Johanna von Schoultz

Johanna Carolina Ulrika von Schoultz (Stockholm, 1813 – Helsinki, 28 February 1863), was a Finnish-Swedish opera singer. She was a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music from 1831. She is counted as the second female Scandinavian opera singer, after Justina Casagli, to have performed in Southern Europe.

Biography

She was the daughter of Nils Fredrik von Schoultz, governor in Vaasa, and Johanna Henrietta Gripenberg. She was a student of Karl Magnus Craelius, and debuted on a church concert in Stockholm in 1828. She performed in Milan, Naples and many of the most famous stages of Italy. In 1833, she made her debut at the Italian Opera in Paris opposite Giulia Grisi, where she made a success. However, due to health problems her active career as a singer was relatively short, only about a decade. After marrying Felix Brand, a wealthy civil engineer, she returned to Finland in the 1840s and settled in the town of Hämeenlinna, where she continued to work with music as a teacher of singing and piano, and as a chorus leader.