Sølvi Valborg Wang (28 August 1929 – 31 May 2011) was a Norwegian singer, actress and comedian. Wang was born in

Bærum Bærum () is a list of municipalities of Norway, municipality in the Greater Oslo Region in Akershus County, Norway. It forms an affluent suburb of Oslo on the west coast of the city. Bærum is Norway's fifth largest municipality with a populatio ...

Akershus Akershus () is a county in Norway, with Oslo as its administrative centre, though Oslo is not located within Akershus. Akershus has been a region in Eastern Norway with Oslo as its main city since the Middle Ages, and is named after the Akers ...

, to the jazz musician Yngvar Wang and the singer Marie Gulbrandsen. Already at an early age, she sang with her father's orchestra on the radio and in concert. Wang met

Egil Monn-Iversen Egil Ragnar Monn-Iversen (14 April 1928 – 7 July 2017) was a Norwegian musician, one of the most influential modern composers in Norway. He has had many important roles in Norwegian music, film, opera, television, comedy and theater. For so ...

while in school, and in 1948 she founded the music group

The Monn Keys The Monn Keys were a Norwegian musical show group that was active from 1948 until 1964. Founded by Sølvi Wang and Egil Monn-Iversen, the group became well-known in Norway for their jazz and pop music performances. The Monn Keys was one of the mo ...

together with him. Wang debuted as a recording artist in 1950, in a duet with

Arve Opsahl Arve Opsahl (14 May 1921 – 29 April 2007) was a Norwegian movie and stage actor, singer and stand-up comedian. Opsahl began his career as a comedian in 1942, and played numerous roles both on stage and in more than forty movies. He was then ch ...

. Later she recorded solo albums, and was responsible for 18 releases in the years up until 1955. Wang combined her solo career with performances with The Monn Keys, which now also included the singers Nora Brockstedt and

Per Asplin Per Asplin (10 August 1928 – 9 October 1996) was a Norwegian-Danish pianist, singer, composer and actor, born in Tønsberg. He co-starred in a handful of films as well as participating in Melodi Grand Prix five times in the 1960s. He is still p ...

. In 1954, the group performed their first

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

, ''Over alle grenser'', at

Chat Noir (French language, French for 'black cat') is a cabaret and revue theatre in Oslo, Norway. It was established in 1912 by Bokken Lasson. The current director is Tom Sterri. Establishment Chat Noir was established as a cabaret in 1912 by singer B ...

in Oslo. She worked at Chat Noir in the years 1952 to 1963, then at Edderkoppen from 1963 to 1964, before moving to

Det Norske Teatret Det Norske Teatret ()Moe, Jens. 2011. ''My America: The Culture of Giving''. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse, p. 133. is a theatre in Oslo. The theatre was founded in 1912, after an initiative from Hulda Garborg and Edvard Drabløs. It opened in 19 ...

. Though she continued to regularly appear in comedy shows at Chat Noir until the mid-1980s. In addition to making recordings and performing in variety shows, Wang also performed in musicals, on television and in movies. For 25 years she was the leading lady of Det Norske Teatret, where she played the lead roles in such musicals as ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'', ''

Fiddler on the Roof ''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical theatre, musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and musical theatre#Book musicals, book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Russian Empire, Imperial Russia in or around 19 ...

'', ''

Annie Get Your Gun Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (Malayalam actress) (born 1975), Indian actress who works in Malayalam-language films * ...

'' and ''

The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childr ...

''. She also acted in musicals composed by her husband Monn-Iversen, most prominently among these '' Bør Børson Jr.'', based on a novel by Johan Falkberget. Among Wang's many television shows, ''That's Entertainment'' from 1966 gained her international attention when it won the award for best comedy show at the Montreux Comedy Festival. The award led to performances at ''

The Ed Sullivan Show ''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in September 1971 by the ''CB ...

'', and with

Jack Parnell John Russell Parnell (6 August 1923 – 8 August 2010) was an English musician and musical director. Biography Parnell was born into a theatrical family in London, England. His uncle was the theatrical impresario Val Parnell. During h ...

's orchestra at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in Soho. The theatre was designed by Frank Matcham and opened in 1910. The auditorium holds 2,286 people. Hundreds of stars have played there, many wit ...

. She was even offered her own sitcom at

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, but had to decline due to her family. Wang had the lead role in movies such as the 1964 comedy ''Pappa tar gull'' and the 1978 drama ''Hvem har bestemt?''. Sølvi Wang acted in a production of the musical ''

'' in 1987. This performance marked her retirement from the public stage; thereafter, she did not made any public performances. As a singer, even though she mastered the soft, subdued style of ballads in recordings, Wang's vocal style has been described primarily as belting. This powerful, often sharp way of singing was a necessity in the world of live musical performance prior to the introduction of miniature microphones. Wang has been called the only master of the style in Norwegian theatre history. Wang is related to the

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Boomer Esiason Norman Julius "Boomer" Esiason (; born April 17, 1961) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons, primarily with the Cincinnati Bengals. He played college football for ...

, and was his father's cousin.

Select filmography

Selected stage performances

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Solvi 1929 births 2011 deaths Norwegian musical theatre actresses Norwegian women singers Norwegian stage actresses Leonard Statuette winners People from Bærum Norwegian television actresses Norwegian film actresses