Thekla Catharina Charlotta Hofer née Falck (1852–1938) was a Swedish

operatic soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to A5 in choral music, or to ...

and later voice teacher. She made her début at 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 1879 as Rosina in ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

''. In addition to performing in various theatres in Sweden, she was a highly applauded guest in Weimar, St Petersburg and Riga. In the mid-1990s, she retired from the stage to teach with pupils including Signe Rappe and

Karin Branzell Karin Branzell (24 September 189115 December 1974) was a Swedish operatic contralto (sometimes described as a mezzo-soprano), who had a prominent career at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in Europe. Her very wide range enabled her to sing ...

Early life and education

Born in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

on 10 January 1852, Thekla Catherina Charlotta Falck was the daughter of the cigar master Evert Mauritz Falk and his wife Gustava Charlotta née Rosenlöf. She married the German-born bass opera singer Theodor Hofer. She first studied piano under

Hilda Thegerström Hilda Aurora Thegerström (1838–1907) was a Swedish pianist, music teacher and composer in the second half of the 19th century. Thanks to training under Franz Berwald, in April 1856 she was able to perform Chopin's Piano Concerto No. 2 (Chopin), ...

before becoming a voice pupil of Adelaïde Leuhusen. She completed her voice training in Paris under the tenor Pierre-François Wartel.

Career

Hofer made her début in 1879 at the Royal Swedish Opera as Rosina in ''The Barber of Seville'', receiving an engagement for the following season. She became a successful performer not only here but as a guest in Helsinki, in Gothenburg's

Stora Teatern Stora Teatern (popularly known as Storan) is a musical theater in the Lorensberg district of Gothenburg, Sweden. Inaugurated in 1859, it is situated in Kungsparken park south of Kungsportsplatsen. It was originally founded to replace the ''Sege ...

, Weimar's Hoftheater and St Petersburg's

Imperial Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

. In 1888, as a guest in Riga, she played in Suppé's operetta ''

Die schöne Galathée ' (''The Beautiful Galatea'') is an operetta in one act by Franz von Suppé to a German libretto by the composer and 'Poly Henrion' (the pseudonym of Leonhard Kohl von Kohlenegg).* In the early 1860s, French operettas by Jacques Offenbach wer ...

''. Among her finest parts were the title role in '' La Traviata'', Olympia, Giulietta and Antonia in ''

The Tales of Hoffmann ''The Tales of Hoffmann'' (French: ) is an by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on three short stories by E. T. A. Hoffmann, who is the protagonist of the story. It was Offenbach's final work; he died in ...

'', Amina in ''

La sonnambula ''La sonnambula'' (; ''The Sleepwalker'') is an opera semiseria in two acts, with music in the ''bel canto'' tradition by Vincenzo Bellini set to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on a scenario for a ''ballet-pantomime'' written by Eu ...

'' and Micaëla in ''

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 ...

''. In the mid-1890s, Hofer retired from the stage to devote the remainder of her career to teaching. Among the celebrated singers who emerged from her school until she retired in 1923 were Signe Rappe, Karin Branzell,

Ruth Althén Ruth Ester Althén née Whitefield (1890–1985) was a Swedish operatic soprano. Trained by Thekla Hofer and Ture Rangström, she made her début at the Royal Swedish Opera in 1915 with the title role in ''Aida''. Engaged by the Royal Opera in ...

Irma Björck Irma Lovisa Björck née Krook (1898–1993) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera and operetta singer. After training under Thekla Hofer and Gertrud Grubbstrom-Gronberg, with a year at the Royal Swedish Opera School, she made her début in 1925 at ...

and the tenor

Folke Andersson Folke Andersson (born 19 February 1903) was a Swedish ice hockey player. Andersson was part of the Djurgården Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, , is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings ...

. Thekla Hofer died in

Strängnäs Strängnäs is a Urban areas in Sweden, locality and the seat of Strängnäs Municipality, Södermanland County, Sweden with 15,363 inhabitants in 2020. It is located by Lake Mälaren and is the episcopal see of the Diocese of Strängnäs, one of t ...

on 14 June 1938.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hofer, Thekla 1852 births 1938 deaths Musicians from Gothenburg Swedish operatic sopranos Voice teachers 20th-century Swedish women musicians