19 Facts About Ingrid Bjoner

Ingrid Kristine Bjoner Pierpoint was a Norwegian soprano who had an international opera career between 1956 and 1990.

Ingrid Bjoner was particularly celebrated for her portrayal of Wagnerian heroines and for her performances in operas by Richard Strauss.

Ingrid Kristine Bjoner was born at Krakstad in Akershus, Norway.

Ingrid Bjoner's parents were Johan Bjoner and Alma Prestangen.

Ingrid Bjoner was the eighth of nine children born to a farming family.

Ingrid Bjoner was educated as a pharmacist at the University of Oslo during which time she studied voice with Gudrun Boellemose.

Ingrid Bjoner drew considerable public notice after an extraordinary performance at Oslo Cathedral which reoriented her path towards a professional musical career.

Ingrid Bjoner travelled to Germany for further voice lessons with Paul Lohmann at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt and Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann in Dusseldorf.

In 1956, Ingrid Bjoner made her first professional appearance singing the roles of the Third Norn and Gutrune for a radio broadcast of Richard Wagner's Gotterdammerung produced by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and starring Kirsten Flagstad as Brunnhilde.

Ingrid Bjoner went on to sing several more roles in Wuppertal between 1957 and 1959.

In 1959, Ingrid Bjoner joined the roster at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein where she sang regularly for three seasons.

In 1960, Ingrid Bjoner made her United States debut with the San Francisco Opera as Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin and her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Freia, Helmwige, and Gutrune in Wagner's Ring Cycle, both of them critical successes.

In 1961, Ingrid Bjoner joined the roster at the Bavarian State Opera where she performed repeatedly through 1965.

In 1965, Ingrid Bjoner made her debut at La Scala as Elsa and in 1967 she returned to Covent Garden to appear in three operas: Leonore in Fidelio, Senta in The Flying Dutchman, and Sieglinde in Die Walkure.

Ingrid Bjoner appeared at the Salzburg Festival in both 1969 and 1970 as Leonore and reprised that role again in a return to the Met in 1971.

Ingrid Bjoner returned to the Met again in 1974 to sing Turandot.

Ingrid Bjoner returned to La Scala in 1975 to sing Brunnhilde in Gotterdammerung.

In 1981, Ingrid Bjoner made her debut at the Cologne Opera as Elisabeth in Tannhauser.

Ingrid Bjoner repeated that feat the following year at the Royal Danish Opera.