Christoffer Christian (or ''Kristofer Kristian'') Karsten (9 September 1756 – 6 August 1827) was a Swedish

opera singer Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...

. He was the maternal grandfather of the ballerina

Marie Taglioni Marie Taglioni, Comtesse de Voisins (23 April 1804 – 22 April 1884) was a Swedish-born ballet dancer of the Romantic ballet era partially of Italian descent, a central figure in the history of European dance. She spent most of her life in t ...

Life

Born in

Ystad Ystad () is a town and the seat of Ystad Municipality, in Scania County, Sweden. Ystad had 18,350 inhabitants in 2010. The settlement dates from the 11th century and has become a busy ferryport, local administrative centre, and tourist attracti ...

, he was discovered by queen

Louisa Ulrika of Prussia Louisa Ulrika of Prussia (; ; 24 July 1720 - 16 July 1782) was Queen of Sweden from 1751 to 1771. She was married to king Adolf Frederick and she was queen mother during the reign of king Gustav III. Background Louisa Ulrika was born in Berl ...

in 1771, when he sang for her on her way to her visit to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, and so impressed her that she gave him the opportunity to study singing in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Career

In 1773 he debuted at the

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

Bollhuset Bollhuset, also called (The Big Ball House), (Ball House Theater), and Gamla Bollhuset (Old Ball House) at various times, was the name of the first theater in Stockholm, Sweden; it was the first Swedish theater and the first real theater buildin ...

with Carl Stenborg and

Elisabeth Olin Elisabeth Olin née ''Lillström'' (December 1740 – 26 March 1828) was a Swedish opera singer and a music composer. She performed the leading female role in the inauguration performance of the Royal Swedish Opera in 1773, and is referred to ...

in the famous opera performance ''Thetis och Phelée''. He was employed at the opera's choir until he performed his first leading role as

Adonis In Greek mythology, Adonis (; ) was the mortal lover of the goddesses Aphrodite and Persephone. He was considered to be the ideal of male beauty in classical antiquity. The myth goes that Adonis was gored by a wild boar during a hunting trip ...

in the opera

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

''Adonis''. He was a student of Potenza in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

, and when he returned in 1778, he became the perhaps most successful male singer in Sweden together with Carl Stenborg until 1806, admired for the beauty of both his voice and his body. In 1781, at his marriage, he was given the villa Canton at

Drottningholm Drottningholm, literally "Queen's Islet", is a locality situated in Ekerö Municipality, Stockholm County, Sweden, with 398 inhabitants in 2010. It is on the island Lovön in lake Mälaren on the outskirts of Stockholm. Drottningholm Palace, ...

, were his family lived until 1870. He was elected into the

Royal Swedish Academy of Music The Royal Swedish Academy of Music (), founded in 1771 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in ...

and made

Hovsångare The titles hovsångare (, literally "Court Singer") for men and hovsångerska () for women are awarded by the Swedish monarch to a singer (usually an opera singer) who, by their vocal art, has contributed to the international standing of Swedish s ...

in 1787 and was given the title royal secretary in 1791. At his debut 1776 he was given the critic: :"At last, the director at the Opera have required a rival to Mr

Carl Stenborg Carl Stenborg (8 September 1752 – 1 August 1813) was a Swedish opera singer, composer and theatre director. He belonged to the pioneer generation of the Royal Swedish Opera and was regarded as one of the leading opera singers of the Gustavian e ...

in young Karsten, who sang and played very well in Adonis. Even without the clothes and the make up he has a pleasant physionomy, beautiful figure, tall and slim", and was judged as: "An enormous victory for (director) Zibet but a créve-coeur for Mrs Olin, who being forced to act opposite a boy from the choir".Personne, Nils,
Del 1 Under gustavianska tidehvarfvet jämte en återblick på dess tidigare öden
' Karsten and Stenborg was the male stars of the Gustavian age in Sweden, and complemented each other well, as they had different ways of acting: "When Karsten with his strong, sonorous, all-dominating voice shooked the entire nervous system of the listeners, delighted them and commanded admiration, the soft, sensitive, melodious tones of Stenborg penetrated the heart and filled the eyes with sympathetic tears". He also toured abroad. He sang in

1783,

1788, 1792 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and 1810–1811 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. When the Royal Swedish opera was (temporarily) closed in 1806, he was forced to retire with the rest of the staff. After it opened again in 1809, he made guest appearances until 1825.

Roles

Among the plays he performed in was ''Arséne'' by Monsigny opposite

Marie Louise Marcadet Marie Louise Marcadet née ''Baptiste'' (3 December 1758 – 28 February 1804) was a Sweden, Swedish opera singer and a dramatic stage actress of French origin. She was active in the Royal Swedish Opera as a singer, and in the Royal Dramatic T ...

and Elisabeth Olin during the 1779–80 season, ''Alceste'' by Gluck with Caroline Frederikke Müller and Carl Stenborg (season 1780–1781); ''Roland'' by Quinault with Carl Stenborg and Müller (1781–1782); ''Atys'' by Piccinni opposite Carl Stenborg and Marcadet (1784–1785), ''Iphigenie på Tauris'' by Glück with Carl Stenborg and Müller and ''Gustaf Wasa'' by Naumann with Marcadet, Carl Stenborg and Müller (1785–1786), ''Armide'' by

Quinault Quinault may refer to: * Quinault people, an Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest Coast **Quinault Indian Nation, a federally recognized tribe ** Quinault language, their language People * Quinault family of actors, including: * Jean-Bapt ...

with Carl Stenborg and Müller (1786–1787); ''Gustaf Adolf och Ebba Brahe'' by Gustav III with Müller,

Franziska Stading Sofia ''Franziska'' Stading (1763 – 8 February 1836) was a Swedish opera singer of German origin. She is referred to as one of the more notable opera singers in Sweden during the Gustavian era. She was a ''Hovsångare'' and member of the ...

and Carl Stenborg (1787–1788); ''Azemia'' by

Dalayrac Nicolas-Marie d'Alayrac (; bapt. 13 June 175326 November 1809), nicknamed the Musician poet, more commonly Nicolas Dalayrac, was a French composer of the Classical period. Intended for a military career, he made the acquaintance of many mu ...

with Müller and

Abraham de Broen Abraham de Broen (1759–1804) was a Swedish actor, stage manager and director. Biography Abraham Isaaksson De Broen belonged to the elite of the pioneer generation actors of the Royal Dramatic Theatre. He was also the founder and first direct ...

(1792–1793); ''Folke Birgersson till Ringstad'' with Marcadet and

Inga Åberg Inga Åberg (Ingeborg Elisabeth; 1773–1837) was a Swedish actress and opera singer. She was engaged as an opera singer at the Royal Swedish Opera, and as a stage actress at the Royal Dramatic Theatre, between 1787 and 1810. Life Early life ...

(1792–1793), ''De bägge Savojarderna'' (Two Savoyards) by Dalayrac with Müller and Marcadet (1793–1794); ''Reanud d'Ast'' by Dalayrac with Müller (1795–1796); ''Aeneas in Carthago'' by Kraus with Carl Stenborg (1799–1800) and ''Oidipus i Athen'' by Sacchini 1800–01 opposite Stading. In 1796, he played opposite, Caroline Müller,

Louis Deland Louis Joseph Marie Deland (25 April 1772 – 15 April 1823) was a Swedish ballet dancer, singer, actor, choreographer and ballet master in the Royal Swedish Ballet. He is often considered the first native male star in the Royal Swedish Ballet. ...

, Carl Stenborg and

in the play ''Karavanen'' (The Caravane) by Gretry, which was held to celebrate that the young king had been declared of legal majority.

Private life

Karsten married the Polish actor and opera singer Mariane

Sophie Stebnowska Mariane Theresia ''Sophie'' (Maria Sofia) Stebnowska also called Zofia Stępkowska or ''Stempkosta'' (13 July 1753 or 1761 – 16 February 1848) was a Swedish opera singer and harpist of Polish origin. She has been referred to as one of th ...

(1753–1848), also considered as one of the better talents at the opera until 1806. His daughter,

Sophie Karsten Hedvig Sophie Karsten (3 September 1783 – 25 February 1862) was a Swedish ballerina and artist (painter). Born to opera singers Christoffer Christian Karsten and Sophie Stebnowska, she was the sister of painter Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten. Sop ...

, was premier dancer at the Opera in 1805–1806, married

Filippo Taglioni Filippo Taglioni (aka Philippe Taglioni; 5 November 1777 – 11 February 1871) was an Italian dancer and choreographer and personal teacher to his own daughter, Romantic ballerina Marie Taglioni. (He had another child who also danced ballet ...

and became the mother of

. His younger daughter,

Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten Elisabeth Charlotta Karsten, married surname ''Kachanoff'' (1789–1856), was a Swedish painter. She was born in Stockholm, the daughter of Kristofer Kristian Karsten and Sophie Stebnowska and sister of Sophie Karsten. She was the student o ...

, was a painter.

Bibliography

* Marie Taglioni, ''Souvenirs. Le manuscrit inédit de la grande danseuse romantique'', édition établie, présentée et annotée par Bruno Ligore, Gremese, 2017. * Madison U. Sowell, Debra H. Sowell, Francesca Falcone, Patrizia Veroli, ''Icônes du ballet romantique. Marie Taglioni et sa famille'', Gremese, 2016.

References

Project Runeberg: Nordisk familjebok / 1800-talsutgåvan. 8. Kaffrer – Kristdala

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20100111065210/http://www.genealogia.fi/genos/5/5_37.htm Genos 5(1934), s.37–87 (Finska anor inom furstehus)
Operakabaler – anno 1803

* ''Kungliga teaterns repertoar 1773-1973'' Repertoire of the Royal Theatre 1773-1973' 1974 (Swedish) * Jonsson, Leif & Ivarsdotter, Anna (red.), Musiken i Sverige. 2, Frihetstid och gustaviansk tid 1720-1810, Fischer, Stockholm, 1993 (Music in Sweden. The age of Liberty and the Gustavian age 1720–1810) * Nordensvan, Georg, Svensk teater och svenska skådespelare från Gustav III till våra dagar. Förra delen, 1772-1842, Bonnier, Stockholm, 1917(Swedish theatre and Swedish actors from Gustav III to our days. First book 1772–1842) (Swedish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Karsten, Christoffer Christian 1756 births 1827 deaths 18th-century classical composers 18th-century Swedish male opera singers 19th-century Swedish classical composers 19th-century Swedish male opera singers Swedish male classical composers Swedish male stage actors Gustavian era people People from Ystad C Musicians from Skåne County