Flagstad, Kirsten, 1895-1962

Flagstad was a Norwegian soprano who achieved international recognition with her Metropolitan Opera debut on February 2, 1935.

From the description of Kirsten Flagstad collection of noncommercial recordings [sound recording], 1935-1960. (New York Public Library). WorldCat record id: 123527574

From the guide to the Kirsten Flagstad collection of noncommercial recordings [sound recording], 1935-1960, (The New York Public Library. Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound.)

Norwegian soprano.

From the description of Autograph letters signed (43) and autograph postcard signed, dated or postmarked : New York, Houston, London, Oslo, Kristiansand, San Francisco, and Phoenix, 1951-1962, to Nancy Hamilton, 1951-1962. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270577408

From the description of Autograph letters signed (5) and autograph postcards signed (2), dated : Oslo, London, and Kristiansand, 1952-1961, to Katharine Cornell (one card is to her husband, Guthrie McClintic), 1952-1961. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270577403

From the description of Autograph manuscript, dated : [Kristiansand, 1961], 1961. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 270577416

Opera singer.

From the description of Kirsten Flagstad collection, 1895-1981. (Museum of Performance & Design). WorldCat record id: 430368585

Biography / Administrative History

Kirsten Flagstad (1895-1962), an operatic soprano, spent the first 18 years of her career in Scandinavia, singing opera, operetta and musical comedy. After performing Isolde in 1932 at the National Theatre, Oslo, she was invited to Bayreuth, where her performances in small Wagnerian roles led to invitations to the Metropolitan Opera in New York, to the San Francisco Opera, and to Covent Garden. She became known for her Wagnerian roles, particularly Sieglinde, Isolde and Brunnhilde. In 1941, Flagstad returned to Norway to join her husband who was later arrested as a Nazi collaborator and died awaiting trial in 1946; she, herself, was acquitted of any wrongdoing. In 1948, Flagstad returned to Covent Garden, performing there, and in other European venues, until 1951. Retiring from the operatic stage in 1953 after a performance of Dido and Aeneas at the Little Mermaid Theatre in London, she continued to give recitals, make recordings, primarily off Wagner and Norwegian composers, and was, for a few years, the director of the Norwegian State Opera.

From the guide to the Kirsten Flagstad collection, 1923-1962, (Stanford University. Libraries. Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives.)