Kerstin Meyer
Encyclopedia
Kerstin Margareta Meyer is a mezzo-soprano
from Stockholm
, Sweden
.
Meyer studied singing in Stockholm with Adelaide von Skilondz
, at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and in Siena
, Rome
, and Vienna
. Her debut was at the Royal Swedish Opera
in 1952 as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore
. She has remained closely associated with that company, but also performed frequently with the Hamburg State Opera
, appearing there in the title role of Bizet's Carmen
(1959) and creating the roles of Mrs. Claiborne in Gunther Schuller
's The Visitation (1966), Alice Arden in Alexander Goehr
's Arden Must Die (1967), and Gertrude in Humphrey Searle
's Hamlet (1968). In 1960 she made her debut at Covent Garden
as Didon in Les Troyens
by Hector Berlioz, and later performed Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier
by Richard Strauss and Clytemnestra in the same composer's Elektra
(1975–76, conducted by Rudolf Kempe
and Colin Davis
).
Her singing career has also included regular visits to other major opera houses of Europe and the U.S.A. and a number of concert tours to Australia, the Far East, and America. She also took part in both visits of the Royal Opera Stockholm to the Edinburgh Festival
. She created the title-role in the British premiere of Gottfried von Einem's The Visit of the Old Lady
at Glyndebourne
in 1974, in the West German premiere at the Munich Opera House in 1975. She gave a recital with pianist Geoffrey Parsons
in the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival
, and sang Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex
under Sir Georg Solti
in the Royal Festival Hall
, London, subsequently recording the role for Decca
. She also gave a recital of songs from Sweden, Spain, and France, and German lied
er by Gustav Mahler
and Hugo Wolff, at the Theatre Royal
during Wexford Festival Opera
in 1977.
She served as the rector
of Operahögskolan i Stockholm
from 1984 to 1994.
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
from Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
Meyer studied singing in Stockholm with Adelaide von Skilondz
Adelaide von Skilondz
Adelaide Andrejewa von Skilondz was a Russian operatic coloratura soprano. She was born in Saint Petersburg, where she studied singing and began her career in 1904. In 1909 she sang the role of the Queen of Shemakha in the Saint Petersburg premiere of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Golden...
, at the Salzburg Mozarteum, and in Siena
Siena
Siena is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena.The historic centre of Siena has been declared by UNESCO a World Heritage Site. It is one of the nation's most visited tourist attractions, with over 163,000 international arrivals in 2008...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. Her debut was at the Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera
Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
in 1952 as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
. She has remained closely associated with that company, but also performed frequently with the Hamburg State Opera
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
, appearing there in the title role of Bizet's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
(1959) and creating the roles of Mrs. Claiborne in Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller
Gunther Schuller is an American composer, conductor, horn player, author, historian, and jazz musician.- Biography and works :...
's The Visitation (1966), Alice Arden in Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr
Alexander Goehr is an English composer and academic.Goehr was born in Berlin in 1932, the son of the conductor and Schoenberg pupil Walter Goehr. In his early twenties he emerged as a central figure in the Manchester School of post-war British composers. In 1955–56 he joined Oliver Messiaen's...
's Arden Must Die (1967), and Gertrude in Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle
Humphrey Searle was a British composer.-Biography:He was born in Oxford where he was a classics scholar before studying — somewhat hesitantly — with John Ireland at the Royal College of Music in London, after which he went to Vienna on a six month scholarship to become a private pupil of Anton...
's Hamlet (1968). In 1960 she made her debut at Covent Garden
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
as Didon in Les Troyens
Les Troyens
Les Troyens is a French opera in five acts by Hector Berlioz. The libretto was written by Berlioz himself, based on Virgil's epic poem The Aeneid...
by Hector Berlioz, and later performed Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
by Richard Strauss and Clytemnestra in the same composer's Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
(1975–76, conducted by Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
and Colin Davis
Colin Davis
Sir Colin Rex Davis, CH, CBE is an English conductor. His repertoire is broad, but among the composers with whom he is particularly associated are Mozart, Berlioz, Elgar, Sibelius, Stravinsky and Tippett....
).
Her singing career has also included regular visits to other major opera houses of Europe and the U.S.A. and a number of concert tours to Australia, the Far East, and America. She also took part in both visits of the Royal Opera Stockholm to the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
. She created the title-role in the British premiere of Gottfried von Einem's The Visit of the Old Lady
Der Besuch der alten Dame
Der Besuch der alten Dame is an opera in three acts by Gottfried von Einem to a German libretto by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, based on his play of the same name.-Performance history:...
at Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
Glyndebourne Festival Opera is an English opera festival held at Glyndebourne, an English country house near Lewes, in East Sussex, England.-History:...
in 1974, in the West German premiere at the Munich Opera House in 1975. She gave a recital with pianist Geoffrey Parsons
Geoffrey Parsons (pianist)
Geoffrey Penwill Parsons AO OBE was an Australian pianist, most particularly notable as an accompanist to singers and instrumentalists...
in the 1976 Aldeburgh Festival
Aldeburgh Festival
The Aldeburgh Festival is an English arts festival devoted mainly to classical music. It takes place each June in the Aldeburgh area of Suffolk, centred on the main concert hall at Snape Maltings...
, and sang Jocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex
Oedipus rex (opera)
Oedipus rex is an "Opera-oratorio after Sophocles" by Igor Stravinsky, scored for orchestra, speaker, soloists, and male chorus. The libretto, based on Sophocles's tragedy, was written by Jean Cocteau in French and then translated by Abbé Jean Daniélou into Latin...
under Sir Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
in the Royal Festival Hall
Royal Festival Hall
The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,900-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge. It is a Grade I listed building - the first post-war building to become so protected...
, London, subsequently recording the role for Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
. She also gave a recital of songs from Sweden, Spain, and France, and German lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
er by Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
and Hugo Wolff, at the Theatre Royal
Theatre Royal, Wexford
The Theatre Royal, was an opera house and performance venue in Wexford Ireland which opened in 1832 and closed in 2005. It was the home of the annual Wexford Festival Opera, and has now been replaced by Wexford Opera House.-History:...
during Wexford Festival Opera
Wexford Festival Opera
The Wexford Festival Opera is an opera festival that takes place in the town of Wexford in South-Eastern Ireland during the months of October and November.-Festival origins under Tom Walsh, 1951 to 1966:...
in 1977.
She served as the rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Operahögskolan i Stockholm
Operahögskolan i Stockholm
Operahögskolan i Stockholm is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the field of opera music and related arts. Operahögskolan is tasked with educating singers, répétiteurs and opera directors and has approximately 40 students, including 36 singers enrolled.- External links :* for...
from 1984 to 1994.
Sources
- Sadie, Stanley, editor (1992). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (4 volumes). London: Macmillan. ISBN 9781561592289.