Hedvig Wigert

Who was Hedvig Wigert?

Hedvig Christina Wigert was a Swedish opera singer. She belonged to the famous pioneer group of performers of the Royal Swedish Opera.

Hedvig Falk belonged to the first group of singers hired at the foundation of the Royal Swedish Opera in Bollhuset in 1773. Just as the great Elisabeth Olin, she was by then a singer and well known for her musical talent, called: "one for her musical talent already well-known female", and Gustav III wanted her for the part of the goddess Doris in the opening grand opera Thetis och Pélée at the inauguration of the new Opera.

The employment of Wigert illustrates social and gender-related issues; there was an initial difficulty in getting female singers because the profession had a bad reputation, and Wigert also represents the fact that people from the upper-classes participated in the Opera project of the king; similar to the case of Elisabeth Olin, Wigert was a member of the upper-classes, and though she herself was willing to participate, her employment was delayed by the disapproval of "Two old powder-witches" in her family; eventually, she was given a contract which stipulated that she would be allowed to resign whenever her family wished her to, as long as she participated in the inauguration performance.