Beatrice Gjertsen Bessesen

Beatrice Gjertsen Bessesen (1886 – September 7, 1935) was an American operatic soprano. She was the president of the Twin City Music and Dramatic Club. Bessesen sang with the St. Olaf Choir and toured with it in Norway. She made successful concert tours in the U.S. and Europe, appearing with various European opera companies. She sang in practically all the leading centers of Europe, and was the prima donna in many big operas. She was a strong factor in developing cultural and artistic appreciation among Norwegian Minnesotans. She is the namesake of the Bessesen Building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places listings in Minnesota.

Early life and education Beatrice Gjertsen was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1886. She studied voice culture with Anna Smith-Behrens. After graduating from the University of Minnesota, she was sent abroad where she studied with the Wagnerian soprano Mathilde Mallinger (1847–1920) in Berlin and Aglaja Orgeni in Dresden. She returned to the U.S. in 1917, just before the start of World War I. The theater was used during the season as a movie house, with certain times reserved for concerts and public recitals of the pupils of the school.

In 1931, the Park-Stanford Conservatory in Minneapolis was under Bessesen's direction.

Personal life

She married Dr. William A. Bessessen of Albert Lea, Minnesota, January 4, 1915 at the Odin Club, Minneapolis, which was founded by her father. She had six children: Her personal papers are held by the Minnesota Historical Society.