On 24 August 1817, Henriette Widerberg made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera as Laura in the opéra-comique Léon ou Le Château de Monténéro by Nicolas Dalayrac, a debut which was reviewed as "touching to a degree which made the audience melt to tears."

She made a success, and after the retirement of Jeanette Wässelius three years later, she took over her roles and became the prima donna of the Swedish Opera stage for about twenty years onward.
 
Her position as was reflected by her salary.
 She was given a salary of 1600 riksdaler, an amount surpassing any other woman in the Royal Theatres (Royal Swedish Opera and Royal Dramatic Theatre): as comparison, the minimum salary of a female singer or actress was 200, and the highest paid male elite colleague was given 1800, an amount only slightly higher than hers.

Henriette Widerberg's soprano voice was not, as it was said, unusual because of its strength, but was described as having a soft timbre with an uncommon and personal sound, and her voice was once said to be superior to that of Jenny Lind.
 She was also a capable actress and could perform the speaking parts of her role well.
 
She has been described as a natural talent, but also as an indolent character who neglected to educate herself because she did not have to: "She was not an educated singer; she was hardly able to read notes, and she rehearsed her parts without much discipline - but she was able to do this, because she could grasp things incredibly quickly."
 Reportedly, she did not bother to read notes, but instead asked the orchestra to sing and play her part for her, and after having heard her part once, regardless of instrument used, she was able to memorize it and perform.
  
The quality of her performance is said to have been depended upon her own sympathy for her role: consequently, the reviews describe her as bad in parts she did not like, mediocre in parts she was indifferent to, and fabulous in parts, she liked: 
"If she pleased to adjust herself to the situation - and she could, when she wanted to - then this voice was irresistibly enchanting, intoxicating.
The poetry of voice was something no one knew more than her."

Orvar Odd referred to her as the Malibran of Sweden and added: "A Malibran without learning but what voice, oh, thou nightingales!"

Widerberg started with parts in light operettas, until her performance as Julia in La vestale by Spontini (1821) proved her capable of performing more demanding parts.
  Among her roles were Pamina in The Magic Flute, Anna in Don Juan and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, all by Mozart; the title role in La dame blanche by Boieldieu, the title role in Armida by Rossini, and Amazily in Fernand Cortez by Spontini, Clara in Adolphe et Clara, ou Les deux prisonniers by Dalayrac, Cora in Cora och Alonzo by Johann Gottlieb Naumann.
 In 1832, she played the part of Leonora in the Swedish premier of Beethovens opera Fidelio.
 Her most acclaimed part was reportedly as Princess Amazali in Ferdinand Cortez by Spontini in 1826.
 
In her performance as Zerlina in Fra Diavolo by Auber (17 May 1833) she became the first woman at the Royal Swedish Opera to do an undressing scene, which was highly controversial and commented by the press: "Now, a woman can do on stage what she could not do even in the most intimate circle of a decent company, and undress herself until her petticoat."

There are numerous anecdotes from Henriette Widerberg's career in Swedish opera history, many of them described in her memoirs.
 One is associated with her performance as Susanna in Figaro (1821).
 Her colleague Edvard du Puy, who was to play Figaro, invited her to his room to rehearse the play, but when he was there, he tried to seduce her.
  Widerberg, who was known to dislike du Puy, who she accused of having unjustly brought about the dismissal of Jeanette Wässelius, declined and left.
   When she did not know her part the next day, du Puy reported her to the director for not knowing her part and thereby delaying the production, and the director used the opera's disciplinarian system to p
On 24 August 1817, Henriette Widerberg made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera as Laura in the opéra-comique Léon ou Le Château de Monténéro by Nicolas Dalayrac, a debut which was reviewed as "touching to a degree which made the audience melt to tears."
She made a success, and after the retirement of Jeanette Wässelius three years later, she took over her roles and became the prima donna of the Swedish Opera stage for about twenty years onward.  
Her position as was reflected by her salary.  She was given a salary of 1600 riksdaler, an amount surpassing any other woman in the Royal Theatres (Royal Swedish Opera and Royal Dramatic Theatre): as comparison, the minimum salary of a female singer or actress was 200, and the highest paid male elite colleague was given 1800, an amount only slightly higher than hers.
Henriette Widerberg's soprano voice was not, as it was said, unusual because of its strength, but was described as having a soft timbre with an uncommon and personal sound, and her voice was once said to be superior to that of Jenny Lind.  She was also a capable actress and could perform the speaking parts of her role well.  
She has been described as a natural talent, but also as an indolent character who neglected to educate herself because she did not have to: "She was not an educated singer; she was hardly able to read notes, and she rehearsed her parts without much discipline - but she was able to do this, because she could grasp things incredibly quickly."  Reportedly, she did not bother to read notes, but instead asked the orchestra to sing and play her part for her, and after having heard her part once, regardless of instrument used, she was able to memorize it and perform.   
The quality of her performance is said to have been depended upon her own sympathy for her role: consequently, the reviews describe her as bad in parts she did not like, mediocre in parts she was indifferent to, and fabulous in parts, she liked: 
"If she pleased to adjust herself to the situation - and she could, when she wanted to - then this voice was irresistibly enchanting, intoxicating. The poetry of voice was something no one knew more than her."
Orvar Odd referred to her as the Malibran of Sweden and added: "A Malibran without learning but what voice, oh, thou nightingales!"
Widerberg started with parts in light operettas, until her performance as Julia in La vestale by Spontini (1821) proved her capable of performing more demanding parts.   Among her roles were Pamina in The Magic Flute, Anna in Don Juan and Susanna in The Marriage of Figaro, all by Mozart; the title role in La dame blanche by Boieldieu, the title role in Armida by Rossini, and Amazily in Fernand Cortez by Spontini, Clara in Adolphe et Clara, ou Les deux prisonniers by Dalayrac, Cora in Cora och Alonzo by Johann Gottlieb Naumann.  In 1832, she played the part of Leonora in the Swedish premier of Beethovens opera Fidelio.  Her most acclaimed part was reportedly as Princess Amazali in Ferdinand Cortez by Spontini in 1826.  
In her performance as Zerlina in Fra Diavolo by Auber (17 May 1833) she became the first woman at the Royal Swedish Opera to do an undressing scene, which was highly controversial and commented by the press: "Now, a woman can do on stage what she could not do even in the most intimate circle of a decent company, and undress herself until her petticoat."
There are numerous anecdotes from Henriette Widerberg's career in Swedish opera history, many of them described in her memoirs.  One is associated with her performance as Susanna in Figaro (1821).  Her colleague Edvard du Puy, who was to play Figaro, invited her to his room to rehearse the play, but when he was there, he tried to seduce her.   Widerberg, who was known to dislike du Puy, who she accused of having unjustly brought about the dismissal of Jeanette Wässelius, declined and left.    When she did not know her part the next day, du Puy reported her to the director for not knowing her part and thereby delaying the production, and the director used the opera's disciplinarian system to p
Henriette Widerberg