LIFE STORY
Eva Nansen, 1889
(1858-1907)
Eva Nansen was the wife of the famous explorer Fridtjof Nansen (best known for his daring polar exploration on the Fram) as well as a very independent, talented and famous woman in her own right. She was the last born child (born in 1858) in the large Sars household—Eva was actually the 21st child! Yes, her parents were extremely productive and both were very bright. Eva’s father was Michael Sars of Christiania University (later this became the University of Oslo). He was a minister and zoology professor. Her mother was interested in the arts and was the sister of a famous Norwegian poet, Welhaven. The Sars household was a busy and intellectually stimulating one producing at least three famous Norwegians--Eva, the famous opera singer, her brother Ernst, the historian, and her brother Ossian, the oceanographer.
In Christiania (later Oslo), where Eva was born, her mother was the hostess of an artistic salon. It is possible that this inspired Eva's musical tastes and that the connections made in that salon furthered her career. She was an independent woman who knew what she wanted and at age 28, in 1886, she left for Berlin to study opera with a contemporary of Tchaikovsky. Edvard Grieg knew Eva and she performed his music wonderfully. Her operatic voice was very beautiful and expressive.
For an opera singer, Eva was relatively short and very athletic. Not only did she love the outdoors, but she also was very daring and unconventional. The new winter sport of skiing (both mountain and cross country) caught her attention. Eva became a pioneer in this daring sport and was one of the first Norwegian women to take it up. She was a smart and practical woman and realized the need for woman to stop wearing only dresses while practicing the sport. Thus she became the first woman in Norway to wear "trousers" while skiing!
It is thought that her athletic ability help foster the relationship with another ski pioneer, Fridtjof Nansen. The two then famous Norwegians (he the famous explorer and she the up and coming famous opera singer) got married in the autumn of 1889 and were a very "modern" couple, both continuing their individual vocations after their marriage. Eva not only continued to sing in operas at home and in other parts of Europe and Scandinavia but she also gave lessons when at home. Their first child was born at the end of 1892 and within 6 months Fridtjof Nansen departed for his three year trip to the North Pole. During this and his subsequent trips, Eva was a working mother of up to three children, mostly raising her children alone as her husband was gone for years on end. However, it was not until November, 1899 that she gave her parting concert! Shortly thereafter (in 1901) at age 43, she gave birth to her fourth child in the Nansen's beloved and remote mountain cabin, near Sørkjebu (Sørkje). Their last child was born in 1903 when she was 45 years old! Between motherhood and being a national hero’s wife she had little time to spend singing on stage. In order to keep up with the musical world, she hosted musical soirees and occasionally would give an informal recital at these events.
Fridtjof Nansen’s exploration dreams ended as 1905 approached when his countrymen called upon him to serve them. Nansen was instrumental in helping Norway peacefully dissolve its union with Sweden. With Eva’s aid, Fridtjof also helped secure a new king for Norway. As a reward for his hard work he was made the first Norwegian ambassador to England and resided in London. During one of Eva’s stays in London visiting Fridtjof, someone convinced her to give another concert. In 1907, she came out of her retirement for a final and well received performance in London. Even at age 49, she sounded wonderful! Not long afterwards that same year, Eva suddenly died. Fridtjof olf Nansen was now a widower with five relatively young children to raise: Liv (ca. age 14); Kåre (ca. age 10); Irmelin (ca. age 7); Odd (ca. age 6) and Åsmund (ca. age 4).