Hafgren, Lily (Johana Maria)

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Hafgren, Lily (Johana Maria)

Hafgren, Lily (Johana Maria), Swedish soprano; b. Stockholm, Oct. 7, 1884; d. Berlin, Feb. 27, 1965. She was educated in Frankfurt am Main, then began her career as a pianist. Siegfried Wagner encouraged her to consider an operatic career, and she studied voice in Stuttgart with Max Fleisch. In 1908 she made her operatic debut as Freia at the Bayreuth Festival, where she sang again in 1911, 1912, and 1924. She also sang in Mannheim (1908–12), at the Royal (later State) Opera in Berlin (1912–21), and appeared in Paris, Rome, Milan, Dresden, Stockholm, Prague, and other operatic centers. She retired in 1934. In later years, she used her married names, Hafgren-Waag and Hafgren-Dinkela. Among her finest roles were Brünnhilde, Eva, and Isolde.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire