Born in

Skellefteå Skellefteå (, locally ) is a Cities in Sweden, city in Västerbotten County, Sweden. It is the seat of Skellefteå Municipality, which had 73,246 inhabitants in 2021. The city is historically industrial, with mining being a large part of that i ...

on 5 October 1927, Karin Hillevi Langebo was the daughter of the organist and choirmaster Simon Konrad Langebo and his wife Vivi Antoinette Karolina née Andersson, a church singer. From 1946 to 1953, she attended the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

in Stockholm where she studied singing, opera and the harp and graduated as a music teacher. A student of the soprano

Hjördis Schymberg Hjördis Gunborg Schymberg (April 24, 1909 – September 8, 2008) was a Swedish coloratura and lyric soprano active on the opera stage and in concert halls between 1934 and 1968. One of the leading singers of the Royal Swedish Opera, she was awar ...

, she also studied in Salzburg, Paris and Vienna. In 1953, she married Lars Gunnar Enar Lilliebjörn with whom she had a son, Peter.

Career

Enjoying grants both as an opera singer and a harpist from the Royal Opera, she performed in a number of different roles, including Lucia in

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

's ''The Rape of Lucretia''. Performing both classical and modern roles, in 1963 she appeared in the first production of

Ingvar Lidholm Ingvar Natanael Lidholm (24 February 1921 – 17 October 2017) was a Swedish composer. Early years: 1921–1940 Ingvar Lidholm was born in Jönköping. The actual family home was in Nässjö, some 40 kilometers to the southeast. Neither of his pa ...

's ''Nausikaa ensam''. Performing at the Norwegian Opera from the early 1960s, she is remembered as Mimi in

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 ...

's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'', Rosalina in

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

' ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original ...

'' and in the title role of

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (, also , , ; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario of the Romantic period. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera '' ...

's ''

La belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy, Helen's elopement with Paris (myt ...

''. Langebo also performed in concerts and was a member of the Swedish radio choir in the 1950s. She played the harp in orchestras including the

Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra ( sv, Kungliga Filharmonikerna or , literal translations, "Royal Philharmonic" or "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra") is a Swedish orchestra based in Stockholm. Its principal venue is the Konserthuset. Hi ...

and The Royal Court Orchestra. In the 1970s and 1980s, she also appeared in various Swedish television shows. Karin Langebo died in Stockholm on 27 November 2019 and was buried in Danderyd Cemetery in

Djursholm Djursholm () is one of four suburban districts in, and the seat of Danderyd Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden. Djursholm is included in the multi-municipal Stockholm urban area. Djursholm is divided into a number of different areas: Djursh ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Langebo, Karin 1927 births 2019 deaths People from Skellefteå Municipality 20th-century Swedish women opera singers Swedish operatic sopranos Swedish harpists 20th-century Swedish women musicians