Swedish Opera Singer. A soprano, she sang a wide variety of roles in the world's principal theatres for over 50 years. Raised in Stockholm the child of a Swedish father and a Russian coloratura mother, she studied voice privately prior to training at Sweden's Royal Academy. Her operatic debut came at the Dottringholm Palace Theatre in 1947 as the title lead in Mozart's little known "Bastien and Bastienne". From 1949 until 1980, she was reigning diva of the Royal Swedish Opera. Her repertoire was large, though, at her teacher's direction, she never took on the works of Verdi or Wagner; among other roles, she was Pamina in Mozart's "The Magic Flute", the four sopranos of Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman", at differing times Sophie, Octavian, and The Marschallin in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", Jenufa, Louise, Erudice, as well as Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme". Her 1959 New York Metropolitan Opera debut role was Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro, while Covent Garden first saw her in 1960 as Daisy Dodd in Blomdahl's "Aniara". Miss Soderstrom was a regular at the Metropolitan between 1959 and 1964, later returning there from 1983 until 1987. Active on the concert stage, she first performed at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1957; she was a frequent guest at the Salzburg Festival, and at the Vienna State Opera. Miss Soderstrom served as director of the Dottringholm Palace Theater from 1993 to 1996, and was a professor at the Stockholm Music Academy from 1965 on; she gave her final performance, in Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades", in 1999 at the Metropolitan. Married from 1950 until her death to Sverker Olow, she resided in Lidingo. Miss Soderstrom died of a stroke leaving a massive recorded legacy of both studio and live performances.
Swedish Opera Singer. A soprano, she sang a wide variety of roles in the world's principal theatres for over 50 years. Raised in Stockholm the child of a Swedish father and a Russian coloratura mother, she studied voice privately prior to training at Sweden's Royal Academy. Her operatic debut came at the Dottringholm Palace Theatre in 1947 as the title lead in Mozart's little known "Bastien and Bastienne". From 1949 until 1980, she was reigning diva of the Royal Swedish Opera. Her repertoire was large, though, at her teacher's direction, she never took on the works of Verdi or Wagner; among other roles, she was Pamina in Mozart's "The Magic Flute", the four sopranos of Offenbach's "The Tales of Hoffman", at differing times Sophie, Octavian, and The Marschallin in Strauss' "Der Rosenkavalier", Jenufa, Louise, Erudice, as well as Mimi in Puccini's "La Boheme". Her 1959 New York Metropolitan Opera debut role was Susanna in "The Marriage of Figaro, while Covent Garden first saw her in 1960 as Daisy Dodd in Blomdahl's "Aniara". Miss Soderstrom was a regular at the Metropolitan between 1959 and 1964, later returning there from 1983 until 1987. Active on the concert stage, she first performed at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1957; she was a frequent guest at the Salzburg Festival, and at the Vienna State Opera. Miss Soderstrom served as director of the Dottringholm Palace Theater from 1993 to 1996, and was a professor at the Stockholm Music Academy from 1965 on; she gave her final performance, in Tchaikovsky's "Queen of Spades", in 1999 at the Metropolitan. Married from 1950 until her death to Sverker Olow, she resided in Lidingo. Miss Soderstrom died of a stroke leaving a massive recorded legacy of both studio and live performances.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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