Carl Erik Sædén (3 September 1924, in

Vänersborg Vänersborg () is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Vänersborg Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 23,882 inhabitants (out of a municipal total of 39,904) Until 1997 it was the capital of Älvsborg County, which mer ...

– 3 November 2009), was a Swedish

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

whose career was principally centred on

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, both on the operatic stage as well as the concert platform. He made a few recordings and appeared in the 1975 Bergman film of ''

The magic flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...

''.Forbes E. Erik Sædén. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.'' Macmillan, London and New York, 1997.Swedish radio archive http://www.sr.se/cgi-bin/stockholm/nyheter/artikel.asp?artikel=3213451 3 November 2009.

Career

Sædén studied at the Kungliga Musikhögskolan in

from 1943–52, his teachers there including

Arne Sunnegårdh Arne Sunnegårdh (4 August 1907 in Stockholm – 30 March 1972 in Danderyd, Stockholm County) was a Swedish vocal teacher and church musician. Biography Sunnegårdh was active in Stockholm as the choirmaster at the Royal Swedish Opera, as a vo ...

, Martin Öhman and Wilhelm Freund. He received degrees in higher cantor and organist degree from the Royal College of Music in 1946, and a degree in vocal teaching 1952. Having joined the choir of

Engelbrekt Church Engelbrekt Church () is a protected church located in the Lärkstaden area of Stockholm, Sweden. Its located at Östermalm and belongs to the Church of Sweden and is parish church for Engelbrekt Parish in the Diocese of Stockholm. It was desig ...

in 1944 (where he later sang in the St Matthew Passion), Saedén studied in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1952 and at the

Salzburg Salzburg is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020 its population was 156,852. The city lies on the Salzach, Salzach River, near the border with Germany and at the foot of the Austrian Alps, Alps moun ...

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

in 1952, 1954 and 1955. In 1965, he became a member of the Stockholm Music Academy, and in 1966 a Swedish ''hovsångare'' (court singer by special appointment). From 1957 to 1983 he was a singing teacher at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. In 1974 he received the medal of Litteris et artibus. At the same time, he worked as a teacher at the Royal Music Academy in Stockholm. Sædén first appeared at the Royal Opera in Stockholm in 1952 and was a member of the company until 1981. Among over 100 roles which he sang were the Count (''Le Nozze di Figaro''), Beckmesser, Wolfram (''Tannhäuser''), Scarpia, Jochanaan, Golaud, Pimen, Wozzeck (Swedish premiere, 1957) and Nick Shadow in ''The Rake's Progress'' (Swedish premiere, 1961). He created roles in several opera premieres: * Ture Rangström: title role in ''Gilgamesj'' (Stockholm, 1952) * Karl-Birger Blomdahl: Mimaroben in '' Aniara'' (1959) * Lars-Johan Werle: Julien in ''Drömmen om Thérèse'' (1964) *

Hilding Rosenberg Hilding Constantin Rosenberg (June 21, 1892 – May 18, 1985)Lyne Peter H. Rosenberg, Hilding (Constantin). In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera''. Macmillan, London & New York, 1997. was a Swedish composer and conductor. He is commonly re ...

: Don Felix in ''Hus med dubbel ingång'' *

Franz Berwald Franz Adolf Berwald (23 July 1796 – 3 April 1868) was a Swedish Romantic composer and violinist. He made his living as an orthopedist and later as the manager of a saw mill and glass factory, and became more appreciated as a composer after ...

: Saint Phar in '' The Queen of Golconda'', (1968, centennial premiere) *

Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (3 February 1904 – 19 February 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current Pazin, Croati ...

: title role in '' Ulisse'' (Deutsche Oper, Berlin, 1968) *

György Ligeti György Sándor Ligeti (; ; 28 May 1923 – 12 June 2006) was a Hungarian-Austrian composer of contemporary classical music. He has been described as "one of the most important avant-garde music, avant-garde composers in the latter half of the ...

: Nekrotzar in '' Le Grand Macabre'' (1978) *Lars Runsten: ''Amorina'' (1993). Appearances outside Sweden included

Bayreuth Bayreuth ( or ; High Franconian German, Upper Franconian: Bareid, ) is a Town#Germany, town in northern Bavaria, Germany, on the Red Main river in a valley between the Franconian Jura and the Fichtel Mountains. The town's roots date back to 11 ...

(Kurwenal in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is a music drama in three acts by Richard Wagner set to a German libretto by the composer, loosely based on the medieval 12th-century romance ''Tristan and Iseult'' by Gottfried von Stras ...

'', Herald in Lohengrin and Donner in ''Rheingold''), the

Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of Arts festival, arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the ...

in 1959 and 1974),

Savonlinna Savonlinna (, , ; ) is a town in Finland, located in the eastern interior of the country. It lies in the Finnish Lakeland, the South Savo region. The population of Savonlinna is approximately , while the Savonlinna sub-region, sub-region has a pop ...

in 1989 (Henrik in '' Singoalla'' by Gunnar de Frumerie),

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, the

Royal Opera House Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is a theatre in Covent Garden, central London. The building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. The ROH is the main home of The Royal Opera, The Royal Ballet, and the Orch ...

(1960, 1981),

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

(1967),

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) 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 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Recordings

* Mimaroben in ''Aniara'' by Karl-Birger Blomdahl (also television) * Unzu in ''Tranfjädrarna'' by Sven-Erik Bäck (also television) * ''Die Winterreise'' (

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

) * St Matthew Passion under the baton of Eric Ericson (1963) – arias * art songs by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

, S. von Koch,

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

, Ture Rangström,

Birger Sjöberg Birger Sjöberg (1885–1929) was a Swedish poet, novelist and songwriter, whose best-known works include the faux-naïf song collection ''Fridas bok'' (Frida's book) and the novel ''Kvartetten som sprängdes'' (The quartet that split up), a some ...

, Wilhelm Stenhammar and

Evert Taube Axel Evert Taube (; 12 March 1890 – 31 January 1976) was a Swedish author, artist, composer and singer. He is widely regarded as one of Sweden's most respected musicians and the foremost troubadour of the Swedish ballad tradition in the 20th c ...

* ''Den glada änkan'' by Franz Lehár * Speaker in '' Trollflöjten'' by Mozart, HMV (1975) * ''Barfotasånger'' by

Allan Pettersson Gustaf Allan Pettersson (19 September 1911 – 20 June 1980) was a Swedish composer and violist. He is considered one of the 20th century's most important Swedish composers and was described as one of the last great symphonists, ...

, Swedish Society * Fader Henrik in ''Singoalla'' by Gunnar de Frumerie, Caprice * ''Rheingold'' by Richard Wagner, Melodram * Leporello in ''Don Giovanni'' by Mozart * ''The Marriage of Figaro'' by Mozart (Drottningholm, video)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saeden, Erik Swedish operatic baritones Litteris et Artibus recipients People from Vänersborg Musicians from Västra Götaland County 1924 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Swedish male opera singers Royal College of Music, Stockholm, alumni