Jacobine Susanne "Ina" Madsen (December 31, 1867 – August 19, 1935) was a Norwegian opera singer and

voice teacher A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing. Typical work A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...

Family

Ina Madsen was the daughter of the shipowner Jacob Edvard Didrik Madsen and Susanne Sofie Clausen, and the sister of the writer Theodor Madsen. She married the architect Børge Rosenkilde ( 1869–1927). Her father died before she was baptized in

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

Life and work

Madsen studied under Camilla Wiese and

Julius Stockhausen Julius Christian Stockhausen (22 July 1826 in Paris – 22 September 1906 in Frankfurt) was a German singer and singer master. Life Stockhausen's parents, Franz Stockhausen Sr. (1792–1868), harpist and composer, and Margarethe Stockhausen n ...

. She received the state scholarships two times, was twice a recipient of the Henrichsen scholarship (established by Theodor Henrichsen), and studied in Paris under

Pauline Viardot Pauline Viardot (; 18 July 1821 – 18 May 1910) was a French dramatic mezzo-soprano, composer and pedagogue of Spanish descent. Born Michelle Ferdinande Pauline García,FitzLyon, p. 15, referring to the baptismal name. Thbirth recorddigitized a ...

. She debuted on May 22, 1889 at the National Theater in Bergen in the role of Zerlina 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 opera ''

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 ...

''. She performed at the same venue in June 1889, together with Christian Zangenberg as Griolet, in the role of Stella in

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

's '' The Drum Major's Daughter''. In the 1890s, she performed in Bergen, where she had grown up, and then toured Europe with concerts in Cologne, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, and elsewhere. On February 20, 1898, she held her official farewell concert in Norway, in the Gamle Logen banquet hall. There she performed a selection of folk songs, arias, and songs by a wide variety of composers, such as Halfdan Kjerulf,

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the leading Romantic music, Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwid ...

, Agathe Backer Grøndahl, and

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 ...

. She received considerable praise for her aria interpretation of Donizetti's opera ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' in Germany. In 1900 she performed at the National Theater in Oslo in the role of Siébel in ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''. In addition to her roles in operas, Madsen often performed as a concert singer. She worked for many years as a voice teacher and concert singer in Berlin, where she lived during her married life.

Selected roles

*Zerlina in

Wolfgang Amadeus 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 ''

'' ( National Theater, 1889) *Stella in

's '' The Drum Major's Daughter'' ( National Theater, 1889) *Siébel in

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

'' ( National Theater, 1900) *Micaëla 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 ...

Awards

*1897: Government Grant for Artists,

NOK Nok is a village in Jaba, Nigeria, Jaba Local Government Area of Kaduna State, Nigeria. The village is an archeological site. Archaeology The discovery of terracotta figurines at this location caused its name to be used for the Nok culture, ...

750 *1900: Theodor Henrichsen scholarship, NOK 2,000

Family

Life and work

Selected roles

Awards

References

Further reading