Olav Werner (July 29, 1913 – March 10, 1992) was a Norwegian singer and recording artist. He was a frequent soloist in the
NRK
NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...
programs
Listener's Choice ( no, Ønskekonserten)
and Devotion ( no, Andakten). He released a number of records and held many concerts, over 300 of which were with the organist
Rolf Holger.
Werner was born in
Geithus,
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
.
He was a tenor/baritone, and he studied singing with
Sigurd Hoff at the
Oslo Conservatory of Music
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of i ...
.
Starting in 1937,
he recorded over 800 singles and LPs.
For several years he sang hits, and in 1945 he made his debut with church concerts.
With NRK, Werner sang romantic songs and folk tunes. He also participated in some opera productions. For 19 years he was also a member of the Andaktskvartetten (Devotional Quartet). He sang in
Arne Eggen
Arne Eggen (28 August 1881 in Trondheim, Norway – 26 October 1955 in Bærum, Norway) was a Norwegian composer and organist, married in 1916 to Engel Johanne Othilie Sparre Gulbranson (1878–1918), the brother of musicologist and composer (18 ...
's opera ''Cymbelin'' when it was performed at the
National Theater in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
in 1951.
He also gave concerts elsewhere in Scandinavia and in England and Germany.
On 7 June 2009, a memorial commemorating Olav Werner was unveiled in Geithus.
Werner lived at
Eiksmarka
Eiksmarka ("Oakfield") is an affluent suburb of the Norwegian municipality of Bærum in the Greater Oslo Region with around 4,000 inhabitants. It is located just west of the border of Oslo municipality, but within the contiguous urban area of O ...
for most of his life. For many years, he owned and ran a funeral home in Oslo and
Bærum
Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electoral ...
.
Discography
*"Det lyser i et vindu" (1938), debut recording
*"Under svaiende palmer" / "Mitt paradis" (Odeon), together with Eva Bereng and Guttorm Frølich's Hawaiiorkester
*"Kom til den hvitmalte kirke" (Emidisc)
*"Glade Jul" (Odeon), together with
Sølvguttene
Sølvguttene ("The Silver Boys") is a boys' choir founded by Torstein Grythe in June, 1940. He held the position as conductor until 2004, when Fredrik Otterstad took over.Eldri Espedal StorhaugSølvguttene kom med julefredAftenbladet, December 1 ...
References
External links
Olav Wernerat Ballade.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Werner, Olav
1913 births
1992 deaths
20th-century Norwegian male singers
People from Modum