''Singoalla'' is a 1940 opera in four acts by

Gunnar de Frumerie Per Gunnar Fredrik de Frumerie (20 July 1908, in Nacka, Stockholm County – 9 September 1987, in Täby, Stockholm County) was a Swedish composer and pianist. He was the son of architect Gustaf de Frumerie and Maria Helleday. After studying ...

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by (1889–1969) based on the novel with the English title '' The Wind Is My Lover'' by Swedish author

Viktor Rydberg Abraham Viktor Rydberg (; 18 December 182821 September 1895) was a Swedish writer and a member of the Swedish Academy, 1877–1895. "Primarily a classical idealist", Viktor Rydberg has been described as "Sweden's last Romantic" and by 1859 was ...

. The opera premiered on 16 March 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 ...

, Stockholm.

Plot

The opera is set in Sweden during the fourteenth century. The plot centres on Singoalla, princess of a nomadic tribe and Erland, a young knight with whom she has a son. In acts 1 and 2 the tribe take him hostage in order to escape with items stolen from a monastery. The tribe give Erland a potion causing him to forget Singoalla and abandon her. Acts 3 and 4 resume the story after ten years have passed and Erland is now married to another woman but tormented by strange dreams in which child predicts the coming of the

Black Death The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality or the Plague) was a bubonic plague pandemic occurring in Western Eurasia and North Africa from 1346 to 1353. It is the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causi ...

. At this point the child, his forgotten son, enters the plot and his service, leading to the death of the principal characters.''

Gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

'' review: There are, according to Margareta Rorby, strong autobiographical overtones in Rydberg's tale: Erland's coldness to the "child of sorrow" reflects his own youth and the portrayal of Singoalla "unites a naive and innocent sensuality with an asocial and forbidden eroticism".

Recording

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...

as Singoalla (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

);

Björn Haugan Björn Haugan (5 September 1942 – 8 January 2009) was a Swedish born, Norwegian operatic lyric tenor. Background Björn Haugan was born in Söderhamn Municipality in the province of Hälsingland within Gävleborg County, Sweden. He was th ...

as Erland Månesköld (

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 ...

); Per-Arne Wahlgren as Assim and as Riddar Bengt Månesköld (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

); as Helena Ulvsax (mezzo-soprano);

Erik Saedén Carl Erik Sædén (3 September 1924, in Vänersborg – 3 November 2009), was a Swedish bass-baritone whose career was principally centred on Stockholm, both on the operatic stage as well as the concert platform. He made a few recordings and app ...

as Pater Henrik (

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

); as Broder Johannes (tenor); Stig Tysklind as Hövdingen hief of the wandering people(bass); Inger Blom as Assim's Mother (

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

); Lasse Bergström as Sorgbarn (

boy soprano A boy soprano (British and especially North American English) or boy treble (only British English) is a young male singer with an unchanged voice in the soprano range, a range that is often still called the treble voice range (in North America ...

);

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 ...

, ,

Yuri Ahronovitch Yuri Mikhaylovich Ahronovitch (Юрий Михайлович Аронович) (13 May 193231 October 2002) was a Soviet-born Israeli conductor. Born in Leningrad, he studied music and the violin from the age of 4. In 1954 he graduated as condu ...

1988 Caprice CAP22023

References

External links

"Frumerie: ''Singoalla''
review by Robert Layton in ''

'', December 1988 1940 operas Swedish-language operas Operas set in Sweden Operas set in the 14th century Operas based on novels Operas Adaptations of works by Viktor Rydberg {{opera-stub