Elsie Mary (Fischer) Christensen (1881 - 1945)

Elsie (Fischer) Christensen is Notable.

Elsie (Fischer) Christensen was born in the Colony of South Australia (1836-1900)

Born Elsie Mary Fischer on 1st March 1881 in Adelaide, South Australia (Australia), Elsa Stralia, as she later became known, was the second child and older daughter of Johannes Hugo Fischer, a tobacconist, and Annie Christina Clausen. ^[1] Hugo was a well-known baritone and was secretary of the Adelaide Liedertafel. The family moved to Melbourne in 1889, where Elsie and her siblings were convent-educated.

After the death of her parents (in 1898 and 1901) Elsie auditioned at Marshall-Hall's conservatorium and was awarded two annual scholarships to study with Madame Elise Wiedermann (who would later also tutor Florence Austral). Completing her studies, Elsie travelled with the J C Williamson Comic Opera Co. to Sydney where she studied with Gustave Slapoffski.

Aged 27 years, Elsie married William Moses on 24th December 1908 in St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Sydney. ^[2]

Gustave Slapoffski was impressed by the 'unusual breadth, power and feeling' of her singing, and presented Elsie in 1909 at a concert of the Sydney Philharmonic Society.

Elsie and William travelled to Europe in 1910 where Elsie studied in Milan and London. Under her pseudonym, or stage name, Elsa Stralia (after Australia, like Florence Austral), she made her Covent Garden, London, debut as Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni in 1913. As well as appearing at Covent Garden, she toured Milan, Paris, South Africa and New York City. During the war years she took leading roles in Sir Thomas Beecham's opera seasons at Drury Lane's Theatre Royal, went with a concert party to South Africa, was soloist with the Royal Philharmonic Society and toured with Belgian 'Tsar of the Violin' Eugène-Auguste Ysaÿe, Russian-German pianist Vladimir de Pachmann and with English contralto (Dame) Clara Butt. Many of her appearances raised funds for the war effort. Two of her brothers were killed in action: Harold at Gallipoli in 1915 and Frank in France in 1918. Frank had managed to visit Elsie whilst he was attending a training course in England in 1917.

After the war Elsie continued her concert programme, toured South Africa, and a number of American cities, once singing The Star-Spangled Banner while dressed as the Statue of Liberty. She recorded for the Columbia Graphophone Company, and toured Australasia in 1925 and 1934.

Aged 53 years and divorcing William on the grounds of desertion, Elsie returned to Australia in 1935 to live. With the atmosphere in Europe being once more that of impending war, the move was probably timely. Elsie married Adolph Christensen on 14th November 1935 in St Stephen's Presbyterian Church, Sydney. ^[3] Elsie and Adolph lived in Patea, New Zealand until he died in 1942. She then moved to Victoria, where she passed away, aged 64 years, on 31st August 1945, childless, in Belgrave. Her remains were buried in Melbourne General Cemetery, Carlton. ^[4]

Elsa Stralia, or Elsie Christensen's, estate was used to establish a scholarship for young Australasian female singers. Elsie was remembered by Australian followers as 'simple, warm-hearted and sincere'.

Sources

1. ↑ South Australia Birth Index #256/176 1881
2. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #73/1909
3. ↑ New South Wales Marriage Index #16631/1935
4. ↑ Victoria Death Index #19899/1945; note her middle name is recorded as Maud

See also

• Langmore, Diane. 'Stralia, Elsa (1881–1945)'. Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published first in hardcopy 1990; accessed online 29 Jun 2018.
• Wikipedia profile: Elsa Stralia; accessed 29 Jun 2018.