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Swedish operatic soprano
Ellen Gulbranson
(nee
Nordgren
) (4 March 1863 ? 2 January 1947) was a
Swedish
operatic
soprano
with a strong, dramatic voice best suited to the works of
Richard Wagner
. She was a leading figure among the second generation of
Bayreuth
singers and her voice is preserved on a few acoustic recordings that she made for
Edison Records
and
Pathe Records
during the early part of the 20th century. In 1911, she was awarded
The King's Medal of Merit
[
clarification needed
]
by Sweden's monarch.
Biography
[
edit
]
Born
Ellen Nordgren
in
Stockholm
, Gulbranson studied initially at the
Stockholm Conservatory
under Julius Gunther and then in Paris with Ellen Kenneth and the great pedagogue
Mathilde Marchesi
. Subsequently, she also studied with Marchesi's daughter
Blanche
, who strengthened Gulbranson's top notes and transformed her voice from that of a
mezzo-soprano
into that of a
dramatic soprano
.
Gulbranson made her operatic debut in 1889 as Amneris in
Giuseppe Verdi
's
Aida
in Stockholm, and sang the
Wagnerian
roles of Brunnhilde and Ortrud there in 1898. She went on to excel in portraying these heroines?as well as succeeding in the parts of Kundry in
Parsifal
and Isolde in
Tristan und Isolde
.
In 1896, she made her first appearance at the
Bayreuth Festival
, then in its 20th year, alternating in the role of Brunnhilde with the veteran diva
Lilli Lehmann
. Her portrayal was so well received that Lehmann dropped out of the festival. Gulbranson went on to sing annually at Bayreuth until 1914. She also appeared in London at the
Royal Opera
,
Covent Garden
, in 1900 and 1907.
After retiring from the stage in 1915 she worked as a singing teacher. Her most notable pupil was
Eide Norena
. She later became a Norwegian citizen. Gulbranson died in
Oslo
at the age of 83.
[1]
She was married to lieutenant colonel
Hans Peter Francis Gulbranson
and sister in law to
Arne Eggen
. Their daughter married business executive
Ulf Styren
.
[2]
References
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]
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