Kerstin Margareta Meyer, CBE (3 April 1928 – 14 April 2020 ) was a Swedish mezzosoprano who enjoyed an international career in opera and concert.
Kerstin Meyer made her debut at 24 as Azucena in Il trovatore, 11 September 1952, at the Royal Stockholm Opera.
Of course she was impossibly young to play the troubadour Manrico’s mother, and she used to point out that Set Svanholm who sang Manrico was exactly twice her own age.
In the next few years they would take the lead roles together in Samson et Dalila, Carmen and De Frumerie’s Singoalla, and a few years later Svanholm as managing director of the house would become important for Meyer’s career.

At 26 she had established herself as an indispensable component in the renewal of acting style and attitude which would shape Swedish opera for decades to come. The Royal Opera would be changed forever and internationally renowned for productions utilizing the talents of Birgit Nilsson (ten years older than Kerstin), Söderström, Ragnar Ulfung, Erik Saedén (all less than four years older than Meyer), Barbro Ericson and Ingvar Wixell (two–three years younger).
In her own opinion, the world premiere of Henze’s Die Bassariden at Salzburg 1966 was one of her greatest achievements. Concert performances early proved her skill in singing new music with expression and musical correctness.
Her talent shone even stronger in new operas, where her expressiveness on stage attracted attention just as much as her voice. She willingly and often performed contemporary music, and particularly at Hamburg and Stockholm she took part in first performances which led to enduring friendships with leading composers, conductors, and directors.