Sølvi Wang

Who was Sølvi Wang?

Sølvi Valborg Wang was a Norwegian singer, actress and comedian.

She was born in Bærum, Akershus, to the jazz musician Yngvar Wang and the singer Marie Gulbrandsen. Already at an early age she sang with her father's orchestra on the radio and in concert. She met Egil Monn-Iversen while in school, and in 1948 she joined his vocal group The Monn Keys. Wang debuted as a recording artist in 1950, in a duet with Arve Opsahl. Later she recorded solo albums, and was responsible for 18 releases in the years up until 1955. She combined her solo career with performances with The Monn Keys, which now also included the singers Nora Brockstedt and Per Asplin. In 1954 the group performed their first variety show, Over alle grenser, at Chat Noir in Oslo. She worked at Chat Noir in the years 1959 to 1963, then at Edderkoppen from 1963 to 1964, before moving to Det Norske Teatret.

In addition to making recordings and performing in variety shows, Wang also performed in musicals, on television and in movies. For 25 years she was the leading lady of Det Norske Teatret, where she played the lead roles in such musicals as West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, Annie Get Your Gun and The King and I. She also acted in musicals composed by her husband Monn-Iversen, most prominently among these Bør Børson Jr., based on a novel by Johan Falkberget. Among her many shows for television, That's Entertainment from 1966 gained her a measure of international attention when it won an award at the Montreux Comedy Festival. The award earned her a chance to perform at The Ed Sullivan Show, and to sing with Jack Parnell's orchestra at the London Palladium. Wang had the lead role in movies such as the 1964 comedy Pappa tar gull and the 1978 drama Hvem har bestemt?.