Kirsten Flagstad

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Lore & Background

Flagstad was born in Hamar, Norway, in her grandparents' home, now the Kirsten Flagstad Museum. Though she never actually lived in Hamar, she always considered it her home town. She was raised in Oslo within a musical family; her father Michael Flagstad was a conductor and her mother Maja Flagstad a pianist. Their other children were also musicians: the conductor Ole Flagstad, pianist Lasse Flagstad, and soprano Karen-Marie Flagstad. She made her stage debut at the National Theatre as Nuri in Eugen d'Albert's Tiefland in 1913. Her first recordings were made between 1913 and 1915. After further study in Stockholm with Dr. Gillis Bratt, she pursued a career in opera and operetta in Norway. In 1919, she married her first husband Sigurd Hall and a year later gave birth to her only child, a daughter, Else Marie Hall. Later that year she signed up with the newly created Opera Comique in Oslo, under the direction of Alexander Varnay and Benno Singer. Varnay was the father of the famous soprano Astrid Varnay. Flagstad's ability to learn roles quickly was noted, as it often took her only a few days to do so. She sang Desdemona opposite Leo Slezak, Minnie, Amelia and other lesser roles at the Opera Comique. She sang at the Stora Teatern of Gothenburg, Sweden, between 1928 and 1934, and made her debut there singing Agathe in Der Freischütz by Weber. In 1930, a revival of Nielsen's Saul and David featured Flagstad singing the role of Michal. On 31 May 1930 she married her second husband, the Norwegian industrialist and lumber merchant Henry Johansen, who subsequently helped her in expanding her career. In 1932 she made her debut in Rodelinda by Handel. After singing operetta and lyric roles such as Marguerite in Faust for over a decade, Flagstad decided to take on heavier operatic roles such as Tosca and Aida. The part of Aida helped to unleash Flagstad's dramatic abilities. In 1932, she took on the role of Isolde in Richard Wagner's Tristan und Isolde and appeared to have found her true voice. Ellen Gulbranson, a Swedish soprano at Bayreuth, persuaded Winifred Wagner to audition Flagstad for the Bayreuth Festival. Flagstad sang minor roles in 1933, but at the next season in 1934, she sang the roles of Sieglinde in Die Walküre and Gutrune in Götterdämmerung at the Festival, opposite Frida Leider as Brünnhilde.

Reader's Guide

Flagstad's significance lies in her immediate and lasting impact on opera, particularly Wagnerian repertoire. Her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on 2 February 1935 as Sieglinde in Die Walküre created a sensation, though it was not planned as a special event. The performance was broadcast nationwide on the Met's weekly syndicated radio program, and intermission host Geraldine Farrar discarded her prepared notes, breathlessly announcing that a new star had just been born. Days later, Flagstad sang Isolde, and later that month, she performed Brünnhilde in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung for the first time. Before the end of the season, she sang Elsa in Lohengrin, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, and her first Kundry in Parsifal. Almost overnight, she established herself as the pre-eminent Wagnerian soprano of the era. It has been said that she saved the Metropolitan Opera from looming bankruptcy. Her performances, sometimes three or four a week in her early days at the Met, quickly sold out at the box office as soon as they went on sale. Her nationwide personal appeals to radio listeners during Saturday matinee intermissions brought thousands of dollars in donations to the Met's coffers. In 1936 and 1937, she performed the roles of Isolde, Brünnhilde, and Senta at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, under Sir Thomas Beecham, Fritz Reiner and Wilhelm Furtwängler, arousing as much enthusiasm there as she had in New York. She also toured Australia in 1938. Flagstad and Sonja Henie are the only two Norwegians to have their own stars on Hollywood's 'Walk of Fame.' Her career at the Met included a long-running feud with tenor co-star Lauritz Melchior after Melchior took offense to comments Flagstad made about 'stupid publicity photos' during a game of bridge in Flagstad's hotel suite while on tour in Rochester, NY. Audiences had no clue that, despite marvelous performances, the two never said a word to each other off stage for the next two years. Flagstad also feuded with Met general manager Edward Johnson after conductor Artur Bodanzky's death, when she asked to be conducted for a few performances by her accompanist, Edwin McArthur. Flagstad went over Johnson's head and discussed the matter with the Met's board of directors, particularly David Sarnoff, who made arrangements for McArthur to begin conducting Met productions on a limited basis. Just before Flagstad left the Met in 1941, on the night of her 100th performance of Isolde, she received 100 roses, courtesy of Melchior and Johnson.

Did You Know?

• Giulio Gatti-Casazza, General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera, said, 'I have given America two great gifts — Caruso and Flagstad.'
• Flagstad's ability to learn roles quickly was noted; it often took her only a few days to do so.
• On the night of her 100th performance of Isolde at the Met in 1941, she received 100 roses from Lauritz Melchior and Edward Johnson.
• Flagstad and Sonja Henie are the only two Norwegians to have their own stars on Hollywood's 'Walk of Fame.'
• Her debut at the Met on 2 February 1935 was broadcast nationwide, and intermission host Geraldine Farrar discarded her prepared notes to announce a new star had been born.

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