Inga Nielsen
Encyclopedia
Inga Nielsen was a Danish soprano
who had an active international opera
career from 1971 to 2006. A child prodigy
, Nielsen performed on American radio during the 1950s, beginning at the age of six, and also released some commercial recordings of Danish folk songs and Christmas carols as a child. She began her opera career performing parts in the lyric soprano
repertory and then became an admired singer of dramatic soprano
roles, beginning in the late 1980s. She was a particularly renowned interpreter of the roles of Konstanze in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
and the title role in Richard Strauss
's Salome
. She excelled in portraying some of the more rarely heard and demanding dramatic soprano roles such as the woman in Arnold Schoenberg
's Erwartung
, Ursula in Mathis der Maler
and Jenny in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
.
, Denmark to a Danish father and an Austrian mother. Her father was a professor of languages and a skilled amateur pianist. At the age of three Nielsen moved with her family to the state of Iowa
in the United States. At a very early age Nielsen displayed a prodigious musical talent and began honing her skills performing Danish songs in her father's classes at the age of four. Nielsen stated in a 2002 interview that, "My father toured as an educationalist. He taught about Denmark. I'd come on in a Danish folk dress and sing Danish songs in Danish classes." By the time she was six years old she was singing on the radio
and a number of childhood recordings from as early as 1952 exist with Nielsen singing folk songs accompanied by her father. Her first full album recording was made at the age of 9 with Columbia Records
(recently reissued on Chandos) and consisted of Danish folksongs and Christmas carols.
In 1953, at the age of seven, Nielsen met the Austrian soprano Hilde Güden while she was on tour in Iowa. Nielsen's father asked Güden for advice on "what to do with this child" and, after hearing Nielsen sing, advised her to pursue a professional singing career. A number of years later, after the Nielsens had moved back to Europe, Inga enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music. During this time Güden arranged for Nielsen to study with her own teacher in Stuttgart
. However, Nielsen was not satisfied with her studies in Austria and Germany and she ultimately completed her studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
in Budapest
under Jenö Sipos under the recommendation of Hungarian contralto
Julia Hamari
.
's Der Bettelstudent
at the opera house in Gelsenkirchen
in 1971. She spent the next four years of her career performing roles from the soubrette
repertoire in opera houses throughout Germany
and Switzerland
. In 1975 Nielsen joined the roster of principal sopranos at the Frankfurt Opera where she sang regularly through 1980.
In 1980 Nielsen decided to leave Frankfurt and become a freelance artist. She made her United States debut that year at the New York City Opera
(NYCO) as Adele in Die Fledermaus
. She returned to that company the following year to sing Micaela in Bizet
's Carmen
. Nielsen's experiences singing at the NYCO convinced her that she had the potential to take on larger roles. The poor acoustics and the large size of the David H. Koch Theater led Nielsen to try pushing her voice beyond her normal practice. In doing so she found that she was able to fill the house without losing pitch or beauty of timbre
. She spent the next decade working on expanding the size of her voice and gradually began working in heavier roles into her performance repertoire.
Nielsen became a major presence at the worlds best opera houses during the 1980s and 1990s. She was a regular guest performer at the Vienna State Opera
, Milan's La Scala
; the Royal Opera
, Covent Garden; and also the opera houses of Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Barcelona as well as New York, Buenos Aires, Florence and Bologna. She sang at many important music festivals, including the Salzburg Festival
, Aix-en-Provence Festival
, Edinburgh Festival
, and Mostly Mozart Festival among others. In 1983 she portrayed the role of Minette in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze
's The English Cat
at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen
; a role which she repeated at the Santa Fe Opera
in 1985. Her first major critical success on the international stage was as Mozart's Konstanze
at the Salzburg Festival (1987, 1989) and at Covent Garden (1988), both led by Georg Solti
.
Throughout the 1990s, Nielsen continued to assume new roles that required more from her musically and dramatically. The role of Strauss's Salome, which she first performed at the Zurich Opera
in 1993, became one of her signature roles. She recorded the role of Salome for Chandos in 1999. Opera News
said that this recording "preserves her singular combination of youthful, silvery timbre and visceral dramatic power". Other important successes for Nielsen during the 1990s and afterwards included Ursula in Peter Sellars
's Covent Garden staging of Hindemith
's Mathis der Maler (1995); Agathe in Der Freischütz
at Zurich (1999); Jenny in Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in Hamburg (2000); the Woman in Schoenberg's Erwartung in Cincinnati and London (2001–02); and the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten
in Los Angeles (2004).
In her home country Nielsen was awarded the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat
in 1984 and appointed Knight of Dannebrog
by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
in 1992. She was particularly admired in Denmark for two outdoor concerts in Copenhagen with Plácido Domingo
in 1993 and had the honor of singing for the opening ceremony for the city's Storebaelt Bridge
in 1998. She taught as a guest professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus
and gave masterclasses at numerous conservatories and institutions internationally. Although she gave a farewell concert celebrating her 35 years in the profession in 2006 at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, she was scheduled to return to the opera stage in February and March 2008 in Elektra
in Venice and Die Frau ohne Schatten in Düsseldorf at the time of her death.
Nielsen was married for many years to leading American bass-baritone Robert Hale
, a union which ultimately ended in divorce in 2005. Inga Nielsen died at the Gentofte hospital in Copenhagen
of a stroke
, following a battle with cancer
in 2008. She was 61.
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had an active international opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
career from 1971 to 2006. A child prodigy
Child prodigy
A child prodigy is someone who, at an early age, masters one or more skills far beyond his or her level of maturity. One criterion for classifying prodigies is: a prodigy is a child, typically younger than 18 years old, who is performing at the level of a highly trained adult in a very demanding...
, Nielsen performed on American radio during the 1950s, beginning at the age of six, and also released some commercial recordings of Danish folk songs and Christmas carols as a child. She began her opera career performing parts in the lyric soprano
Lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre which can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and other sympathetic characters in opera. Lyric sopranos have...
repertory and then became an admired singer of dramatic soprano
Dramatic soprano
A dramatic soprano is an operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually mean less agility than lighter voices but a sustained, fuller sound. Usually this voice has a lower tessitura than...
roles, beginning in the late 1980s. She was a particularly renowned interpreter of the roles of Konstanze in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
and the title role in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
's Salome
Salome (opera)
Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde. Strauss dedicated the opera to his friend Sir Edgar Speyer....
. She excelled in portraying some of the more rarely heard and demanding dramatic soprano roles such as the woman in Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
's Erwartung
Erwartung
Erwartung , Op.17 is a one-act opera by Arnold Schoenberg to a libretto by Marie Pappenheim. Composed in 1909, it was not premiered until June 6, 1924 in Prague conducted by Alexander Zemlinsky with Marie Gutheil-Schoder as the soprano. The work takes the unusual form of a monologue for solo...
, Ursula in Mathis der Maler
Mathis der Maler (opera)
Mathis der Maler is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The libretto is also by the composer.The opera's genesis lay in Hindemith's interest in the Protestant Reformation...
and Jenny in Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed in Leipzig on 9 March 1930.-Composition history:...
.
Early life and education
Inga Nielsen was born in HolbækHolbæk
Holbæk is a town in Denmark and the seat of Holbæk municipality with a population of 27,055 . The city is located in the northeastern part of Region Sjælland, Denmark....
, Denmark to a Danish father and an Austrian mother. Her father was a professor of languages and a skilled amateur pianist. At the age of three Nielsen moved with her family to the state of Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
in the United States. At a very early age Nielsen displayed a prodigious musical talent and began honing her skills performing Danish songs in her father's classes at the age of four. Nielsen stated in a 2002 interview that, "My father toured as an educationalist. He taught about Denmark. I'd come on in a Danish folk dress and sing Danish songs in Danish classes." By the time she was six years old she was singing on the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and a number of childhood recordings from as early as 1952 exist with Nielsen singing folk songs accompanied by her father. Her first full album recording was made at the age of 9 with Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
(recently reissued on Chandos) and consisted of Danish folksongs and Christmas carols.
In 1953, at the age of seven, Nielsen met the Austrian soprano Hilde Güden while she was on tour in Iowa. Nielsen's father asked Güden for advice on "what to do with this child" and, after hearing Nielsen sing, advised her to pursue a professional singing career. A number of years later, after the Nielsens had moved back to Europe, Inga enrolled at the Vienna Academy of Music. During this time Güden arranged for Nielsen to study with her own teacher in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
. However, Nielsen was not satisfied with her studies in Austria and Germany and she ultimately completed her studies at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
under Jenö Sipos under the recommendation of Hungarian contralto
Contralto
Contralto is the deepest female classical singing voice, with the lowest tessitura, falling between tenor and mezzo-soprano. It typically ranges between the F below middle C to the second G above middle C , although at the extremes some voices can reach the E below middle C or the second B above...
Julia Hamari
Julia Hamari
Julia Hamari, originally Hamari Júlia , is a Hungarian mezzo-soprano and alto singer in opera and concert, appearing internationally. She is an academic voice teacher in Stuttgart.- Professional career :...
.
Career
After finishing her studies, Nielsen made her professional opera debut as Laura in Karl MillöckerKarl Millöcker
Carl Joseph Millöcker , was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor.He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, he began to compose operettas...
's Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on Les noces de Fernande by Victorien Sardou and The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton...
at the opera house in Gelsenkirchen
Musiktheater im Revier
Musiktheater im Revier is the venue for performing opera, operetta, musical theatre and ballet in Gelsenkirchen, Germany...
in 1971. She spent the next four years of her career performing roles from the soubrette
Soubrette
A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
repertoire in opera houses throughout Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In 1975 Nielsen joined the roster of principal sopranos at the Frankfurt Opera where she sang regularly through 1980.
In 1980 Nielsen decided to leave Frankfurt and become a freelance artist. She made her United States debut that year at the New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
(NYCO) as Adele in Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
. She returned to that company the following year to sing Micaela in Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. Nielsen's experiences singing at the NYCO convinced her that she had the potential to take on larger roles. The poor acoustics and the large size of the David H. Koch Theater led Nielsen to try pushing her voice beyond her normal practice. In doing so she found that she was able to fill the house without losing pitch or beauty of timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
. She spent the next decade working on expanding the size of her voice and gradually began working in heavier roles into her performance repertoire.
Nielsen became a major presence at the worlds best opera houses during the 1980s and 1990s. She was a regular guest performer at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, Milan's La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
; the Royal Opera
Royal Opera, London
The Royal Opera is an opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Covent Garden Opera Company, it was known by that title until 1968...
, Covent Garden; and also the opera houses of Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, Paris, Zurich, Barcelona as well as New York, Buenos Aires, Florence and Bologna. She sang at many important music festivals, including the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
, Aix-en-Provence Festival
Aix-en-Provence Festival
The festival international d'art lyrique is an annual international music festival which takes place each summer in Aix-en-Provence, principally in the month of July. Devoted mainly to opera, it also includes concerts of orchestral, chamber, vocal and solo instrumental music.-Establishment:The...
, Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, and Mostly Mozart Festival among others. In 1983 she portrayed the role of Minette in the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze
Hans Werner Henze is a German composer of prodigious output best known for "his consistent cultivation of music for the theatre throughout his life"...
's The English Cat
The English Cat
The English Cat is an opera in two acts by Hans Werner Henze to an English libretto by Edward Bond, based on Les peines de coeur d'une chatte anglaise by Honoré de Balzac...
at the Schlosstheater Schwetzingen
Schlosstheater Schwetzingen
Schlosstheater Schwetzingen is a theater in Schwetzingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The historic building, opened in 1753, is part of the Schwetzingen Castle and since 1952 the principal venue of the Schwetzingen Festival. It is also called Hoftheater , Hofoper , and Comoedienhaus...
; a role which she repeated at the Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Opera
The Santa Fe Opera is an American opera company, located north of Santa Fe in the U.S. state of New Mexico, headquartered on a former guest ranch of .-General history:...
in 1985. Her first major critical success on the international stage was as Mozart's Konstanze
Die Entführung aus dem Serail
Die Entführung aus dem Serail is an opera Singspiel in three acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The German libretto is by Christoph Friedrich Bretzner with adaptations by Gottlieb Stephanie...
at the Salzburg Festival (1987, 1989) and at Covent Garden (1988), both led by Georg Solti
Georg Solti
Sir Georg Solti, KBE, was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He was a major classical recording artist, holding the record for having received the most Grammy Awards, having personally won 31 as a conductor, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to his...
.
Throughout the 1990s, Nielsen continued to assume new roles that required more from her musically and dramatically. The role of Strauss's Salome, which she first performed at the Zurich Opera
Zurich Opera
Oper Zürich is an opera company based in Zurich, Switzerland. The company gives performances in the Opernhaus Zürich which has been the company’s home for fifty years.-History:...
in 1993, became one of her signature roles. She recorded the role of Salome for Chandos in 1999. Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
said that this recording "preserves her singular combination of youthful, silvery timbre and visceral dramatic power". Other important successes for Nielsen during the 1990s and afterwards included Ursula in Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars
Peter Sellars is an American theatre director, noted for his unique contemporary stagings of classical and contemporary operas and plays...
's Covent Garden staging of Hindemith
Paul Hindemith
Paul Hindemith was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor.- Biography :Born in Hanau, near Frankfurt, Hindemith was taught the violin as a child...
's Mathis der Maler (1995); Agathe in Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
at Zurich (1999); Jenny in Weill's Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny in Hamburg (2000); the Woman in Schoenberg's Erwartung in Cincinnati and London (2001–02); and the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917...
in Los Angeles (2004).
In her home country Nielsen was awarded the Tagea Brandt Rejselegat
Tagea Brandt Rejselegat
The Tagea Brandt Rejselegat is awarded annually, on the 17 March.The scholarship was created and endowed by Danish industrialist Vilhelm Brandt in honor of his wife, Tagea...
in 1984 and appointed Knight of Dannebrog
Order of the Dannebrog
The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. It resulted from a move in 1660 to break the absolutism of the nobility. The Order was only to comprise 50 noble Knights in one class plus the Master of the Order, i.e. the Danish monarch, and his sons...
by Queen Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II of Denmark
Margrethe II is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of Denmark. In 1972 she became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375-1412 during the Kalmar Union.-Early life:...
in 1992. She was particularly admired in Denmark for two outdoor concerts in Copenhagen with Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo
Plácido Domingo KBE , born José Plácido Domingo Embil, is a Spanish tenor and conductor known for his versatile and strong voice, possessing a ringing and dramatic tone throughout its range...
in 1993 and had the honor of singing for the opening ceremony for the city's Storebaelt Bridge
Great Belt Fixed Link
The Great Belt Fixed Link is the fixed link between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen across the Great Belt. It consists of a road suspension bridge and railway tunnel between Zealand and the island Sprogø, as well as a box girder bridge between Sprogø and Funen...
in 1998. She taught as a guest professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus
Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus
The Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Denmark, is a conservatoire under the auspices of the Danish Ministry of Culture...
and gave masterclasses at numerous conservatories and institutions internationally. Although she gave a farewell concert celebrating her 35 years in the profession in 2006 at the Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, she was scheduled to return to the opera stage in February and March 2008 in Elektra
Elektra (opera)
Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, which he adapted from his 1903 drama Elektra. The opera was the first of many collaborations between Strauss and Hofmannsthal...
in Venice and Die Frau ohne Schatten in Düsseldorf at the time of her death.
Nielsen was married for many years to leading American bass-baritone Robert Hale
Robert Hale (bass-baritone)
Robert Hale is an American bass-baritone opera singer. Although born in Texas, Hale spent his childhood in Louisiana. When his family moved to Oklahoma City, he attended high school and college there and completed his master's degree at the University of Oklahoma...
, a union which ultimately ended in divorce in 2005. Inga Nielsen died at the Gentofte hospital in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
of a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, following a battle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 2008. She was 61.