Not currently on display at the V&A

Feliks Topolski Collection

Drawing
1948 (drawn)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Sketch in pencil and pen and ink by Feliks Topolski showing Kristen Flagstaad and August Seider in Tristan and Isolde at Covent Garden in 1948.

The opera singer Kristen Målfrid Flagstaad (1895-1962) was a Norwegian opera singer whose dramatic soprano voice proved particularly suited to the Wagnerian roles for which she became famous. This production of Tristan and Isolde was part of a series of performances which Flagstaad gave in four consecutive seasons at Covent Garden from 1948 to 1952. During this period Flagstad repeated all her best known Wagnerian roles, including Sieglinde in Die Walküre, (the role which she had sung when making her sensational American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1935).


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleFeliks Topolski Collection (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Felt pen and pencil on paper
Brief description
Sketch in pen and ink and pencil by Feliks Topolski showing Kristen Flagstaad and and August Seider in Tristan and Isolde at Covent Garden in 1948.
Physical description
Rough Sketch in pen and ink with pencil highlights on cream paper. It shows Kirsten Flagstaad and August Seider in Tristan and Isolde, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1948. Two figures in the foregroung are shown on the stage. All figures are dressed in their stage costumes, with details of armour and fabric indicated by swirls of ink.
Dimensions
  • Height: 25.5cm
  • Width: 35.2cm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
  • ''Tristan and Isolde' at the Covent Garden / Feliks Topolski' (Handwritten annotation in pencil along the right edge. His signature is in blue pen.)
  • 'Kristen Flagstaad' (Handwritten annotation on the base of sketch.)
Credit line
Given by the artist
Subject depicted
Literary referenceTristan and Isolde
Summary
Sketch in pencil and pen and ink by Feliks Topolski showing Kristen Flagstaad and August Seider in Tristan and Isolde at Covent Garden in 1948.

The opera singer Kristen Målfrid Flagstaad (1895-1962) was a Norwegian opera singer whose dramatic soprano voice proved particularly suited to the Wagnerian roles for which she became famous. This production of Tristan and Isolde was part of a series of performances which Flagstaad gave in four consecutive seasons at Covent Garden from 1948 to 1952. During this period Flagstad repeated all her best known Wagnerian roles, including Sieglinde in Die Walküre, (the role which she had sung when making her sensational American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1935).
Other number
75A - Creator's reference no.
Collection
Accession number
S.149-1979

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Record createdJanuary 11, 2011
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