Evening star., 1935-11-17
November II, 1885

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maids to work. Each year Fru Flag
stad, remembering that she was a
farmers daughter, would buy two
little pigs which were first pets, and
then sausage for her young family. At
Christmas there was always cooking
for days ahead, and Kristen helped
to make the gaily decorated cakes
which were a part of the celebration.
The only shadow on an unusually
happy childhood was the fact that
her mother, although she planned to
make her oldest child a doctor, in
sisted that Kristen should learn to
play the piano. Day after day she
had to sit practicing while the other
children romped outside the window.
Counterpart, harmony. she hated;
but she always loved to sing and she
had. naturally. the gift of perfect
pitch. By the time she was ten she
was learning operate roles, first
Elsa" then Aida; not because
she had to, but because she liked to
sing that kind of music. And after a
bit her relatives began giving her
operate scores instead of dolls for
Christmas.
The first time she ever sang in pub
lie was at little party given for her
when she was confirmed. you had
better learn how to use your voice or
you will spoil what little you have"
a friend advised. and offered to give
her some lessons in placement and
breathing.
When she was eighteen. however,
D'Albert's "Tief1and" was to be
presented at the Oslo Theatre The
conductor was dissatisfied with the
girl who was singing "Nuri"; and Fru
Flagstad bought the score for Kristen,
coached her herself, and sent her in
for an addition. She was the thirteenth
girl to be heard. got the part. and
made her opera debut on December
IL, 1913. For the next twenty years
she never left Scandinavia but she
sang almost incessantly. In a little
black book she has kept neat record
of her roles; thirty nine in grand opera,
thirty in operettas and comic opera.
Occasionally she combined the sub
lime with the ridiculous: as she did
when she sang Il Love You, Love
You, Love You" partly in English,
partly in Norwegian at the town
casino during the first part of the
evening; and Beethoven's Ninth
Symphony with the Oslo Philhar-
monic during the latter part - chang
ing her costume in the cab as she
dashed across town.
1t all promised to be a fantastic
way to prepare for becoming the
worlds greatest Isolde; but it
worked that. and the quiet, serene
years. In 1929 Otto Kahn heard
Flagstad sing "Tosca' in Oslo and
suggested chat Eric SIMON foreign
representative for the Metropolitan,
get in touch with her. MIR. Simon
wrote. but Flagstad does not like to
write letters and her German is bad.
She did not answer for several months.
She was, too. newly engaged to Henry
Johansen. They had met at a party
at his house given after a performance
of Aida" (he is patron of the Oslo
Opera and for the first time in her
life she danced all night The next
day they had dinner together. The
third, they were engaged. She was
happy. and did not want to leave
home.
In 1888, however. she went to
Bayreuth; and in 1884 Eric Simon
heard her there. singing "Sieglinde,"
and suggested that she go down to
St. MOritz to sing for Gatti Casazza
and Arturo Bodanzky. She had just
finished season. They heard her in a
hotel room hung with heavy velvet
drapes. Her voice had had no oppor-
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