He studied voice in Cologne and made his debut in Stuttgart, in 1914. He stayed in Stuttgart until 1919, and sang there
Giovanni in the world premiere of Mona Lisa by Max von Schillings (26 September 1915). He spent his entire singing career in
German-speaking countries, that's why he is mostly written "Oestvig", sometimes "Östvig"; in Norwegian, the spelling is
Østvig.
From 1919 to 1926, he was a member of the Vienna Staatsoper, where he participated in the world premiere of Die Frau ohne Schatten
as Kaiser (10 October 1919). He left the Staatsoper over a quarrel with the management, which had refused to give him a temporary leave
so as to sing operetta at Vienna's Carltheater. From 1927 to 1930, he had a contract at the Städtische Oper Berlin; after that, his
career was more or less over, although he returned to the Städtische Oper in 1933 as a guest. Other guest appearances: Amsterdam
(1918 and 1924), Basel, Budapest, Brno, Munich, Hamburg.
His most successful roles were Bacchus (Richard Strauss thought highly of him in that part), Paul, Tamino, Don José, Lohengrin
and Parsifal; further in his repertory were Pedro (Tiefland), the title roles in Der arme Heinrich by Pfitzner and Der
Zwerg by Zemlinsky, the Foreigner in Korngold's Wunder der Heliane, Max in Jonny spielt auf, German, Riccardo, Manrico,
Don Carlo, Radames, Lyonel, Nureddin, Fra Diavolo, Siegmund and Stolzing. He also sang a lot in concert, particularly Bach's two
Passions, and even toured North America with that repertory. Much of his success seems to have been due to the fact that he was
handsome.
From 1932, he was a voice teacher and stage director in his native Oslo; in 1941, he became director of the opera theater there under the
German occupation. For that reason, he was imprisoned as a Nazi collaborator after the war, and later lived a very secluded life.
Reference 1: Kutsch & Riemens, reference 2
Picture source
Discography
Grammophon, Berlin, October 1922
904as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Am stillen Herd unpublished
904½as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Am stillen Herd 72825
905as Die Walküre (Wagner): Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond unpublished
905½as Die Walküre (Wagner): Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond 72826, 72825
906as Lohengrin (Wagner): In fernem Land unpublished
906½as Lohengrin (Wagner): In fernem Land 72827
907as Lohengrin (Wagner): Mein lieber Schwan 72828, 72827
908as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Morgenlich leuchtend 72829
909as Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Wagner): Fanget an! 72830, 72829
1943ar Zueignung (Strauss) 70665
1944ar Ich liebe dich (Strauss) 70666, 70665
