The Kirsten Flagstad Memorial Collection

Abstract

THE Kirsten Flagstad Memorial Collection, established in the library of the California Historical Society in 1964 as a part of one of the largest California theater collections in the State, not only records the career of one of the foremost singers of all time but also reflects the momentous span of history in which she was so inextricably involved. Mme. Flagstad's career covered a period of 40 years, from December 12, 1913 (in the role of Nuri in Tiefland), to her farewell concert (with the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra) on December 12, 1953 (on both occasions in the National Theater, Oslo). During her long career she appeared often in recital throughout California and in performances of opera in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sacramento. She was scheduled to sing for the first time with the San Francisco Opera Company on Monday night, November 4, 1935; and on Sunday afternoon, November 3, she wrote, . . . am very happy to be here. think it is a marvelous place. And in i960 she wrote to another young friend, I nearly envy you the sights of San Francisco, my favorite city in the U.S.A. Her friendships in California were deep and lasting and, combined with her career in that State, have provided an intimate documentation of unique personal achievement. She was history's child, sometimes joyously but often to her utter dismay and bewilderment, particularly from the day of her debut at the Metropolitan Opera on February 2, 1935, during the Great Depression. She was thenceforth in a spotlight of sustained, fantastic intensity until her death, which made headlines 9 years after her formal farewell as a singer and 7 years after her last public appearance in the United States. The nucleus of the collection was furnished by Mrs. Milton H. Esberg, Sr., of San Francisco, whose friendship with Flagstad began in 1935 and ended only with the singer's death on December 7, 1962. The cofounder of the collection is a young native Californian, Prof. Samuel Draper, whose friendship was particularly precious to Mme. Flagstad in the last decade of her life.