Olive Fremstad (14 March, 1871 - 21 April, 1951). was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American mezzo-soprano and soprano opera singer. She received her early education and musical training in Christiania. When she was 12 years of age her parents moved to America, settling in Minneapolis. Even before leaving Christiana her progress on the piano had been such that she had appeared as an infant prodigy.
Born in Stockhol...
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Olive Fremstad (14 March, 1871 - 21 April, 1951). was the stage name of Anna Olivia Rundquist, a celebrated Swedish-American mezzo-soprano and soprano opera singer. She received her early education and musical training in Christiania. When she was 12 years of age her parents moved to America, settling in Minneapolis. Even before leaving Christiana her progress on the piano had been such that she had appeared as an infant prodigy.
Born in Stockholm, she was adopted by an American couple living in Minnesota, taking on their surname of Fremstad. She began her vocal training in New York in 1890 after singing in church choirs, then studied in Berlin with Lilli Lehmann before making her operatic debut as a mezzo-soprano as Azucena in Verdi's Il trovatore at the Cologne Opera in 1895. She remained there for at least three years, before going on to Vienna, Munich, Bayreuth and London.
She appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York from 1903 until 1914, specializing in Wagnerian roles. By...
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