Christoffer Christian Karsten

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Christoffer Christian (or Kristofer Kristian) Karsten, (1756-1827) was a Swedish opera singer, sometimes called the greatest male opera singer in Swedish history. He was also the maternal grandfather of the world famous ballerina Marie Taglioni.

[edit] Biography

Born in Ystad, he was discovered by queen Louisa Ulrika of Prussia in 1771, when he sang for her on her way to her visit to Berlin, and so impressed her that she gave him the opportunity to study singing in Stockholm.

In 1773 he debuted at the Royal Swedish Opera in Bollhuset with Carl Stenborg and Elisabeth Olin in the famous opera performance Thetis och Phelée and was after this employed at the opera's choir until he performed his first leading role as Adonis in the opera ballet Adonis. He was then sent to study under Potenza in Copenhagen, and when he returned in 1778, he became the greatest male singer in Sweden together with Carl Stenborg until 1806, admired for the beauty of both his voice and his body. In 1781, at his marriage, he was given the villa Canton at Drottningholm, were his family lived until 1870. He was elected into the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1787 and was given the title royal secretary in 1791.

At his debute 1776 he was given the critic: "At last, the director at the Opera have required a rival to Mr Carl Stenborg in young Karsten, who sang and playd very well in Adonis. Even without the clothes and the make up he has a pleasant physionomy, beautiful figure, tall and slim", and was judged as: "An enormous victory for (director) Zibet but a créve-coeur for Mrs Olin, who being forced to act opposite a boy from the choir." Karsten and Stenborg was the male stars of the Gustavian age in Sweden, and complemented each other well, as they had different ways of acting: "When Karsten with his strong, sonorous, all-dominating voice shooked the entire nervous system of the listeners, delighted them and commanded admiration, the soft, sensitive, melodious tones of Stenborg penetrated the heart and filled the eyes with sympathetic tears."

Among the plays he performed in was Arséne by Monsigny oposite Marie Louise Marcadet and Elisabeth Olin during the 1779-80 season, Alceste by Gluck with Caroline Frederikke Müller and Carl Stenborg (season 1780–1781); Roland by Quinault with Carl Stenborg and Caroline Frederikke Müller (1781–1782); Atys by Piccinni oposite Carl Stenborg and Marcadet (1784-1785), Iphigenie på Tauris by Glück with Carl Stenborg and Caroline Frederikke Müller and Gustaf Wasa by Naumann with Marcadet, Carl Stenborg and Caroline Frederikke Müller (1785-1786), Armide by Quinault with Carl Stenborg and Caroline Frederikke Müller (1786–1787); Gustaf Adolf och Ebba Brahe with Caroline Frederikke Müller, Franziska Stading and Carl Stenborg (1787–1788); Azemia av Dalayrac with Caroline Frederikke Müller and Abraham de Broen (1792–1793); Folke Birgersson till Ringstad with Marcadet and Inga Åberg (1792-1793), De bägge Savojarderna by Dalayrac with Caroline Frederikke Müller and Marie Louise Marcadet (1793–1794); Reanud d'Ast by Dalayrac with Caroline Frederikke Müller (1795–1796); Aeneas in Carthago with Carl Stenborg and Kristofer Kristian Karsten (1799–1800) and Oidipus i Athen 1800-01 opposite Franziska Stading. In 1796, he played oposite, Caroline Müller, Louis Deland, Carl Stenborg and Inga Åberg in the play Karavanen, which was held to celebrate that the young king had ben declared of legal majority.

He also toured abroad. He sang in Copenhagen 1783, Berlin 1788, 1792 in London and 1810-1811 in Paris.

When the Royal Swedish opera was (temporarily) closed in 1806, he was forced to retire with the rest of the staff. After it opened again in 1809, he made guest appearances until 1825.

Karsten married the Polish actor and opera singer Mariane Sophie Stebnowska (1753-1848), also considered as one of the better talents at the opera until 1806. His daughter, Sophie Karsten, was premier dancer at the Opera in 1805-1806, married Filippo Taglioni and became the mother of Marie Taglioni.

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