Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
from 1857 to 1866. She also gave concert performances. Thanks to her
coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills.
The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...
roles, her good looks, her pleasant disposition and her competence as an actress, she was one of the most popular singers of her day.
Biography
Born in Stockholm on 8 October 1837, Wilhelmina Gelhaar was the daughter of the oboist – Fredrik Gelhaar (1806–86) and the opera singer – Mathilda Fredrika Ficker (1814–89). In 1867, she married the director of the Royal Theatre – Eugène von Stedingk, who died in 1871. She later married the high court judge – August Wallensteen. Her son, Hans Ludvig von Stedingk, became director of the Royal Theatre while her daughter Gulli Gelhaar-Rudberg was also a soprano singer.
Her parents ensured that she received a musical education by sending her to the Royal Theatre school where she was taught by Julius Günther. Following her mother's footsteps, she made her stage début in the Royal Theatre school in 1858, as Susanna in ''
The Marriage of Figaro
''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'' and continued to perform until 1866. She played a wide variety of roles – including Rosina in ''
The Barber of Seville
''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...
'', Zerlina in ''
Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'', Pamina in ''
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 ...
'' and Marguerite in ''
Les Huguenots
() is an opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer and is one of the most popular and spectacular examples of grand opera. In five acts, to a libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work suc ...
''. She performed in the Swedish premières of
Aimé Maillart
Louis-Aimé Maillart (March 24, 1817 – May 26, 1871) was a French composer, best known for his operas, particularly '' Les Dragons de Villars'' and ''Lara''.
Biography
Maillart was born in Montpellier (Hérault).Les dragons de Villars'' as Rose Friquet in 1863 and in Fromental Halévy's ''
La Juive
''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835.
Composition history
''La Juive'' was one of t ...
'' in 1866 as Eudoxie.
Wilhelmina died in Stockholm on 17 February 1923.