Louise Janssen
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Louise Janssen | |
|---|---|
 Janssen as Eva in the first French Meistersinger in 1896 | |
| Born | 5 October 1863 Sørbymagle near Slagelse, Denmark |
| Died | 19 February 1938 (aged 74) Lyon, France |
| Occupation | Operatic soprano |
| Organization | Grand Théâtre de Lyon |
Louise Amalie Janssen (5 October 1863 – 19 February 1938) was a Danish-born operatic soprano who spent most of her life in France. She is remembered for the many Wagnerian roles she sang principally at the Grand Théâtre de Lyon from 1890 to 1912, becoming known as Lyon's Wagnerian diva. The theatre was granted permission to hold the French premieres of some of Wagner's stage works, and she appeared there as the first Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in 1896, and Brünnhilde in Götterdämmerung in 1903. In 1893, she took part in the premiere of the French version of Wagner's Die Walküre at the Paris Opera, as Siegrune. From 1906, she toured the United States and also sang in Monte-Carlo, but Lyon remained her centre where she taught voice and opera after her retirement in 1912.
Born on 5 October 1863 in Sørbymagle near Slagelse, Janssen was the daughter of the cleric Carl Emil Janssen (1813–1884) and his wife, the diarist Sophie Frederikke née Luplau (1827–1895).[1][2] She trained as a singer in Copenhagen, where she first performed,[3] before moving to Austria where she was trained in piano and voice in Graz, returning later as a pupil of Amalie Materna in Vienna.[4][5]
