Opera Soprano. The daughter of a Danish father and an Austrian mother, she moved with her parents to Iowa in the US at the age of three. There, at the age of nine, she made her first commercial record. After studying in Vienna, Stuttgart and Budapest, she made her professional debut in 1971 in Gelsenkirchen. From 1975 to 1980 she was attached to the Frankfurt Opera where she made her reputation in Mozartian leads, which led to appearances in most of the mayor opera houses all over the world, including guest performances in South America and Japan. In the 1990s her voice and career turned to heavier dramatic roles, such as "Salome", Chrysothemis in Strauss' "Elektra", the unnamed protagonist in Schoenberg's "Erwartung", and Elsa in "Lohengrin". She was not a regular on the stage in Denmark, but her performance as the Marschallin in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen in 1995 was a triumphant homecoming, though she had previously appeared with tenor Plácido Domingo in two outdoor concerts in Copenhagen in 1993. The queen of Denmark made her a Dame of the Order of Dannebrog in 1992. She made her last public performance in december 2007 although she was in considerable pain from the cancer to which she succumbed shortly after.
Opera Soprano. The daughter of a Danish father and an Austrian mother, she moved with her parents to Iowa in the US at the age of three. There, at the age of nine, she made her first commercial record. After studying in Vienna, Stuttgart and Budapest, she made her professional debut in 1971 in Gelsenkirchen. From 1975 to 1980 she was attached to the Frankfurt Opera where she made her reputation in Mozartian leads, which led to appearances in most of the mayor opera houses all over the world, including guest performances in South America and Japan. In the 1990s her voice and career turned to heavier dramatic roles, such as "Salome", Chrysothemis in Strauss' "Elektra", the unnamed protagonist in Schoenberg's "Erwartung", and Elsa in "Lohengrin". She was not a regular on the stage in Denmark, but her performance as the Marschallin in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier" at the Royal Opera in Copenhagen in 1995 was a triumphant homecoming, though she had previously appeared with tenor Plácido Domingo in two outdoor concerts in Copenhagen in 1993. The queen of Denmark made her a Dame of the Order of Dannebrog in 1992. She made her last public performance in december 2007 although she was in considerable pain from the cancer to which she succumbed shortly after.
Bio by: Erik Skytte
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