Larsén-Todsen, Nanny

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Larsén-Todsen, Nanny

Larsén-Todsen, Nanny, Swedish soprano; b. Hagby, Aug. 2, 1884; d. Stockholm, May 26, 1982. She received her training at the Stockholm Cons., in Berlin, and in Milan. In 1906 she made her operatic debut at the Royal Theater in Stockholm as Agathe, where she then was a member from 1907 to 1922. After appearing at Milan’s La Scala (1923–24), she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung on Jan. 31, 1925; she remained on its roster until 1927, singing such roles as Isolde, Rachel in La Juive, Fricka, Kundry, Elsa, La Gioconda, and Leonore. Returning to Europe, she sang in various opera centers, including London’s Covent Garden (1927, 1930) and the Bayreuth Festivals (1927-28; 1930-31). Shortly before the outbreak of World War II in 1939, she became a voice teacher in Stockholm.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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