Kjerstin Dellert (4 November 1925 – 5 March 2018) was a Swedish opera singer and theater manager.

Life

Early life

Born in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, Dellert made her opera debut at Stora teatern (the old Gothenburg Opera stage) in

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in the 1950s.

Vocalist career

Her career as a vocalist had begun when she won an

Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' (also known as ''Talent Scouts'') was an American radio and television variety show which ran on CBS from 1946 until 1958. Sponsored by Lipton Tea, it starred Arthur Godfrey, who was also hosting ''Arthur Godf ...

contest in 1948 with '' Someone to Watch Over Me''. From the mid-1950s to the 1970s she worked primarily at the

Royal Swedish Opera Royal Swedish Opera ( sv, Kungliga Operan) is an opera and ballet company based in Stockholm, Sweden. Location and environment The building is located in the center of Sweden's capital Stockholm in the borough of Norrmalm, on the eastern sid ...

in Stockholm in a variety of opera roles, including Floria in Puccini's ''Tosca'' and Harry Martinson/

Erik Lindegren Erik Lindegren (August 5, 1910 – May 31, 1968) was a Swedish author, poet, critical writer and member of the Swedish Academy (1962–68, chair 17). Grandson of composer Johan Lindegren. Lindegren was born in Luleå, Norrbotten County, the son ...

Karl-Birger Blomdahl Karl-Birger Blomdahl (19 October 1916 – 14 June 1968) was a Swedish composer and conductor born in Växjö. He was educated in biochemistry, but was primarily active in music and by his experimental compositions he became one of the big names ...

's opera ''Aniara'' in 1959. Dellert has also been the initiator and producer of a few gala shows for particular celebrations, such as the show financed by Sweden's Parliament and given in 1976 at the Stockholm Opera for the wedding of King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia (where

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The grou ...

first performed ''

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a Europop and disco song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvae ...

'' and she performed '' O, min Carl Gustaf''). and a review at

Södra teatern Södra Teatern is a theatre in Stockholm, Sweden. It is located at Mosebacke torg on Södermalm in Stockholm. The venue is the oldest theatre in Stockholm and is situated in the heart of the city. History Södra Teatern is one of Sweden's old ...

for her own 50th birthday in 1975. At the latter she summarized with a Swedish version of '' My Way'' describing her own life till then with lyrics by Lars Jacob; the words were updated by him so that Dellert could use it for her last recording in 2015 for her 90th birthday, produced by Emil Eikner. She dubbed the singing voice of

Eva Dahlbeck Eva Elisabet Dahlbeck (8 March 1920 – 8 February 2008) was a Swedish stage, film, and television actress. She received a Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress for her performance in the film ''Brink of Life'' (1958). Dahlbeck retired ...

for the role of Helena in the film ''

Sköna Helena ''Sköna Helena'' ''(Beautiful Helen)'' is a Swedish musical film of 1951 directed by Gustaf Edgren, and based loosely on the story and music of the opéra bouffe ''La belle Hélène''. It was director Gustaf Edgren's last film and stars Max Hansen ...

'' (1951). She participated in

Melodifestivalen 1972 For the Eurovision Song Contest 1972, Sweden chose their entrant in a national selection called Melodifestivalen 1972. About 1,000 entries were submitted, and Sveriges Radio picked 10 of them for the final. Family Four, last year's representativ ...

with "Kärlek behöver inga ord", finishing fourth.

Other activities

Nils-Åke Häggbom & Kjerstin Dellert 2015

Dellert was the managing director of the Ulriksdal Palace Theatre Confidencen. Since the mid-1990s she has been retired from the stage, officially retired from the Swedish Royal Opera since 1979, but briefly in 2005 made a critically acclaimed appearance as

Maria Callas Maria Callas . (born Sophie Cecilia Kalos; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano who was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ''bel cant ...

in the play ''Master Class'' by Terrence McNally at Confidencen and Lorensbergsteatern in

Personal life

In her first marriage Dellert was the mother of artist and entertainment personality Thomas Dellert, her only child.

Awards

Dellert was awarded the

Illis quorum ''Illis quorum'' (''Illis quorum meruere labores'') ( English: "For Those Whose Labors Have Deserved It"), is a gold medal awarded for outstanding contributions to Swedish culture, science or society. The award was introduced in 1784 by King ...

by the Swedish government in 1994.

Illness and death

On Christmas Eve 2016 Dellert suffered a stroke. She died at home on 5 March 2018, aged 92, in the presence of Nils-Åke Häggbom, her husband since 1968.

References

External links

*
Ulriksdal Palace Theatre Confidencen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dellert, Kjerstin 1925 births 2018 deaths Melodifestivalen contestants Singers from Stockholm Swedish operatic sopranos 20th-century Swedish women opera singers Recipients of the Illis quorum