Selma Ek
Encyclopedia
Selma Ek was a Swedish opera
tic soprano
who had an active international career from the 1870s through the 1890s. Like Lilli Lehmann
and Lillian Nordica
, she was one of those universally talented singers of the late 19th Century who was able to master roles from the coloratura
, lyric
, and dramatic soprano
repertoires. The leading Swedish soprano of her day, she was particularly admired for her portrayals of Mozart
, Wagner
, and Verdi heroines.
, Ek studied with Ellen Bergman and Julius Günther at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm
from 1873 to 1878. She later received additional training from Pauline Viardot in Paris. She made her professional opera debut at the Royal Swedish Opera
as Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber
's Der Freischütz
.
Shortly after her debut, Ek was offered a long-term contract with the Royal Swedish Opera, and she was a member of that house up through 1890. She continued to appear at the house as a guest artist up through 1896. She sang a wide repertoire in Stockholm, portraying such roles as Desdemona in Otello
, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette
, Kristine Gyllenstierna
in Johann Gottlieb Naumann
's Gustaf Wasa, Philine in Mignon
, the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute
, Reiza in Oberon
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
, Valentine in the Les Huguenots
, and the title role in Djamileh
. In 1880 she notably sang the title role in Aida
for that opera's first performance in Sweden.
Outside of Stockholm, Ek toured with the Royal Opera for performances in Copenhagen
and Gothenburg
in 1883. In 1890 she was committed to the Kroll Opera House in Berlin. She was also active as a concert singer and recitalist in her native country and made a few concert appearances in Germany.
Ek died in 1941 at the age of 94. In her will she left 100,000 Swedish krona
s to start the "Operasängerska Selma Ek fond", an organization dedicated to supporting talented young opera singers.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had an active international career from the 1870s through the 1890s. Like Lilli Lehmann
Lilli Lehmann
Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility...
and Lillian Nordica
Lillian Nordica
Lillian Nordica was an American opera singer who had a major stage career in Europe and her native country....
, she was one of those universally talented singers of the late 19th Century who was able to master roles from the coloratura
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...
, lyric
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
, and dramatic soprano
Dramatic soprano
A dramatic soprano is an operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually mean less agility than lighter voices but a sustained, fuller sound. Usually this voice has a lower tessitura than...
repertoires. The leading Swedish soprano of her day, she was particularly admired for her portrayals of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
, Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, and Verdi heroines.
Biography
Born in StockholmStockholm
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...
, Ek studied with Ellen Bergman and Julius Günther at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm
Royal College of Music, Stockholm
The Royal College of Music, Stockholm is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music...
from 1873 to 1878. She later received additional training from Pauline Viardot in Paris. She made her professional opera debut at the Royal Swedish Opera
Royal Swedish Opera
Kungliga Operan is Sweden's national stage for opera and ballet.-Location and Environment:...
as Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
's Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
.
Shortly after her debut, Ek was offered a long-term contract with the Royal Swedish Opera, and she was a member of that house up through 1890. She continued to appear at the house as a guest artist up through 1896. She sang a wide repertoire in Stockholm, portraying such roles as Desdemona in Otello
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, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
, Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, Juliette in Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette
Roméo et Juliette is an opéra in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was first performed at the Théâtre Lyrique , Paris on 27 April 1867...
, Kristine Gyllenstierna
Christina Gyllenstierna
Christina Nilsdotter of Fogelvik, Heiress of Tullgarn , was the wife of the Swedish regent Sten Sture the Younger, and after his death, leader of resistance to Christian II of Denmark...
in Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann
Johann Gottlieb Naumann was a German composer, conductor, and Kapellmeister.- Life :...
's Gustaf Wasa, Philine in Mignon
Mignon
Mignon is an opéra comique in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's novel Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre. The Italian version was translated by Giuseppe Zaffira. The opera is mentioned in James Joyce's The Dead,...
, the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Reiza in Oberon
Oberon (opera)
Oberon, or The Elf King's Oath is a 3-act romantic opera in English with spoken dialogue and music by Carl Maria von Weber. The libretto by James Robinson Planche was based on a German poem, Oberon, by Christoph Martin Wieland, which itself was based on the epic romance Huon de Bordeaux, a French...
, Sieglinde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
, Valentine in the Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots
Les Huguenots is a French opera by Giacomo Meyerbeer, one of the most popular and spectacular examples of the style of grand opera. The opera is in five acts and premiered in Paris in 1836. The libretto was written by Eugène Scribe and Émile Deschamps....
, and the title role in Djamileh
Djamileh
Djamileh is an opéra comique in one act by Georges Bizet to a libretto by Louis Gallet, based on an oriental tale, Namouna, by Alfred de Musset.-Composition history:...
. In 1880 she notably sang the title role in Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
for that opera's first performance in Sweden.
Outside of Stockholm, Ek toured with the Royal Opera for performances in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
and Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
in 1883. In 1890 she was committed to the Kroll Opera House in Berlin. She was also active as a concert singer and recitalist in her native country and made a few concert appearances in Germany.
Ek died in 1941 at the age of 94. In her will she left 100,000 Swedish krona
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
s to start the "Operasängerska Selma Ek fond", an organization dedicated to supporting talented young opera singers.