Siv Elisabeth Margaretha Wärnfeldt (born 1956) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

author, opera and concert singer.

Education and career

Wärnfeldt took a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Stockholm University Stockholm University (SU) () is a public university, public research university in Stockholm, Sweden, founded as a college in 1878, with university status since 1960. With over 33,000 students at four different faculties: law, humanities, social ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, art and theatre science in 1979. She wrote her dissertation on the Swedish composer Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist. She studied music and voice at the

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university established in 1817 located in Vienna. With a student body of over three thousand, it is the largest institution of its kind in Austria, and one of t ...

, Austria. For many years her vocal teacher was the

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 ...

(Swedish court singer)

Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005) was a Swedish dramatic soprano. Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard St ...

. In 1986, Wärnfeldt was awarded both the

Birgit Nilsson Prize The Birgit Nilsson Prize is the largest prize in classical music, awarded approximately every three years to an active artist or institution who has contributed an important chapter to music history. Towards the end of her unparalleled, long and ...

and the Wagner Prize. Her opera debut in 1989 was in the part of

Halka ''Halka'' is an opera by Polish composer Stanisław Moniuszko to a libretto written by Włodzimierz Wolski, a young Warsaw poet with radical social views. It is part of the canon of Polish national operas. Performance history The first perfor ...

at the

Silesian Opera Silesian Opera in Bytom () is an opera company in Bytom, Silesia, Poland, that was founded in 1945. Its home is the former City Theatre, designed by architect Albert Bohm, that was built in Neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo- ...

Bytom Bytom (Polish pronunciation: ; Silesian language, Silesian: ''Bytōm, Bytōń'', ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. Located in the Silesian Voivodeship, the city is 7 km northwest of Katowice, the regional capital. It is one ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. Wärnfeldt has since sung, among others, the part of Donna Anna in

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

's ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'' at the

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 o ...

, directed by

Johannes Schaaf Johannes Schaaf (7 April 1933 – 1 November 2019) was a German film, theatre and opera director and actor. Several of his films have been internationally recognized. His focus shifted to opera in the 1980s and he worked with many of the leading i ...

. Other notable parts are Anna Bolena in

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

's ''

Anna Bolena ''Anna Bolena'' is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica'') in two acts composed by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's ''Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena'' and Alessandro Pepoli's ''Anna Bolena'', ...

'', Contessa in Mozart's ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...

'', Rosalinda in

Strauss Strauss, Strauß, or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is usually spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" most com ...

's ''

Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original literary source for ' was ...

'' and Leonore in

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

's '' Il trovatore''. Wärnfeldt has written several articles since her time at the university of Stockholm and has also been a guest lecturer at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

, and at the

Royal College of Music, Stockholm The Royal College of Music, Stockholm () is the oldest institution of higher education in music in Sweden, founded in 1771 as the conservatory of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music. The institution was made independent of the Academy in 1971, and ...

. In 2012, she received an M.Phil. from the

Åbo Akademi University Åbo Akademi University ( , ) is the only exclusively Swedish language multi-faculty university in Finland (or anywhere outside Sweden). It is located mainly in Turku (Åbo is the Swedish name of the city) but has also activities in Vaasa. Å ...

. Wärnfeldt is a member of the Swedish writers' union, Sveriges Författarförbund.

Texts and libretti written by Wärnfeldt

*''It's like the light'', a scenic novel by Elisabeth Wärnfeldt based on the poems by Emily Dickinson. Music by Kai Nieminen and produced by Staffan Aspegren *''Symphony No. 231'', "About Völvan..." with music by

Leif Segerstam Leif Selim Segerstam ( , 2 March 1944 – 9 October 2024) was a Finnish conductor, composer, violinist, violist, and pianist, especially known for writing over 300 symphonies, along with other works. From 1963 onward Segerstam conducted a vari ...

*''She'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Road map...'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Völvan'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 232'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 233'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 234'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 241'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 242'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Symphony No. 246'', with music by Leif Segerstam *''Requiem'', "Per-Olof Gillblad in memoriam" with music by Leif Segerstam

Books

*1985 – ''Solvarv'' *1997 – ''Anna och Herr Gud'' *2011 – ''Red''

Music written for, dedicated to or first performed by Wärnfeldt

* Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist – ''Siebenmal Rilke'', songs for soprano and piano or orchestra *Torbjörn Iwan Lundquist – A new gospel, to texts by

Dag Hammarskjöld Dag Hjalmar Agne Carl Hammarskjöld (English: ,; 29 July 1905 – 18 September 1961) was a Swedish economist and diplomat who served as the second secretary-general of the United Nations from April 1953 until his death in a plane crash in Septe ...

and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

* Jan Wallgren – ''Boye-sånger,'' to the poems by

Karin Boye Karin Maria Boye (; 26 October 1900 – 24 April 1941) was a Swedish poet and novelist. In Sweden, she is acclaimed as a poet, but internationally, she is best known for the dystopian science fiction novel '' Kallocain'' (1940). Biography Ea ...

*Boel Dirke – ''Damen det brinner'', a jazz opera, to texts by

Bodil Malmsten Bodil Malmsten (19 August 1944 – 5 February 2016) was a Swedish poet and novelist. Malmsten was born in Bjärme, Östersund Municipality. Due to her parents' early separation, she grew up at her maternal grandparents and at foster care in V� ...

*Hans Ove Olsson – Petrarca Sonett for song and piano, to text by

Petrarch Francis Petrarch (; 20 July 1304 – 19 July 1374; ; modern ), born Francesco di Petracco, was a scholar from Arezzo and poet of the early Italian Renaissance, as well as one of the earliest Renaissance humanism, humanists. Petrarch's redis ...

*Olov Olofsson – ''700 days'', a scenic oratorio, to text by Maria Jacobs *

Monica Dominique Monica Dominique (née ''Danielsson''; born 20 July 1940) is a Swedish pianist, composer, and actress. As a musician, she is primarily a jazz pianist, and she has composed with her husband, who is also a pianist. The two often perform piano four ...

– ''Mr God it's Anna'', playing the part of the Mum *Josef Stolz – ''Kind und Tod,'' to texts by

Hugo Ball Hugo Ball (; 22 February 1886 – 14 September 1927) was a German author, poet, and essentially the founder of the Dada movement in European art in Zürich in 1916. Among other accomplishments, he was a pioneer in the development of sound poetry. ...

*Ulf Johansson – ''Lobeshymnus,'' to texts by

Rainer Maria Rilke René Karl Wilhelm Johann Josef Maria Rilke (4 December 1875 – 29 December 1926), known as Rainer Maria Rilke, was an Austrian poet and novelist. Acclaimed as an Idiosyncrasy, idiosyncratic and expressive poet, he is widely recognized as ...

*Lars Jergen Olson – ''Vägmärken,'' to texts by

*Lars Jergen Olson – ''Fem Kärlekssånger,'' to texts by Maria Wine *Lars Jergen Olson – ''Sex sånger,'' to texts by J.L. Runeberg *Lars Jergen Olson – ''Requiem'' (recorded but not yet performed) *Stefan Säfsten – ''Tre nya sånger,'' to texts by

and

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

*Stefan Säfsten – ''Stormen for Soprano and Saxophone quartet,'' to texts by

Ebba Lindqvist Ebba Helfrid Lindqvist-Galéen (7 April 1908 – 5 September 1995) was a Swedish poet. She studied for a Master's degree in Uppsala and became a Swedish teacher at Gothenburg upper secondary school for girls. Married in 1933 with business schoo ...

*The part of Witwe Bolte in

Alexander Blechinger Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are A ...

’s ''

Max And Moritz ''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a German language illustrated story in verse. It was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 186 ...

'' to libretto by

Wilhelm Busch Heinrich Christian Wilhelm Busch (14 April 1832 – 9 January 1908) was a German humorist, poet, illustrator, and painter. He published wildly innovative illustrated tales that remain influential to this day. Busch drew on the tropes of f ...

at the St. Margarethen Opera Festival, world opening 17 June 2008

Discography

*2000 –

: ''Herr Gud, det är Anna'' (Mr God it's Anna) *2005 – ''Reflection; songs by Lars Jergen Olson'' *2006 – Opera album ''Homage to Birgit Nilsson'' with Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Peter Schmelzer *2007 – ''Lights in Wintertime'' Christmas carols with the Högalidskyrkan Choir conducted by Anna Lena Engström *2008 – ''Songs of love'' with

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

's ''Petrarca Sonnets'' among others, pianist Stefan Nymark *2008 –

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

's ''Hear my prayer'' with Kinna kyrkokör conducted by Hans Åke Månsson *2008 –

’s ''

Max and Moritz ''Max and Moritz: A Story of Seven Boyish Pranks'' (original: ''Max und Moritz – Eine Bubengeschichte in sieben Streichen'') is a German language illustrated story in verse. It was written and illustrated by Wilhelm Busch and published in 186 ...

References

External links

elisabethwarnfeldt.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warnfeldt, Elisabeth 1956 births Living people Swedish operatic sopranos Swedish sopranos 20th-century Swedish women writers 21st-century Swedish women writers

Alumni Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...