Edith Thallaug (16 June 1929 – 7 June 2020) was a Norwegian actress and opera singer.

Personal life

Thallaug was born in

Bærum Bærum () is a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Norway that forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of 128,760 (2021). It is part of the electora ...

to Rolf Thallaug and Marta Marie Halvorsen, and was a sister of actress and singer Anita Thallaug. She was married three times, first to violinist Bjarne Gullov Larsen, second to singer and director Ulf Björkegren, and third time to violinist Josef Benczy.

Career

Thallaug was assigned with

Studioteatret Studioteatret was a theatre in Norway. It opened in 1945, shortly after the liberation, with Claes Gill as its first theatre director. Studioteatret is regarded as one of the earliest post-war artistic expressions in Norway, and most of its membe ...

from 1947 to 1948 and with

Nationaltheatret The National Theatre in Oslo ( no, Nationaltheatret) is one of Norway's largest and most prominent venues for performance of dramatic arts. History The theatre had its first performance on 1 September 1899 but can trace its origins to Christiani ...

from 1948 to 1960. Her roles included "Helen" in Per Aabel's adaptation of de Caillavet and de Flers' comedy '' La belle aventure'' in 1952, and "Solveig" in

Alfred Maurstad Alfred Jentoft Maurstad (26 July 1896 – 5 September 1967) was a Norwegian actor, movie director and theatre manager. Biography Alfred Jentoft Maurstad was born at Bryggja in Davik (now Vågsøy) in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway. He was the son o ...

's staging of

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''

Peer Gynt ''Peer Gynt'' (, ) is a five-act (drama), act play (theatre), play in verse (poetry), verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen published in 1876. Written in Norwegian language, Norwegian, it is one of the most widely performed Norwegian pla ...

'' in 1955. She made her debut concert as singer in Oslo University Aula in 1959, was assigned with Stora Teatern in Gothenburg from 1960 to 1964, and with 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 s ...

in Stockholm from 1964 to 1982. She was named Hovsångerska in 1976, and was awarded

Griegprisen Griegprisen (established 1972 in Bergen, Norway) is awarded by the «Edvard Grieg Museum Troldhaugen» to a Norwegian musician, conductor or musicologist who in a special way have communicated the music of Edvard Grieg. It has also been awarded an ...

in 1977. Thallaug has also written the crime novel ''Den myrdede lever'', under the name Edith Rolfsen, and published in 1950. She was decorated Knight, First Class of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav ( no, Den Kongelige Norske Sankt Olavs Orden; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II ...

in 1983. She died on 7 June 2020, nine days before her 91st birthday.Operasångaren Edith Thallaug-Benczy är död

References

External links

* 1929 births 2020 deaths Musicians from Bærum 20th-century Norwegian actresses 20th-century Norwegian women opera singers Norwegian crime fiction writers Norwegian stage actresses Norwegian emigrants to Sweden {{Norway-singer-stub