Thorborg, Kerstin (1896–1970)

Swedish contralto. Born on May 19, 1896, in Hedemora, in northern Sweden; died on April 12, 1970, in Falun, Dalarna; daughter of a newspaper editor father and an amateur pianist mother; studied at the Royal Conservatory in Stockholm; married Gustav Bergman (general manager of the Gothenburg Opera).

Made debut at the Royal Theater, Stockholm (1924); sang in Prague, Berlin, Salzburg, and Vienna; debuted at Covent Garden (1936); debuted at New York's Metropolitan Opera as Fricka in Die Walküre (1936), singing there until 1950; took part in radio broadcast Gluck's Orfeo ed Eurydice; taught voice in Stockholm after her retirement (1950).

Born in 1896 in Hedmora, Sweden, Kerstin Thorborg was known as a singer who needed to be seen as well as heard. Wrote one critic, "It is difficult to say where singing, acting, costume, and makeup severally begin or end, so organically are they fused into one." Her stage career began when

she sang one performance of Amneris with another opera hopeful, a relatively obscure Norwegian soprano named Kirsten Flagstad . The two would meet again on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera when they sang the first of many memorable Walküres together. (Kerstin is the Swedish spelling; Kirsten the Norwegian.) In 1936, Thorborg made a famous appearance in Vienna with Bruno Walter to perform Mahler's song-cycle Das Lied von der Erde, from which the first recording was made. This brought her to international prominence. In the early stages of her career, her voice was rich, pure, and steady. She was considered one of the great Orfeos in opera history. She performed at the Metropolitan Opera for 16 years before retiring to teach in Stockholm in 1950. Early recordings document the beautiful voice of this magnificent Swedish singer.

John Haag , Athens, Georgia