Ellen Winther Lembourn (née Sørensen; 11 August 1933 – 13 August 2011) was a Danish

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 ...

, best known internationally for her participation in the 1962

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

. Winther was born in

Århus Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...

. She trained as an opera singer and made her professional debut in 1957 at the

Royal Danish Theatre The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...

, where she would be employed for 30 years both as a singer and a dramatic actress. In the 1959 Disney animated classic ''

Sleeping Beauty "Sleeping Beauty" (, or ''The Beauty Sleeping in the Wood''; , or ''Little Briar Rose''), also titled in English as ''The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods'', is a fairy tale about a princess curse, cursed by an evil fairy to suspended animation in fi ...

'' she voiced the Danish version of

Aurora An aurora ( aurorae or auroras), also commonly known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) or southern lights (aurora australis), is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly observed in high-latitude regions (around the Arc ...

. In 1962, Winther won the Danish Eurovision Song Contest selection with the song " Vuggevise" ("Lullaby"), and went forward to the seventh

, held in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

on 18 March. "Vuggevise" finished in joint 10th place out of 16 entries. Besides her success in operas, stage musicals and revues, Winther also became well known to Danish audiences by many appearances in film and television. This included her portrayal of Minna Varnæs in ''

Matador A bullfighter or matador () is a performer in the activity of bullfighting. ''Torero'' () or ''toureiro'' (), both from Latin ''taurarius'', are the Spanish and Portuguese words for bullfighter, and describe all the performers in the activ ...

'' in 1978. In 1983, she was awarded the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

for her contribution to the arts in Denmark..

Marriages

Winther was married to pianist John Winther from 1960 to 1966, with two children from this marriage, and to writer and politician Hans Jørgen Lembourn from 1973 until his death in 1997.

Death

Ellen Winther Lembourn died on 13 August 2011, two days after her 78th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winther, Ellen 1933 births 2011 deaths Danish opera singers Danish women singers Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners Singers from Aarhus Eurovision Song Contest entrants