Elisabeth Söderström

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Elisabeth Söderström (born May 7, 1927) is a Swedish opera soprano.

Born in Stockholm, Söderström received her first musical schooling from Andrejewa von Skilonz and later went on to study at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm. She made her debute in 1947 at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre singing in one of Mozart's lesser known scene-pieces Bastien et Bastienne. From 1949 to 1980 she called the Royal Swedish Opera her home stage but she frequently appeared at some of the largest operahouses in the world. She was also a regular visitor to the recording studios. Between 1959 and 1964 Söderström was contracted by the Metropolitan Opera in New York to which she would return in 1983-87. Her last stage performance was in 1999 in Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades at the Metropolitan Opera.

During her long career, Elisabeth Söderström made a name for herself as a technically perfected and at the same time warm and soprano with a personal style which allowed her to sing in a wide variety of different works ranging from 17th century to contemporary. Between appearances in full operas, Söderström gave numerous concerts and recitals in all corners of the world.

Between 1993 and 1996 Söderström was the director of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre, the very scene where she had made her debut almost 50 years earlier.

Elisabeth Söderström is married to Sverker Olow since 1950. She resides in Lidingö.