  g(11696700)a(1393595))
| | Bjoner Ingrid | | soprano |   
| After becoming a pharmacist in Oslo in 1951, she began her singing training with Gudrun Boellemose there and by 1952 she had already caused sensation in a concert at the Oslo Cathedral. She had further studies at the Frankfurt Music College with Paul Lohmann, in Düsseldorf with Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann, and later with Ellen Rapp in New York. In 1956 she sang the third Norn for a performance of Götterdämmerung on Norwegian radio with Kirsten Flagstad as Brünnhilde. By virtue of this performance, she was engaged by the Oslo Opera where she debuted in 1957 as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. When Kirsten Flagstad was invited to sing the title role in Rodelinda at the Drottningholm Festival, she arranged to have the assignment transferred to Ingrid Bjoner, who had an extraordinary success there in 1957. From 1957 to 1959, she was active at the opera house in Wuppertal and went from there to the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf-Duisburg from 1959 through 1961. Guest appearances brought her great successes at the Vienna and Hamburg State Operas, London and San Francisco. Guest appearance contracts brought her to the opera houses in Stockholm and Oslo. For the Bayreuth Festival in 1960, she sang Freia, Helmwige and Gutrune. In 1961 she was invited to the Munich State Opera. In 1963 she sang the Empress in Strauss's in Die Frau ohne Schatten for the reopening of the newly rebuilt theater. She also sang Isolde in 1965 for the gala performance celebrating the 100th anniversary of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde as well as an extremely successful portrayal of Daphne in 1964. In 1961 she was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera (debut as Elsa), where she continued to sing until 1967. In 1967 she made guest appearances at Covent Garden as Senta, Sieglinde, and Fidelio. She was most valued as a Wagner interpreter in guest appearances in Warsaw and Vancouver in 1961 and at the Zurich Opera in 1962. For the Salzburg Festival she sang the title role in Fidelio in 1969 and 1970. Other guest appearances brought her to La Scala in Milan (1965 as Elsa, 1975 as Brünnhilde in Siegfried), to the Berlin State Opera, to the Cologne Opera (1981 as Elisabeth) and to the Stuttgart State Opera. In 1974 she participated in the American premiere in concert of Busoni's Doktor Faust at Carnegie Hall. She appeared at the Paris Grand Opéra in 1972 as Isolde and Tosca. Her many guest appearances included Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels (1967), Rome Opera (1969), Miami Opera (1967), Madrid (1970), Pittsburgh Opera (1970), and the Royal Opera in Copenhagen. From 1959 to 1986, she appeared at the Vienna State Opera as Leonore in Fidelio, Ariadne, and Desdemona in Verdi's Otello. Among her greatest roles were Rezia in Oberon and Turandot. In 1985, she both sang the title role and directed a performance of Elektra at the Oslo Opera. In 1986 she undertook the same feat at the Copenhagen Opera. In 1986 she sang Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival and the Kostelnicka in Jenufa in Karlsruhe. In 1987 she sang Elektra for Italian radio; in 1988 she sang the Dyer's Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten for the Munich State Opera; in 1989, she sang Senta for the Oslo Opera and in 1990 she sang the Dyer's Wife at the State Theater in Karlsruhe. Throughout her career she ventured into the concert hall to perform oratorios, vocal works, and lieder. In 1964 King Olaf V of Norway awarded her with the St. Olaf medal. Recordings: Decca (Götterdämmerung), Ariola-Eurodisc, DGG (Die Frau ohne Schatten), Eterna, Melodram (Rheingold, Götterdämmerung), SST. |
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