Tenna Kraft

Hortensia (Tenna) Kristine Sofie Erogine Kraft née Frederiksen (1885–1954) was a Danish operatic soprano. One of the Royal Danish Theatre's outstanding sopranos in the early 20th century, she sang in operas by Wagner, Verdi, Puccini and Richard Strauss. She gained particular success in 1926 with the title role in Siegfried Salomon's Danish opera Leonora Christina which included the popular Der er tre hjørnestene.

Biography Born on 16 May 1885 in Copenhagen, Hortensia Kristine Sofie Erogine Frederiksen was the daughter of the house painter Christian Frederiksen (1859–1911) and Sophie Frederikke née Greisen (1859–1908). In 1927, she married the director of the Danish Petroleum Company Frederik Wilhelm Kraft (1879–1962).

Kraft photographed with Carl Nielsen, Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen, Nina Grieg, Frederik Schnedler-Petersen, Emil Telmanyi and Peter Cornelius in June 1925. Tenna Frederiksen made her début at the Royal Danish Theatre on 4 April 1906 taking the role of Elsa in Lohengrin. Thanks to her fine golden timbre and lyrical warmth, she became firmly established from the start, performing in a wide range of classical operas. Over the next 33 years, she played most of the well-known leading roles, including those in Tosca and La traviata, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin, Desdemona in Otello and Elisabeth in Tannhäuser. She was particularly popular in Danish works such as Peter Heise's Drot og marsk and Siegfried Salomon's highly acclaimed Leonora Christina which was specially written for her.

Awards In 1914, she was honoured by King Christian X as a Kongelig kammersangerinde or Royal Chamber Singer while in 1922 she received the Ingenio et Arti. In 1932, she was awarded the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat, an honour reserved for outstanding women.