Ragnar Sigurd Ulfung (born 28 February 1927) is a Norwegian operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

. Described in the ''

Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...

'' as "a brilliant actor with an incisive voice", he was particularly known for his portrayals of Herod (''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'') and Mime (''

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the '' Nibe ...

'').Blyth (2001) p. 60 He is also an opera director. Amongst the productions he has directed was a complete ''Ring'' cycle for the

Seattle Opera Seattle Opera is an opera company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1963 by Glynn Ross, who served as its first general director until 1983. The company's season runs from August through late May, comprising five or six operas of ...

. Ulfung was born 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 ...

and studied there and in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

before making his debut in ''

Let's Make an Opera ''The Little Sweep'', Op. 45, is an opera for children in three scenes by the English composer Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Eric Crozier. ''Let's Make an Opera!'' ''The Little Sweep'' is the second part of a stage production entitled ' ...

'' (Oslo, 1950). He made a successful debut 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 ...

in 1958 as Canio in ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'' and remained a member of the company until 1984. However, he also made guest appearances abroad. He made his debut at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

on 12 December 1972 as Mime in ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' and went on to sing 93 performances there between 1972 and 1993. In 1975 he appeared in

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, Film producer, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known ...

's celebrated film of Mozart's ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

'' in the role of Monostatos. He was appointed

Hovsångare The titles Hovsångare (, literally "Court Singer") for men and Hovsångerska () for women are awarded by the Swedish monarch to a singer (usually an opera singer) who, by their vocal art, has contributed to the international standing of Swedish s ...

in 1976. In 2015, Ulfung at age 88 sang ''Altoum'' in

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...

Dalhalla Dalhalla is an open air theatre located in a former limestone quarry, and is used as a summer music venue. It is located north of Lake Siljan and the municipality of Rättvik in Dalarna, central Sweden. The quarry, previously known as ''Dragg� ...

with i.a.

Nina Stemme Nina Maria Stemme (born Nina Maria Thöldte on 11 May 1963) is a Swedish dramatic soprano opera singer. Stemme "is regarded by today's opera fans as our era's greatest Wagnerian soprano". In 2010, Michael Kimmelman wrote of one of Stemme's perf ...

and

Lars Cleveman Lars Cleveman (born 16 June 1958) is a Swedish musician and opera singer. Career Together with Martin Rössel, Cleveman founded Sweden's first electronic underground group, Dom Dummaste. Additionally, Cleveman is a tenor opera singer, performing ...

References

Sources

*Blyth Alan, "Ulfung, Ragnar (Sigurd)", in Stanley Sadie (ed.), ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', Grove 2001, Volume 26, p. 60. *

Performance record: Ulfung, Ragnar (Tenor)
MetOpera Database (accessed 26 April 2010) *Stiftelsen Kungliga Teaterns Solister (Foundation of Royal Theatre Soloists)
Biography: Ragnar Ulfung
(in Swedish, accessed 26 April 2010)

External links

*

by Bruce Duffie, September 16, 1985 1927 births Living people Norwegian operatic tenors Musicians from Oslo 20th-century Norwegian male opera singers {{Norway-opera-singer-stub