Birgitte Sigrid Frieda Engell (née Engel; 18 September 1882 – 28 July 1973) was a German-born Danish operatic soprano.
Early Life and Training
Born in Berlin, Germany, she was the daughter of German factory owner Herman Adolph Engel (1849–1927) and his Danish wife Wilhelmine Sophie Charlotte née Rasmussen (1857–1938). Raised in Denmark, she began voice training at age 16 under Hungarian soprano Etelka Gerstner in Berlin and later studied with Alfredo Cairati in Zurich.
Career
Engell made her stage debut in 1907 in Wiesbaden, performing the role of Gretel in Hansel and Gretel. In 1912, she was engaged by the Berlin State Opera, and the following year she appeared in the Berlin premiere of Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos. She remained in Berlin until 1920, performing a range of classical and modern coloratura roles.
From 1920, she began guest performances at the Royal Danish Theatre in Copenhagen, receiving a full engagement in 1927. Her most acclaimed roles included Rosina in The Barber of Seville, Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, Aase in Drot og Marsk, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier, and Mélisande in Pelléas et Mélisande.
After the First World War, she increasingly focused on concert recitals, performing in several European countries and in North America. Her New York debut in November 1920 was well received, with encores for her interpretations of Dagmar Rybner's "Pastoral" and Edvard Grieg's "Solveig's Song."
Personal Life
In 1911, she married German opera singer and voice teacher Hans Erwin Hey (1877–1943); the marriage was dissolved in 1926. In 1937, she married proprietor Aage Nicolaj Bønløkke Nikolajsen (1877–1962). In later life, she settled in Copenhagen, where she taught voice.
Death
Birgit Engell died in Grenå, Denmark, on 28 July 1973, at the age of 90, and is buried in Gentofte.
