MADAME ELSA STRALIA

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 59, 7 September 1945, Page 10

MADAME ELSA STRALIA

DEATH !-N MELBOURNE

The . death has occurred in Melbourne of Madame Elsa Stralia. the well-known Australian singer. Madame Stralia, who in private life was Mrs. A. T. Christensen, spent 25 years of her career abroad and was associated with many celebrities. Among them was the famous American singer, Richard Crooks, who made his debut at the New York Metropolitan Opera, Madame Stralia appearing in the same programme. Daughter of a baritone, Hugo Fischer, Madame Stralia was born in Adelaide. After winning several Australian scholarships, she studied first in Milan and then in London, and appeared at Covent Garden in 1913 Later, she appeared at leading European opera houses. She toured Australia in 1925 and again ten years later. During a concert tour of New Zealand, Madame Stralia met Mr. A. T. Christensen. of Patea. to whom she was married later in Sydney. With her husband she returned to Auckland, where Mr. Christensen died. She lived in Auckland for about nine years, and returned to Australia last year. Her death, at 64, occurred after a long illness.