Signe Rappe-Welden née Rappe (24 September 1879 – 21 May 1974) was a Swedish operatic soprano and voice teacher. She made her dëbut in 1906 in

Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...

, acclaimed for both her voice and acting ability. She performed in Vienna from 1908 to 1911 and received the title of court singer in Sweden in 1909. Her most successful role was that of ''

Salome Salome (; he, שְלוֹמִית, Shlomit, related to , "peace"; el, Σαλώμη), also known as Salome III, was a Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II, son of Herod the Great, and princess Herodias, granddaughter of Herod the Great, an ...

'' in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

in 1910, which she later performed with

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

as conductor. After a short period with 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 ...

(1912–1913), she went on to give concerts in Europe and the United States.

Early life and education

Born in Stockholm on 24 September 1879, Signe Rappe was the daughter of General

Axel Rappe ''Friherre'' General Axel Emil Rappe (2October 1838 – 18December 1918) was a Swedish Army officer and Minister of War from 1892 and 1899. Early life Rappe was born on 2 October 1838 in Christinelund manor in Arby, Kalmar County, the s ...

(1838–1918) and his wife Anna née Sandahl (1855–1946). She was the second in a family of five children. On 30 December 1912, she married the pianist Sigge Heribert Lundén-Welden (1880–1959) with whom she had four children. She studied voice under the Swedish opera singer Thekla Hofer and later in Berlin under the German Therese Schnabel and the Hungarian

Etelka Gerster Etelka Gerster (25 June 1855, Košice20 August 1920, Pontecchio) was a Hungarian soprano. She debuted in Italy in 1876 and sang in London the following year. In 1878, she was performing in the Academy of Music where she was considered one of ...

Career

Rappe-Welden's Swedish début was at a concert performance in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipali ...

in 1902 as Delila in

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

's '' Samson''. She went on to perform in concerts in Copenhagen, including the soprano parts from

Mendelsohn The surname מענדעלסאן is transliterated to English as Mendelssohn, Mendelsson, or Mendelson. It is a common Polish/German Jewish surname. The variant spellings are used interchangeably, often even within a single family. The name means '' ...

's '' Elijah''. Her operatic début was in 1906 in

where she appeared periodically from 1906 to 1908. She then performed as a guest in Berlin, Cologne, Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and Strasbourg. She was engaged by the

Vienna Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an 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 August Si ...

from 1908 to 1911 and by the

from 1912 to 1913. She appeared as a guest in London at Covent Garden and at the Albert Hall, at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

, and in New York and Chicago. She also went on tour in Sweden and Norway. Among her successful roles were Salome, Elisabeth and Venus in ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1 ...

'', Elisa in '' Lohengrin'', Senta in '' The Flying Dutchman'', Eva in ''

The Master Singers The Master Singers were a British vocal group in the 1960s. Comprising four schoolmasters, they specialised in comedic recordings of mundane documents and announcements such as the BBC Weather, radio weather forecast and ''The Highway Code, Highw ...

'', Rezia in '' Oberon'', Aida, Desdemona in ''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'' and Marguerite in '' Faust''. As a concert performer, she was particularly fond of singing music by Bach. She completed her career by teaching voice in Stockholm. Signe Rappe-Welden died on 21 May 1974 in Danderyd.

Awards

In 1909, Rappe-Welden received the title of Hovsångerska (court singer) and in 1914 she was awarded the

Litteris et Artibus Litteris et Artibus is a Swedish royal medal established in 1853 by Charles XV of Sweden, who was then crown prince. It is awarded to people who have made important contributions to culture, especially music, dramatic art and literature. The ob ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rappe-Welden, Signe 1879 births 1974 deaths Musicians from Stockholm Swedish operatic sopranos Voice teachers Litteris et Artibus recipients