Description

GÖTA LJUNGBERG (SUNDSVALL, 4 OCTOBER, 1893 – LIDINGÖ, 28 JUNE, 1955)

 

 

 

 

She sang for the Swedish Queen as a child of eight. She received her training at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm under Gillis Bratt, later studying with Mme. Charles Cahier, and completed her education with Fergusson in London, Vittorio Vanza in Milan, and Louis Bachner and Oscar Daniel in Berlin.

She made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm in 1918 as Gutrune in Götterdämmerung and as Elsa in Lohengrin, remaining a member of the company until 1926 and appearing there annually as a guest artist until 1937. In 1920, she achieved particular success at the Stockholm Opera as Myrtocle in the Swedish premiere of Eugen d’Albert’s opera Die toten Augen (The Dead Eyes).

In 1924, she made a sensational debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London as Salome in Richard Strauss’s opera of the same name. She performed regularly at Covent Garden, including on June 25, 1929, in the world premiere of Eugene Goossens’s opera Judith, in which she created the title role. From 1928 onward, she was a frequent guest at the Zoppot Forest Opera Festival, where she sang Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, and Kundry in Parsifal.

From 1926 she was engaged at the Berlin State Opera, where she appeared with great success until 1932 in her Wagnerian roles, as well as in Tosca and as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana. In Berlin, she also appeared in operettas and musical productions, including the world premiere of Ralph Benatzky’s operetta Die drei Musketiere at the Großes Schauspielhaus in 1929.

From 1931 to 1935, she was a member of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she made her debut as Sieglinde in Die Walküre. On February 14, 1934, she took part in the world premiere of Howard Hanson’s opera Merry Mount (as Lady Marigold Sandys) and enjoyed her greatest successes there as Isolde and Brünnhilde. In 1932, she appeared in the (belated) Metropolitan premiere of Richard Strauss’s Elektra as Chrysothemis, opposite Gertrude Kappel in the title role.

During her five seasons at the Metropolitan Opera, she performed 13 roles in 33 performances, including Gutrune, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Kundry, Salome, and Tosca. She also made guest appearances at various other opera houses in the United States. Her farewell performance at the Metropolitan Opera took place in 1935.

As a concert soloist, she appeared throughout North America, the Scandinavian countries, and in the Netherlands (1928). After retiring from the stage, she taught at the New York College of Music, later returning to her native Sweden.

From 1922 to 1929, she was married to the Swedish director Harry Stangenberg (1893–1941). In 1932, she was awarded the Swedish Order of Literature and Art.

She possessed a large, dramatic soprano voice, ideally suited to the Wagnerian repertoire, and also excelled as Salome and Elektra, as well as in other dramatic roles. Her stage presence was distinguished by her beauty and the intensity of her performances. Her recordings, made exclusively for HMV beginning in 1924, include scenes from Tristan und Isolde, Das Rheingold, Die Walküre, and Götterdämmerung.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Ave Maria (Bach-Gounod) 13. 8. 1926 HMV DB 962 (CR 605-I)

Cavalleria rusticana (Mascagni) Als eer Sohn einst fontang 22. 5. 1929 HMV D 2036 (CLR 599-II)

Die drei Musketiere (Benatzky) Du schmeichelst in mein Herz dchen (w. Janssen) 7. 10. 1929 HMV EG 1556 (BLR 5674)

Die drei Musketiere (Benatzky) Monerlein, Meib immer bei mir 7. 10. 1929 HMV EG 1556 (BLR 5675-II)

Die Walküre (Wagner) Rette mich, Kahn (w. Leider & Schorr) 29. 9. 1927 HMV D1327 (CR 1188-II)

La Forza del Destino (Verdi) Mader, posa Vergine 15. 6. 1927 HMV D1352 (10952-I)

La Forza del Destino (Verdi) Pace, pace, mio Dio 10. 5. 1927 HMV D1352 (CR1333-D)

Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Eines Tages seh’n wir 28. 5. 1929 HMV D 2006 (CLR 5400-IV)

Panis Angelicus (Franck) 13. 8. 1926 HMV DB 962 (CR 604-II)

Parsifal (Wagner) Ich sah das Kind an seiner Mutter Brust 11. 10. 1928 HMV D 1661 (Ce 13706-I)

Parsifal (Wagner) Seit Ewigkeiten hame ich deiner (Wagner) 24. 8. 1927 HMV D1662 (CR 1469-I)

Salome (Strauss) Ah! Du wolltest mich nicht deinen Mund 21. 5. 1929 HMV D 1699 (CLR 5395-II & 5396-I)

Tosca (Puccini) Nur deinetwegen woll ich noch nicht sterben (w. Schmidt) 28. 5. 1929 HMV D 2019 (CLR 5422-II)

Tosca (Puccini) Nur der Schönheit weit ich mein Leben 28. 5. 1929 HMV D 2009 (CLR 5421-1)

Tosca (Puccini) Ora stammi a sentir (w. Mummery) 30. 5. 1924 HMV DB 752 (C 4661-I & 4662-I)

Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) Die Wunde? Wo? 24. 8. 1927 HMV D 1416 (CR 1471-I)

Tristan und Isolde (Wagner) Mild und leise 16. 8. 1926 HMV D 1417 (CR 612-0)