Julie Berwald
Julie Mathilda Berwald was a Swedish concert and opera singer.
Julie Berwald was born to the concert singer Mathilda Berwald and the musician Johan Fredrik Berwald. She and her sisters Fredrique and :sv:Hedvig Eleonora Berwald|Hedvig Eleonora were trained as singers by their mother, and performed with her at their fathers public concerts. They toured as concert singers in Finland, Copenhagen and Berlin. The three siblings were a popular singing trio.
Between 1847 and 1852, she was engaged as an opera singer at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm; from 1848 contracted as a 'Premier Actress'. During her years at the Opera, she became one of the greatest stars of the Swedish opera. In 1851, she also performed in Copenhagen to great acclaim.
Nils Arfwidsson said about her:
In 1852, she married Baron Georg Gustaf Knut Åkerhielm and retired from the stage. Her marriage met with no resistance from the nobility, indicating a change in attitude towards singers and actresses, who were long looked down upon socially.
Julie Berwald was elected to the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, as member no. 337 on 16 December 1853.
