Magna Lykseth-Skogman

Magna Lykseth-Skogman was a Norwegian-born Swedish operatic soprano who was the prima donna of the Royal Swedish Opera from 1901 to 1918. She performed leading roles in a wide range of operas, but is remembered in particular for her Wagnerian interpretations, creating Brünnhilde in the Swedish premières of Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, and Isolde in 1909. She was also a frequent guest performer at the National Theatre in Oslo, where she premiered Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's Aida. She was considered to be one of the most outstanding Swedish opera singers of her generation, and was awarded the Litteris et Artibus medal in 1907 and became a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music in 1912. She was married twice, first to the Norwegian merchant Olav Schjerven, and then to the Swedish Baron Karl Skogman. She died in 1949 at the age of 75.