Thekla Catharina Charlotta Hofer née Falck (1852–1938) was a Swedish operatic soprano and later voice teacher. She made her début 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 1879 as Rosina in '' The Barber of Seville''. In addition to performing in various theatres in Sweden, she was a highly applauded guest in Weimar, St Petersburg and Riga. In the mid-1990s, she retired from the stage to teach with pupils including Signe Rappe and

Karin Branzell Karin Branzell (24 September 189115 December 1974) was a Swedish operatic contralto (sometimes described as a mezzo-soprano), who had a prominent career at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in Europe. Her very wide range enabled her to sing b ...

Early life and education

Born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

on 10 January 1852, Thekla Catherina Charlotta Falck was the daughter of the cigar master Evert Mauritz Falk and his wife Gustava Charlotta née Rosenlöf. She married the German-born bass opera singer Theodor Hofer. She first studied piano under

Hilda Thegerström Hilda Aurora Thegerström (1838–1907) was a prominent Swedish pianist, music teacher and composer in the second half of the 19th century. Thanks to training under Franz Berwald, in April 1856 she was able to perform Chopin's Concerto in F-min ...

before becoming a voice pupil of

Adelaïde Leuhusen Amalia Aurora ''Adelaïde'' Leuhusen, née ''Valerius'' (1 December 1828 – 1923), was a Swedish baroness, painter and concert singer. She was a teacher and benefactor of the famous Swedish opera singer Christina Nilsson, whom she introduced t ...

. She completed her voice training in Paris under the tenor Pierre-François Wartel.

Career

Hofer made her début in 1879 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Rosina in ''The Barber of Seville'', receiving an engagement for the following season. She became a successful performer not only here but as a guest in Helsinki, in Gothenburg's Stora Teatern, Weimar's Hoftheater and St Petersburg's Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. In 1888, as a guest in Riga, she played in Suppé's operetta ''

Die schöne Galathée ' (''The Beautiful Galatea'') is an operetta in one act by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by the composer and 'Poly Henrion' (the pseudonym of Leonhard Kohl von Kohlenegg).* In the early 1860s, French operettas by Jacques Offenbach w ...

''. Among her finest parts were the title role in ''

La Traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', Olympia, Giulietta and Antonia in '' The Tales of Hoffmann'', Amina in '' La sonnambula'' and Micaëla in ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

''. In the mid-1890s, Hofer retired from the stage to devote the remainder of her career to teaching. Among the celebrated singers who emerged from her school until she retired in 1923 were Signe Rappe, Karin Branzell,

Ruth Althén Ruth Ester Althén née Whitefield (1890–1985) was a Swedish operatic soprano. Trained by Thekla Hofer and Ture Rangström, she made her début at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1915 with the title role in '' Aida''. Engaged by the Royal Opera i ...

Irma Björck Irma Lovisa Björck née Krook (1898–1993) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera and operetta singer. After training under Thekla Hofer and Gertrud Grubbstrom-Gronberg, with a year at the Royal Swedish Opera School, she made her début in 1925 at ...

and the tenor

Folke Andersson Folke Andersson (born 19 February 1903) was a Swedish ice hockey player. Andersson was part of the Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is h ...

. Thekla Hofer died in Strängnäs on 14 June 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofer, Thekla 1852 births 1938 deaths Musicians from Gothenburg Swedish operatic sopranos Voice teachers 20th-century Swedish women musicians