Erling Krogh (September 12, 1888 – October 28, 1968) was a Norwegian operatic

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Biography

Krogh was born in

Kristiania Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022, an ...

(now Oslo).''Norsk biografisk leksikon'': Erling Krogh.
/ref> He attended the

Oslo Cathedral School Schola Osloensis, known in Norwegian language, Norwegian as Oslo Katedralskole (''Oslo Cathedral School'') and more commonly as "Katta",

until 1905, and then studied at the Royal Academy of Arts and Crafts from 1905 to 1909. During that time, from 1905 and until 1915, he worked as a goldsmith. While he was studying, he sang with Ellen Schytte-Jacobsen. In 1915 he traveled to

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

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 ...

to study under Peter Cornelius. Later he also studied with

Jean de Reszke Jean de Reszke (born Jan Mieczysław Reszke; 14 January 18503 April 1925) was a Polish dramatic tenor and opera star. Reszke came from a wealthy Polish family with classical and operatic musical traditions. His mother gave him his first singing ...

Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one million He has his debut as a tenor in 1915,''Store norske leksikon'': Erling Krogh
/ref> and starting in 1918 he was engaged with the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, located between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and K ...

for three years. He then headed the Norwegian Opera Society from 1922 to 1923, after which he established his own opera society, which he headed for a year. Following this, he traveled extensively, performing as a soloist at the Nordic Music Festival in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

in 1932, in Oslo in 1936, and in Copenhagen in 1938. After 1936 he also worked as a voice instructor in Oslo. He also toured in the United States. From the first recording that he produced in 1916, his career as a recording artist lasted for 40 years. He had a versatile repertoire that included classical music, working songs, and Christmas songs. At the end of his career he also held numerous church concerts. He died in Oslo.

Roles

In the course of his career, Krogh performed in over 30 operas and operettas. His favorite composer was

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

, but he also sang in operas by other composers. He was a guest performer at the

Berlin State Opera The Staatsoper Unter den Linden ( State Opera under the Lime Trees), also known as the Berlin State Opera (), is a listed building on Unter den Linden boulevard in the historic center of Berlin, Germany. The opera house was built by order of P ...

, the Royal Danish Theater in Copenhagen, and 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 ...

in Stockholm. His most important roles included the following: *Eleazar in

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

's '' The Jewess'' *Canio in

Ruggero Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo (23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Throughout his career, Leoncavallo produced numerous operas and songs but it is his 1892 opera ''Pagliacci'' that remained his lasting co ...

's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, 'Clowns') is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who mu ...

'' *Samson in

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

's '' Samson and Delilah'' *Title role in Richard Wagner's ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wo ...

'' *Title role in Richard Wagner's ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; ), often stylized "The Tannhäuser", was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and 1265. His name ...

'' *Title role in

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

's ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' *Don José in

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' His concert tours took him to Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Germany, France, Spain, and the United States. He also played a role in the Norwegian silent film ''

Madame besøker Oslo ''Madame besøker Oslo'' (Madame Visits Oslo) is a Norwegian silent film from 1927. The original screenplay was written by Alf Rød, but the film was produced based on a version of the screenplay reworked by Harry Ivarson and Gurly Drangsholt ...

'' (Madame Visits Oslo, 1927) and often sang for screenings of silent films in Oslo.

Awards and legacy

In 1960, Krogh received the

King's Medal of Merit The King's Medal of Merit (Norwegian: ''Kongens fortjenstmedalje'') is a Norwegian award. It was instituted in 1908 to reward meritorious achievements in the fields of art, science, business, and public service. It is divided in two classes: gold ...

in gold. He became an honorary member of the Oslo Craftsmen's Singing Society in 1957, and in 1963 he was awarded a permanent national grant for deserving artists. The Erling Krogh Singers Grant is named after him and is awarded by the Norwegian National Opera and Ballet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krogh, Erling Norwegian operatic tenors Recipients of the King's Medal of Merit in gold Musicians from Oslo 1888 births 1968 deaths 20th-century Norwegian male opera singers