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Margit Ingeborg Rosengren

1901-03-171952-03-23

Actor, operetta singer

Margit Rosengren was an operetta singer and an actor who was active during the first half of the twentieth century.

Margit Rosengren was the daughter of wholesale merchant Hugo Rosengren and his wife Thérèse. She was born in Stockholm in 1901. Margit Rosengren had two siblings, a brother named Kurt and a sister – who later also became an actor – named Birgit Rosengren. Given the family’s artistic traits it is unsurprising that Margit Rosengren decided to become an actor. Her maternal grandfather, August Hallner, not only owned Hamburger Börs restaurant, but was also a painter and an author. Her mother had been a singer at Svenska teatern and originally intended to continue working as an opera singer but had instead got married and thus had to give up on her dream career. Although Margit Rosengren developed a taste for the theatre at an early stage she also loved to sing and so she resolutely developed her artistic talents. She took singing lessons from Zulamith Wellander-Svaneskog, Herman Brag, and Haldis Ingebjart. She also studied stage movement with Anna Behle and took elocution lessons and miming lessons with Sie Christiernsson and Karin Swanström.

Margit Rosengren was hired by Albert Ranft and made her stage debut at the age of 19 in 1920 when she performed as Pueblo the pageboy in Don Cesar at Oscarsteatern, where she worked from 1920–1925 and again from 1932–1935. She was employed at Vasateatern from 1926–1930, and at Odéonteatern from 1931–1932. She made guest appearances at various places, including Stora teatern in Gothenburg during the 1924–1925 period, at Kungliga Operan in Stockholm from 1939–1941, and on various stages in Norway, Denmark, and Finland. She also appeared at other stages such as Chinateatern, Cirkus, and Hippodromen, and further performed on theatrical tours throughout Sweden with Riksteatern, amongst others.

Margit Rosengren’s stage roles include Fiametta in Boccaccio in 1920 at Oscarsteatern, Mariza in Gräfin Mariza in 1924, 1925 and 1941 at Gothenburg’s Stora Teatern, at Oscarsteatern and at Kungliga Operan in Stockholm respectively, Fedora Palinska in The Circus Princess in 1926 at Vasateatern, Mimi in Adjö Mimi in 1927 at Vasateatern, Sylva Varescu in The Gipsy Princess in 1928 at Vasateatern and in 1940 at Kungliga Operan, Vera Lisaveta in Der Letzte Walzer in 1928 at Vasateatern, Rose Marie La Flamme in Rose-Marie in 1929 at Vasateatern, Anna in Hotell Stadt Lemberg in 1930 at Vasateatern, Viktoria in Viktorias husar in 1931 at Odéonteatern, the title role in Mozart in 1931 at Oscarsteatern, Prinsessan Laya/Susanne Provence in Die Blume von Hawaii in 1932 at Odéonteatern, Margot Bonvalet in The Desert Song in 1932 at Oscarsteatern, Daisy Darlington in Ball im Zavoy in 1934 at Oscarsteatern, Josepha Vogelhuber in Im Weissen Rössl in 1935 at Oscarsteatern, Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow 1939 at Kungliga Operan, Molly in Blåjackor in 1942 at Oscarsteatern, and Magnolia in Showboat in 1942 at Oscarsteatern, which became her final stage role. She also performed in revue shows put on by Ernst Rolf during the 1920s and those put on by Karl Gerhard in 1931. One of the songs she performed with Rolf was “I min blommiga blå krinolin” in Lyckolandsrevyn in 1924.

Margit Rosengren made her silver-screen debut in 1927 when she appeared in Gustaf Molander’s silent drama Matrimony. She appeared in three films in total: further to her debut film she also played lead roles in Kärlek måste vi ha in 1931 and Den farliga leken in 1933. Margit Rosengren also recorded her first album in 1921 and made a total of 10 records. From 1942 onwards heart trouble prevented her from continuing her career.

During the 1930s Margit Rosengren was the leading primadonna of the operetta world, taking over from Emma Meissner and Naima Wifstrand. She wrote her memoires, entitled Oförgätligt glada stunder and published in 1948. She established the RM order in 1951, a female order which dedicated to charitable work and which has, since 1956 onwards, awarded the Margit Rosengren stipend.

Margit Rosengren was married to Knut Jacobsson, a fashion director, from 1922–1929. Her second marriage was to Erik Zetterström (Kar de Mumma), a writer, and lasted from 1929–1943. From 1944 until his death she was married to the director Oscar Gustafsson.

Margit Rosengren died in Stockholm in 1952. She is buried at Norra begravningsplatsen (the Northern cemetery) in Solna.


Jennifer Vintkvist
(Translated by Alexia Grosjean)


Published 2021-02-24



You are welcome to cite this article but always provide the author’s name as follows:

Margit Ingeborg Rosengren, www.skbl.se/sv/artikel/MargitRosengren, Svenskt kvinnobiografiskt lexikon (article by Jennifer Vintkvist), retrieved 2024-03-28.




Other Names

    Married: Jacobsson, Zetterström, Rosengren-Gustafsson


Family Relationships

Civil Status: Married
  • Mother: Thérèse Rosengren, född Hallner
  • Father: Karl Herman Hugo Rosengren
  • Brother: Kurt Herman Hugo Rosengren
more ...


Education

  • Övrigt, Stockholm, Maria elementarskola
  • Flickskola, Stockholm, Högre allmänna läroverket för flickor på Södermalm
  • Yrkesutbildning, Stockholm: Privata sångstudier för Zulamith Wellander-Svaneskog, Herman Brag och Haldis Ingebjart
more ...


Activities

  • Profession: Skådespelare, operettsångare, bl a Oscarsteatern 1920–1925, 1932–1935, Vasateatern 1926–1930, Odéonteatern 1931–1932, Kungliga Operan 1939–1941
  • Profession: Skådespelare, operettsångare, Stora Teatern


Contacts

  • Mentor: Emma Meissner
  • Mentor: Naima Wifstrand
  • Colleague: Albert Ranft
more ...


Organisations

  • RM-orden
    Instiftare


Residences

  • Birthplace: Stockholm
  • Stockholm
  • Place of death: Stockholm


Sources

Literature
  • Dagens Nyheter, 1952-03-23

  • Ottoson, Elvin, Minns du det än-: ett avsnitt ur operettens historia, Fritzes bokförl., Stockholm, 1941

  • Rosengren, Margit, Oförgätligt glada stunder-: ett livs roman i få sekunder, Fritze, Stockholm, 1948

  • Svenska Dagbladet, 1952-03-23

Encyclopaedia
  • Bohman, Nils & Dahl, Torsten (red.), Svenska män och kvinnor: biografisk uppslagsbok, Bonnier, Stockholm, 1942-1955 (Hämtad 2021-02-24)

  • 'Margit Rosengren', Svensk filmdatabas (Hämtad 2021-02-24)

  • Nygren, Sven (red.), Svenskt biograf- och filmfolk i ord och bild: ett porträttgalleri med biografiska uppgifter över inom svenska biograf- och filmfacket verksamma personer, Biografiskt galleri, Stockholm, 1940

  • Sundström, Einar (red.), Svenska konstnärer inom teaterns, musikens och filmens värld, Mimer, Stockholm, 1943

  • Vem är det: svensk biografisk handbok. 1943, Norstedt, Stockholm, 1940

  • Wettergren, Erik & Lignell, Ivar (red.), Svensk scenkonst och film, Svensk Litteratur, Stockholm, 1937-1940



Further References

Uppslagsverk
  • Ericson, Uno & Engström, Klas (red.), Myggans nöjeslexikon: ett uppslagsverk om underhållning, Bra böcker, Höganäs, 1989-1993



Margit Rosengren, cirka 1940. Photo: Kerstin Bernhard (Nordiska museet, NMA.0094338)
Margit Rosengren, cirka 1940. Photo: Kerstin Bernhard (Nordiska museet, NMA.0094338)

Keywords

20th century Actors Singers