Wikipedia
Hulda may refer to:
- Hulda, an Icelandic poet
- Hulda an opera by César Franck
- Hulda, Israel, a kibbutz in Israel
- Huldah, a Biblical prophetess
- Hulda-Hrokkinskinna, an Icelandic manuscript
- Mother Hulda, a German folk tale
- Holda, a character in Germanic folklore
- Hulda (given name)
Unnur Benediktsdóttir Bjarklind (1881–1946) who wrote as Hulda (the fairy or hidden one) was an Icelandic poet and prose writer. A proponent of symbolism, she was the most prominent figure in a group of writers who revived and revitalized the þulur genre of oral litany.
Having a librarian as a father Hulda received an extensive home education. She studied English, German and French as well as the Scandinavian languages, granting her access to the works of European writers. Among Icelandic poets she admired the rural poetry of Eggert Ólafsson and the lyrical quality of Benedikt Gröndal's works. She began contributing poems to periodicals at the age of twenty and was quickly discovered by Einar Benediktsson and Þorsteinn Erlingsson, who hailed her as a star of neo-romanticism. Her first volume of poetry, Kvæði (Poems; 1909) consists of lyrical nature poetry, contrasting the neo-romantic dream of freedom with the virtues of hard work while some metaphors suggest the oppressed condition of women. Despite delicate health and the duties of a housewife, Hulda was a prolific writer, publishing seven volumes of poetry, the last appearing posthumously in 1951. One of her best known works is a patriotic poem written to celebrate the establishment of the Icelandic Republic in 1944.
Hulda wrote more than ten volumes of prose; fairy tales, short stories and sketches as well as the two-volume novel, Dalafólk (People of the Valleys). She wrote the novel as a reaction to Independent People by Halldór Laxness. In contrast to Laxness' bleak view of rural life in Iceland, Hulda presents a somewhat idealized picture of the old manorlike farmsteads.
Hulda is an opera by César Franck to a French libretto by Charles Grandmougin. It is set in 11th-century Norway, and is based on the play Lame Hulda (1858) by Norwegian writer Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. The complete opera contains a prologue, three acts and an epilogue.
It was first performed in an incomplete version in Monte Carlo, Monaco, on 8 March 1894. followed by performances in The Hague in March 1895 and Toulouse in April 1895.
The third act was performed at the Concerts Colonne with Demellier and Cazeneuve on 16 October 1904 to mark the unveiling of a monument to the composer.
The first complete performance of the opera was by Reading University Opera in 1979 with a later version staged at the Bloomsbury Theatre, London on 15 March 1994, by University College Opera.
The first two acts were performed with Trondheim Symphony Orchestra on 22 and 23 October 2010 in Molde, Norway.
The manuscript full score is held at the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris.
Hulda is a feminine given name derived from חולדה Chuldah or Huldah, a Hebrew word meaning weasel or mole. Huldah was a prophetess in the Old Testament books of kings and chronicles. It can also derive from Norse mythology, where it is the name of a sorceress, meaning secrecy in Old Norse and sweet or lovable in Old Swedish. In the United States, its use has declined since the mid-1920s.