Kerstin Thorborg

Kerstin Thorborg (19 May 1896 – 12 April 1970) was a Swedish mezzo-soprano opera singer. She was one of the best dramatic Wagnerian singers in the two decades between 1930 and 1950. By all accounts, Thorborg was a magnificent actor with great stage presence. In addition, she was endowed with a beautifully steady and intense tone.

Birth and Death Data: Born Mora (city in Mora Municipality, Sweden), Died April 12, 1970 (Hedemora (urban area in Hedemora Municipality, Sweden) )

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1936 - 1945

Roles Represented in DAHR: contralto, mezzo-soprano

Notes: Sources variously list Kerstin Thorborg's vocal range as mezzo-soprano and alto.

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 1-25 of 43 records)

Company	Matrix No.	Size	First Recording Date	Title	Primary Performer	Description	Role
Victor	CS-018845	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-018846	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-018847	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-018848	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-018849	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-018850	12-in.	2/6/1938	Symphony no. 9, in D minor	NBC Symphony Orchestra ; Arturo Toscanini	Orchestra, vocal soloists, and vocal chorus	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048476	12-in.	3/29/1940	Die Allmacht	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048859	12-in.	5/8/1940	Erdas Warnung - Weiche, Wotan, weiche! (from Das Rheingold)	Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Dr. Karl Reidel ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048860	12-in.	5/8/1940	Waltrautes Erzählung, part 1 (from Die Götterdämmerung, act I)	Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Dr. Karl Reidel ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048861	12-in.	5/8/1940	Waltrautes Erzählung, concluded (from Die Götterdämmerung, act I)	Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Dr. Karl Reidel ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048862	12-in.	5/8/1940	Brangänes Warnung (from Tristan und Isolde, act II)	Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Dr. Karl Reidel ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-048863	12-in.	5/8/1940	Geliebter! Komm' Sieh dort dort (from Tannhäuser)	Metropolitan Opera Orchestra ; Dr. Karl Reidel ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-050311	12-in.	5/25/1940	Herzeleide : Ich sah das Kind (from Parsifal, act II)	Karl Riedel ; Kerstin Thorborg ; Victor Symphony Orchestra	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra.	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-050312	12-in.	5/25/1940	Die Walküre, act II	Karl Riedel ; Kerstin Thorborg ; Victor Symphony Orchestra	Contralto vocal solo, with orchestra.	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051837	10-in.	7/10/1940	Paysage	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051838	10-in.	7/10/1940	Si mes vers avaient des ailes	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051839	10-in.	7/10/1940	The virgin's slumber song	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051840	10-in.	7/10/1940	Lenz	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051861	10-in.	7/15/1940	Die Allmacht, part 1	Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051862	10-in.	7/15/1940	Die Allmacht, part 2	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-051864	10-in.	7/15/1940	Swedish lullaby (Sov i sommarsus)	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-057008	12-in.	10/18/1940	Mignon (Kennst du das Land)	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-057009	12-in.	10/18/1940	Mignon (Kennst du das Land)	Leo Rosenek ; Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	CS-057010	12-in.	10/18/1940	Halswing	Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto
Victor	BS-057011	10-in.	10/18/1940	Den forsta kyssen	Kerstin Thorborg	Contralto vocal solo, with piano	vocalist, contralto

(Results 1-25 of 43 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Thorborg, Kerstin," accessed December 25, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103215.

Thorborg, Kerstin. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 25, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103215.

"Thorborg, Kerstin." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 25 December 2025.

Fast: https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1449074 - https://id.worldcat.org/fast/1449074

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.