Photo: Unknown photographer · Public domain · credits
Tier 3 · vertical & regional
Elisabeth Söderström
Person · female · Sweden · Stockholm · born 1927 · died 2009 · recording since 1990
Swedish opera singer (1927-2009)
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Listen on SpotifyYouTube Music
Also known as 伊丽莎白·索德斯特罗姆
Timeline
9 events✦ Award 3▣ Album 3◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1
1920s
1950s
1960s
1990s
· Debut release
Debut release: Two Pieces for String Quartet / Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok / Piano Quintet in G minor
First documented Album in the MusicBrainz discography.
source: musicbrainz
2000s
2020s
Biography
English biography512 words · 5 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1335897521
Biography
Anna Elisabeth Söderström (married name Olow; 7 May 1927 – 20 November 2009) was a Swedish soprano who performed both opera and song, and was known as a leading interpreter of the works of Janáček, Rachmaninoff and Sibelius. She was particularly well known for her recordings of the lead soprano roles in the three Janáček operas Jenůfa, Káťa Kabanová, and The Makropoulos Affair, all of which received Gramophone Awards. The Gramophone critic John Warrack described her portrayal of Káťa Kabanová as "establishing by an infinity of subtle touches and discreet, sensitive singing the picture of Káta as the richest and most human character in the drama".
Career
Born in Stockholm, Söderström received her first musical schooling from Adelaide von Skilondz and later studied at the Royal College of Music, Stockholm. She made her debut in 1947 at the Drottningholm Palace Theatre singing in one of Mozart's lesser-known works Bastien et Bastienne. From 1949 to 1980 she called the Royal Swedish Opera her home but she frequently appeared at some of the largest opera houses in the world. She was also a regular visitor to the recording studio. Between 1959 and 1964 Söderström was contracted by the Metropolitan Opera in New York City to which she would return in 1983–87. Her last stage performance was in 1999 in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades at the Metropolitan Opera. In 1978 she created the role of Amanda/Clitoria in György Ligeti's Le Grand Macabre at the Royal Swedish Opera.
During her long career, Söderström made a name for herself as a technically perfect and at the same time warm soprano with a personal style which allowed her to sing in a wide variety of works ranging from the 17th century to contemporary. Between appearances in fully staged operas, Söderström gave numerous concerts and recitals in all corners of the world. She made a variety of recordings, including the complete songs of Sergei Rachmaninoff, accompanied by Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Between 1993 and 1996 Söderström was the director of the Drottningholm Palace Theatre, the same stage where she had made her debut almost 50 years earlier. In 1983, she sang the final trio from Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier with Kathleen Battle and Frederica von Stade at The Metropolitan Opera Centennial Gala conducted by James Levine.
In 1978 she published a collection of stories from her career and thoughts on performing entitled I min tonart; this was translated in English as In My Own Key.
Personal life
Elisabeth Söderström was married to commander Sverker Olow from 1950 until her death. They lived in Lidingö.
Death
She died in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, on 20 November 2009, aged 82, from complications from a stroke.
Honours
Elisabeth Söderström received a number of honours, both in Sweden and abroad. Among them:
1959 – the Italian Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity
1972 – the Swedish Commander of the Royal Order of Vasa
1973 – the French Commandeur de l´Ordre des Arts et Lettres
1985 – the British Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire
1997 – one of the Eurostar locomotives was named after her
Discography & profile
Normalised profile
Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 19 | 79.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 10 | 98.8th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 19 | 43.6th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.
Discography (7 release groups · 3 studio albums)
Albums · 3
Elisabeth Söderström & Kerstin Meyer
1992 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 19 tracks · 47:00
1Csillagoknak teremtője1:322Kiolvasó1:013L'aube, op. 46 no. 63:204Larmes humaines, op. 46 no. 33:275Au Jardin, près du ruisseau, op. 46 no. 42:326Die Zuversicht, op. 32 no. 102:587Die Beschidene, op. 32 no. 81:468Die Gefangene, op. 32 no. 112:249Die verlassene, op. 32 no. 61:2010Scheiden ohne Leiden, op. 43 no. 41:0911Sound the Trumpet1:4312Two Daughters of This Aged Stream2:1013Let Us Wander1:4314Marketenterskorna1:3715Dansen1:1516Flickorna4:5417La pesca3:4518La regata veneziana4:1919Duetto buffo di due gatti4:052020 · studio album
Search SpotifySearch YouTube Music
Tracklist · 47 tracks · 2:30:26
Disc 11Les Noces de Figaro: Sinfonia4:082Les Noces de Figaro: « Cinque... dieci... venti... trenta... »4:083Les Noces de Figaro: « Se a caso Madama »3:214Les Noces de Figaro: « Se vuol ballare, signor »4:535Les Noces de Figaro: « La vendetta, oh, la vendetta! »3:226Les Noces de Figaro: « Via resti servita, madama brillante »3:237Les Noces de Figaro: « Non so più cosa son, cosa faccio »2:448Les Noces de Figaro: « Taci, vien gente »3:029Les Noces de Figaro: « Cosa sento! Tosto andate, e scacciate il seduttor »5:0110Les Noces de Figaro: « Giovani liete, fiori spargete »4:1311Les Noces de Figaro: « Non più andrai »3:5412Les Noces de Figaro: « Porgi, amor, qualche ristoro al mio duolo »3:2013Les Noces de Figaro: « Vieni, cara Susanna, finiscimi l’Istoria »3:0714Les Noces de Figaro: « Voi che sapete che cosa è amor »3:4715Les Noces de Figaro: « Venite, inginocchiatevi »2:4816Les Noces de Figaro: « Quante buffonerie! »2:0117Les Noces de Figaro: « Che novità! »1:0618Les Noces de Figaro: « Susanna, or via, sortite »3:5519Les Noces de Figaro: « Aprite, presto, aprite »2:2220Les Noces de Figaro: « Esci omai, garzon malnato »7:15Disc 21Les Noces de Figaro: « Signori, di fuori son già i suonatori »3:142Les Noces de Figaro: « Ah signor, signor... Cosa è stato? »5:183Les Noces de Figaro: « Voi signor, che giusto siete »3:574Les Noces de Figaro: « Che imbarazzo è mai questo! »1:565Les Noces de Figaro: « Crudel! Perché finora farmi languir così? »2:346Les Noces de Figaro: « E perché fosti meco stamattina sì austera? »0:357Les Noces de Figaro: « Hai già vinta la causa! »4:208Les Noces de Figaro: « È decisa la lite »1:539Les Noces de Figaro: « Riconosci in questo amplesso una madre, amato Figlio! »6:1210Les Noces de Figaro: « E Susanna non vien! »1:3211Les Noces de Figaro: « Dove sono i bei momenti »4:1212Les Noces de Figaro: « Io vi dico, signor »0:4513Les Noces de Figaro: « Canzonetta sull’aria »2:5714Les Noces de Figaro: « Ricevete, oh padroncina, queste rose e questi fior »3:3615Les Noces de Figaro: « Ecco la marcia, andiamo »3:0716Les Noces de Figaro: « Eh già, solita usanza »3:0017Les Noces de Figaro: « L’ho perduta »1:4618Les Noces de Figaro: « Barbarina, cos’hai? »3:0519Les Noces de Figaro: « Tutto è disposto »1:2920Les Noces de Figaro: « Aprite un po’ quegl’occhi »2:4021Les Noces de Figaro: « Signora, ella mi disse che figaro verravvi »0:4522Les Noces de Figaro: « Giunse alfin il momento »1:1923Les Noces de Figaro: « Deh vieni, non tardar »3:0824Les Noces de Figaro: « Perfida! E in quella forma meco mentia? »0:3025Les Noces de Figaro: « Pian pianin le andrò più presso »5:0826Les Noces de Figaro: « Tutto è tranquillo e placido »4:4927Les Noces de Figaro: « Gente, gente, all’armi, all’armi! »4:492023 · studio album
Album · 4
| Cover | Year | Title | Notes | First release |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Two Pieces for String Quartet / Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok / Piano Quintet in G minorSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 14 tracks · 1:03:401Two Pieces for String Quartet: I. Elegy in F-sharp minor5:20 2Two Pieces for String Quartet: II. Polka in B-flat major2:15 3Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok, Op. 127: I. Song of Ophelia2:47 4Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: II. Gamayun, the Bird of Prophecy3:30 5Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: III. We Were Together (That Troubled Night)3:09 6Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: IV. The City Sleeps (Deep in Sleep)3:17 7Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: V. The Storm2:01 8Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: VI. Secret Signs4:17 9Seven Romances on Poems of Alexander Blok: VII. Music4:49 10Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57: I. Prelude4:30 11Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57: II. Fugue11:01 12Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57: III. Scherzo3:15 13Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57: IV. Intermezzo6:12 14Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57: V. Finale7:17 | Live | 1990 | |
| 2001 | Liszt / Schubert / Tchaikovsky / Rachmaninov / Grieg / StraussSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 25 tracks · 1:08:241Freundliche Vision, op. 48 no. 12:37 2Ein Obdach gegen Sturm und Regen, op. 46 no. 12:13 3Med en primulaveris, op. 26 no. 41:54 4Med en vandlilje, op. 25 no. 42:20 5Æbleblomst, op. 10 (FS 18) no. 12:01 6S'il est un charmant gazon, S. 2842:01 7Oh! quand je dors, S. 2824:49 8Enfant, si j'étais Roi, S. 2832:38 9Comment, disaient-ils, S. 2762:12 10Seligkeit, D. 4332:18 11Mögen alle bösen Zungen from Spanisches Liederbuch, Weltliche Lieder no. 132:21 12Mignons Lied (Kennst du das Land), S. 2755:54 13Gretchen am Spinnrade, D. 1183:38 14Die Liebe (Freudvoll und leidvoll), D. 2101:25 15Erlkönig, D. 3284:10 16Otchevo?, op. 6 no. 53:01 17Net, tolko tot, kto znal, op. 6 no. 63:08 18Kukushka, op. 54 no. 82:11 19Ne poy, krasavica, pri mne, op. 4 no. 44:03 20Otryvok iz A. Myusse, op. 21 no. 62:12 21Krysolov, op. 38 no. 42:53 22Elisabeth Söderström Introduces the First Encore0:44 23Jeg elsker dig, op. 5 no. 32:56 24Elisabeth Söderström Introduces the Second Encore1:37 25Små flickorna3:08 | Compilation | 2001 | |
| 2004 | Complete SongsSearch SpotifySearch YouTube Music | Compilation | 14 June 2004 | |
| 2014 | BBC Music, Volume 22, Number 12: The Great SopranosSearch SpotifySearch YouTube MusicTracklist · 20 tracks · 1:05:261Carmen: L’amour est un oiseua rebelle4:27 2Norma: Casta Diva5:39 3Orphee et Eurydice: J’ai perdu mon Eurydice4:27 4Madam Butterfly: Un bel di vedremo4:47 5Il Trovatore: D’amor sull’ali rosee4:14 6Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Rheinlegendchen3:15 7Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Ablösung im Sommer1:41 8Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen7:08 9Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Wer hat dies liedlein erdacht2:14 10Nursery Songs: With Nanny1:39 11Nursery Songs: In the corner1:24 12Nursery Songs: The Beetle2:03 13Nursery Songs: With the Doll1:51 14Nursery Songs: Going to Sleep1:59 15Nursery Songs: On the Hobby-Horse3:02 16Nursery Songs: The Cat Sailor2:10 17Klinge, klinge, mein Pandero3:03 18Jahrlang möcht’ ich so Dich halten2:24 19In dem Schatten meiner Locken3:52 20Norwegian Echo Song4:07 | Compilation | 6 August 2014 |
Stats & PK
Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Elisabeth Söderström head-to-head →
| Metric | Value | Percentile |
|---|---|---|
| Wikipedia language versions | 19 | 79.7th |
| Spotify monthly listeners | — | no data |
| Release groups in DB | 7 | 80.4th |
| Studio albums | 3 | 80.9th |
| Awards recorded | 10 | 98.8th |
| Timeline events | 9 | 85.5th |
| Recording span (years) | 19 | 43.6th |
| Genres | 5 | 88.3th |
Awards & honours
| Year | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Knight of the Order of the Star of Italian Solidarity | won | |
| 1965 | Swedish Academy's Theatre Award | won | |
| 1969 | Litteris et Artibus | won | |
| — | Commander of the Order of Vasa | won | |
| — | Commander of the Order of the British Empire | won | |
| — | Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres | won | |
| — | H. M. The King's Medal | won | |
| — | Medal for the advancement of the musical arts | won | |
| — | Q110793467 | won | |
| — | Royal Order of Vasa | won |
Where this record comes from
portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Elisabeth_S%C3%B6derstr%C3%B6m.jpgaliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e9c6f587-2afd-4167-b8f5-3d3eb318d7b5discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/e9c6f587-2afd-4167-b8f5-3d3eb318d7b5core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q269242genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q269242seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_S%C3%B6derstr%C3%B6mbiography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_S%C3%B6derstr%C3%B6m
Why this artist is in the database
- List of Swedish musicians
Tier rule: curated genre/region list
Image: Unknown photographer · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q269242 · MusicBrainz: e9c6f587-2afd-4167-b8f5-3d3eb318d7b5
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