Kerstin Meyer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kerstin Meyer
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Kerstin Meyer in 2013
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Kerstin Margareta Meyer
3 April 1928 Stockholm, Sweden
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| Died | 14 April 2020 (aged 92) |
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Kerstin Margareta Meyer (born April 3, 1928 – died April 14, 2020) was a famous Swedish opera singer. She was known as a mezzo-soprano, which means she sang in the middle vocal range for women.
Meyer had a long and successful career in opera and concerts around the world. She was a key singer at the Royal Swedish Opera and the Hamburg State Opera. She also performed often at the Royal Opera House in London. Kerstin Meyer helped bring new operas to life, including Arden Must Die and Le Grand Macabre.
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Early Life and Music Training
Kerstin Meyer was born in Stockholm, Sweden. She was an only child. Music was very important in her family. Both her father and grandfather were musicians. Her grandfather came from Poland and played in symphony orchestras. He also had a music shop and taught instruments.
Kerstin's father played the trumpet. He traveled around Europe with his father's orchestra. Later, he made violins in his own shop. Kerstin started playing the piano when she was six. However, she always dreamed of becoming a singer.
She finished her studies at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm in 1948. From 1950 to 1952, she attended the Opera School. She also studied with famous teachers in Salzburg and Siena. She won the Christine Nilsson Scholarship, which helped her study in Austria and Italy. In the early 1950s, Kerstin Meyer was part of a singing group called the 'Melody Girls'. They made several recordings together.
A Star on the Opera Stage
Kerstin Meyer made her first big performance at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1952. She played Azucena in Verdi's opera Il trovatore. Soon after, she starred as Carmen in Bizet's famous opera Carmen. This new production of Carmen was very realistic. It used the original spoken parts for the first time in Sweden. Kerstin Meyer's performance was a huge success.
Her talent was noticed by Wieland Wagner, a famous director. He invited her to perform Carmen and opened doors for her to sing around the world. This included an invitation to the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Meyer left Stockholm for a while in 1961. She returned to the Royal Opera at the end of the 1960s.
Famous Opera Roles
From 1952 to 1962, and again from 1969, Kerstin Meyer was a main singer at the Royal Opera. She sang many important roles in operas by Verdi, like Maddalena in Rigoletto and Amneris in Aida. She also performed Dalila in Samson et Dalila.
Meyer was also known for her roles in Wagner's operas. She sang Fricka, Erda, and Waltraute in Der Ring des Nibelungen. She also played Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival. Her first performances outside Sweden were in 1956. She appeared at the Wiesbaden Festival with the Swedish Royal Opera.
She helped introduce new operas to Sweden. She was Didon in Berlioz's Les Troyens in 1958. In 1961, she was Baba the Turk in Stravinsky's The Rake's Progress. This production was directed by the famous Ingmar Bergman. In 1977, she sang Geschwitz in Alban Berg's Lulu.
International Performances
Kerstin Meyer was a member of the Hamburg State Opera from 1958 to 1960 and again from 1964 to 1969. The director, Rolf Liebermann, encouraged her to sing more modern operas. She found that these new roles allowed her to act in different ways. She said that traditional mezzo roles were "usually witches or princesses or gypsies or boys, roles where you never get the man!"
In Hamburg, she created new roles in world premiere operas. She was Mrs. Claiborne in Die Heimsuchung in 1966. She also played Alice Arden in Arden Must Die in 1967. Another important role was Gertrude in Hamlet in 1968. One of her most famous roles was Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. She sang this role at the Stockholm Festivals and the Vancouver Festival.
In 1960, Meyer made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London. She sang Didon in Les Troyens. She also performed the main role in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier. In 1975 and 1976, she was Klytemnestra in Elektra. In 1978, she created the roles of Amando and Spermando in György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre.
Her career took her to many major opera houses in Europe and the U.S. She also went on concert tours to Australia, Asia, and the Americas. She sang in the British premiere of The Visit of the Old Lady in 1974. Kerstin Meyer loved her job. She felt her work was "taxing but stimulating and full, yes, full of joy."
Concerts and Recordings
Kerstin Meyer often performed at the BBC Proms in London. In 1959, she sang "Che farò senza Euridice?" from Orfeo ed Euridice. She also sang Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer. She repeated the Mahler songs two years later.
She often sang duets with the soprano Elisabeth Söderström. They performed together in concerts. In 1969, she was the mezzo soloist in Mahler's third symphony. This performance was later released on a CD. She also recorded Elgar's Sea Pictures in 1970. She played Iocasta in Stravinsky's Oedipus Rex. This performance was conducted by Georg Solti and later recorded for Decca.
Meyer also gave recitals of songs from different countries. These included songs from Sweden, Spain, and France. She also sang German lieder by Gustav Mahler and Hugo Wolff.
Later Career and Legacy
In 1980, Kerstin Meyer sang Buttercup in a production of H.M.S. Pinafore. Her last performance on stage was in 2013. She played Madame Armfeldt in A Little Night Music at the Malmö Opera. A Swedish documentary was made about her life and work to celebrate this performance. It included an interview with her and old TV clips.
From 1984 to 1994, Kerstin Meyer served as the rector of Operahögskolan i Stockholm. This means she was the head of the Stockholm University College of Opera.
Kerstin Meyer was married to Björn Bexelius, who was a ballet critic. He passed away in 1997. She received several important awards for her contributions to music. These included the Illis quorum in 1994 and an honorary CBE in 1995. Kerstin Meyer passed away on April 14, 2020, shortly after her 92nd birthday.
Discography
Kerstin Meyer did not make many studio recordings. However, many of her live radio performances have been released later.
- Bizet, Carmen (title role, in Swedish) Operan, Sixten Ehrling. Bluebell; recorded Stockholm 1954.
- Wagner, Die Walküre (Fricka and Rossweiße) Royal Swedish Opera conducted by Sixten Ehrling. Caprice, 1955-56.
- Strauss, Der Rosenkavalier (Annina). Philharmonia Orchestra & Chorus conducted by Herbert von Karajan. EMI, 1956.
- Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, Berlin Philharmonic conducted by André Cluytens. HMV, December 1957.
- Schoenberg, Das Buch der hängenden Gärten, Op. 15, Glenn Gould (piano). West Hill Archives, 1960.
- Berg, Lulu (Gräfin Geschwitz) conducted by Leopold Ludwig. Electrola, 1968.
- Mahler, Symphony No. 3. Hallé Orchestra conducted by John Barbirolli. BBC Legends, recorded 1969.
- Stravinsky, Oedipus Rex (Jocaste). London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Georg Solti. Decca, 1976.
- Duets by Dvořák, Geijer, Kodály, Purcell, Rossini, Tchaikovsky, Wennerberg - Kerstin Meyer, Elisabeth Söderström, with Jan Eyron, piano. BIS, 1991.
- Great Swedish Singers, Kerstin Meyer. Bluebell: broadcasts and private recordings made 1954-1972.
Images for kids
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Kerstin Meyer in 2013
See also
In Spanish: Kerstin Meyer para niños
