The opera talent
“Here lies one of those rare talents,” as her obituary put it at the time. A young woman who sang her way into the hearts of many. Signe Juell Smedal was expected to have a brilliant career as a singer.
Signe Juell Smedal
“Here lies one of those rare talents,” as her obituary put it at the time. A young woman who sang her way into the hearts of many. Signe Juell Smedal was expected to have a brilliant career as a singer.
Newspapers of the day reported that she began performing at the age of 17. She later sang alongside well-known opera singers, including at Nidaros Cathedral. Her formal debut, however, took place in Kristiania on 12 March 1920. The reviews were full of praise, describing her voice as a bright soprano of pure tone.
The firstborn child of Gudrun Birgitte Juell Schjødt and Olaf Smedal, who came from Southern Norway, appeared destined for the opera stage. The talented young woman also gave singing lessons herself.
But then she was struck by the most common cause of death at the time: the infectious disease tuberculosis, which most often affects the lungs. Without treatment, the disease has a high mortality rate. Although Signe was a privileged young woman, born into a well-established family at Singsaker, the revolutionary drug penicillin had not yet been discovered.
Young Signe lay ill for seven months. On 30 August 1921, it was over. Signe Juell Smedal, aged 23, is buried in the family grave at Tilfredshet Cemetery in Trondheim. Her father, a barrister, her mother and Signe’s four siblings are also buried there.
As her obituary stated in 1921:
“Here lies one of those rare talents, one of those whom everyone believed destined for a brilliant future.”