Kirsten Målfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer and a highly regarded Wagnerian (dramatic) soprano. She ranks among the greatest singers of the 20th century; indeed, many opera critics called hers"the voice of the century." To quote Desmond Shawe-Taylor in New Grove Dictionary of Opera:"No one within living memory surpassed her in sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone."