John Forsell

He also sang leading roles as a guest artist with opera companies internationally, drawing particular acclaim for his portrayal of the title character in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Don Giovanni.

He sang in several world premieres with the company, including Wilhelm Stenhammar's Tirfing (1898) and Andreas Hallén's Valdemarskatten (1899, the title role of Valdemar IV of Denmark).

In 1909-1910 he appeared at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City, performing such parts as Tonio in Pagliacci, Amfortas in Parsifal, Figaro in The Barber of Seville, Telramund in Lohengrin, Germont in La traviata and Yeletsky in the United States premiere of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades.

He sang the part numerous times, including during the 1909 season at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London, and at the 1930 Salzburg Festival.

His pupils included Joel Berglund, Jussi Björling, Helga Görlin, Magna Lykseth-Scherfven, Aksel Schiøtz, Hjördis Schymberg, Set Svanholm, and Inez Wassner.

When discussing Forsell's impressive legacy on disc, the British audio restoration engineer Keith Hardwick has this to say: "His voice was a dark, warm, expressive baritone, very well produced and equalized.