Söderström, Elisabeth (1927– )

Swedish soprano. She studied in Stockholm, making her debut there in 1947 as Bastienne. She appeared at Glyndebourne from 1957, as the Composer, Octavian, Christine, and Leonore. From 1960 she sang in London, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, as the Countess, Fiordiligi, and Mélisande. Between 1959 and 1964 she sang in New York, at the Metropolitan Opera House, where she made her debut as Susanna. Her Janáček roles included Jenůfa and Emilia Marty. She was noted for her warmth of voice and appealing stage presence. She sang in the first performance of Argento's The Aspern Papers (Dallas 1988), and became the artistic director of the Drottningholm Court Theatre in 1993.