Soffi Schønning (October 2, 1895 – September 9, 1994) was a Norwegian

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

tic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

. Schønning was born in

Kabelvåg , , or is a village in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is located on the southern shore of the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago. Kabelvåg lies about to the southwest of the town of Svolvær, the administrat ...

. She studied under Borghild Langaard in Christiania, and under Mme. Luisa Cappiani in London . She made her professional opera debut in 1924. In 1928 she joined the roster of artists at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera () is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the centre of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, in the borough of Norrmalm (borough), Norrmalm, on the eastern si ...

in Stockholm where she made her debut as Gilda in ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had c ...

'' under the baton of Armas Järnefelt. That same year she also sang Gilda for her debut at the

Royal Opera House 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 ...

in London, where she subsequently appeared in 1932–1933. She also sang several times at the

Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an annual opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England. History Under the supervision of the Christie family, the festival has been held annually since 1934, e ...

, with her first appearance there being in 1935. In 1938 she made her debut at the National Theatre in Oslo as Olympia in ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

''. In 1940, she created the role of Ingeborg in the world premiere of

Arne Eggen Arne Eggen (28 August 1881 in Trondheim, Norway – 26 October 1955 in Bærum, Norway) was a Norwegian composer and organist, married in 1916 to Engel Johanne Othilie Sparre Gulbranson (1878–1918), the brother of musicologist and composer (1 ...

's '' Olav Liljekrans'' at the National Theatre. That same year, she sang Musetta in ''

La boheme LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smit ...

'' at the

Det Nye Teater Det Nye Teater was a theatre that opened in Oslo, Norway, in 1929, and operated independently until 1959, when it merged with Folketeatret to form Oslo Nye Teater. Its original purpose was to support contemporary Norwegian drama. History The ...

. A specialist in the

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

repertoire, some of the other roles she performed on stage included Konstanze in ''

Die Entführung aus dem Serail ' () (Köchel catalogue, K. 384; ''The Abduction from the Seraglio''; also known as ') is a singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Gottlieb Stephanie, based on Christoph Friedrich Bretzner's . The plot concer ...

'', Philine in ''

Mignon ''Mignon'' () is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'', the Queen of the Night in ''

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 ...

'', and the title role in ''

Lakmé ''Lakmé'' is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. The score, written from 1881 to 1882, was first performed on 14 April 1883 by the '' Opéra-Comique'' at the (second) Salle Fa ...

''. During the Second World War, Schønning appeared in London in an extensive series of concerts with Waldemar Johnsen. Together they gave more than a hundred performances of Norwegian music. During this time she married the editor Jonas Schanche Jonasen. The couple later settled in Sandnes, and Schønning taught out of a studio on nearby Stavanger until her retirement from teaching at the age of 80. Her most notable pupil was contralto Eva Gustavson. She died in Sandnes in 1994 at the age of 98.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schonninh, Soffi 1895 births 1994 deaths Norwegian operatic sopranos People from Vågan People from Sandnes 20th-century Norwegian women opera singers