Margareta Sjöstedt, also Sjöstedt-Kraus, (1923–2012) was a Swedish-Austrian

contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...

who received voice training in Stockholm, Salzburg and Vienna. She gave her first

lieder In the Western classical music tradition, ( , ; , ; ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German and Dutch, but among English and French speakers, is often used interchangea ...

recital in 1951 in Stockholm. From 1955 until her retirement in 1982, she was engaged by the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

where she took part in over a thousand performances, appearing in parallel in lieder recitals and at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

s. She was a guest singer in the opera houses of Madrid, Lisbon, Dublin and Berlin and gave recitals in Paris and London.

Biography

Born in Stockholm on 17 November 1923, Margareta Sjöstedt was trained at the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in Stockholm (1947–1951), at the

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 Salzburg and at the Academy of Music and the Performing Arts in Vienna. Her teachers included , ,

Elisabeth Radó Elisabeth Radó (29 October 1899 – 3 April 1986) was a Yugoslavian singer and singing teacher from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Biography Born in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, which in the days before World War I was still part of the Austro-H ...

and

Erik Werba Erik Werba (23 May 1918 – 9 April 1992) was an Austrian classical pianist who is especially known as an accompanist of singers. He was also a music critic, conductor, composer, author and academic teacher. Career Werba was born in Baden bei ...

. While studying, she sang in and in the Swedish jazz group Melody Girls. Sjöstedt gave her first lieder recital in 1951. The same year she was engaged as an opera singer by the

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not h ...

and in 1955 by the Landestheater Saarbrücken. In 1956, she joined the Vienna State Opera where she remained without interruption until 1982, becoming one of the most reliable members of the ensemble. In parallel, she gave recitals of lieder and

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

s. She was a guest performer in the opera houses of Madrid, Lisbon, Dublin and Berlin, playing Dorabella in ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' and Cerubino in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), 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 premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'' at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the ...

. She participated on three occasions at the Satzburg Festival (1958, 1964 and 1965) and at the Baroque Festival in Stockholm's

Drottningholm Palace Theatre The Drottningholm Palace Theatre () is an opera house located at Drottningholm Palace in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the few 18th century theatres in Europe that is still used as a theatre with its original stage machinery. Currently, the r ...

in 1966. Among her many roles were Azucena in '' Il trovatore'', Berta in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

'', Suzuki in ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lu ...

'', Octavia and Annina in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'', and Mercedes 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 novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

''. In parallel, she gave evening recitals in Vienna, Paris and London. She last performed at the Vienna Opera on 9 June 1982 as the Second lady in

Gottfried von Einem Gottfried von Einem (24 January 1918 – 12 July 1996) was an Austrian composer. He is known chiefly for his operas influenced by the music of Stravinsky and Prokofiev, as well as by jazz. He also composed pieces for piano, violin and organ. Bio ...

's ''

Der Besuch der alten Dame ''The Visit'' (, English: ''The Visit of the Old Lady'') is a 1956 Tragicomedy, tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt. Synopsis An enormously wealthy older woman returns to her former hometown with a dreadful bargain: she want ...

''. All in all she had played 46 roles in 1,015 performances. In 1963, she married the deputy director of Vienna's

Burgtheater The Burgtheater (; literally: "Castle Theater" but alternatively translated as "(Imperial) Court Theater", originally known as '' K.K. Theater an der Burg'', then until 1918 as the ''K.K. Hofburgtheater'', is the national theater of Austria in ...

Heinrich Kraus (1923–2018), after which she appeared as Margareta Sjöstedt-Kraus. She died in Vienna on 14 March 2012, aged 88.

Awards

For her contributions, in connection with her last performance on 9 June 1982, Margareta Sjöstedt was awarded the

Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science and Art" was established by the National C ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sjostedt, Margareta 1923 births 2012 deaths 20th-century Swedish women opera singers Swedish contraltos Lieder singers 20th-century Austrian women opera singers Actresses from Stockholm Actresses from Vienna Recipients of the Austrian Cross of Honour for Science and Art, 1st class Immigrants to Austria Swedish emigrants