Columbus is a 1933 opera by Werner Egk. Originally a radio opera, Egk revised it in 1942 for the stage. [1] The Munich premiere was acclaimed in the press and joined the year's repertoire at the Freiburg Theatre, [2] though some dissented. The lack of melody in the opera brought negative comment from Richard Strauss in comparison to Meyerbeer's grand opera on the life of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama L'Africaine . [3]
Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Along with Gustav Mahler, he represents the late flowering of German Romanticism, in which pioneering subtleties of orchestration are combined with an advanced harmonic style.
Werner Egk, born Werner Joseph Mayer, was a German composer.
The National Theatre on Max-Joseph-Platz in Munich, Germany, is a historic opera house, home of the Bavarian State Opera, Bavarian State Orchestra and the Bavarian State Ballet.
Deborah Cook was an American operatic soprano who had a prolific international opera career during the 1970s and 1980s. Her career was primarily focused in Germany where she lived from 1972 through 1985. However, she did travel extensively throughout Europe and in the United States, performing in operas, concerts, recitals, and recording for radio productions. A gifted coloratura soprano, Cook sang a wide repertoire that encompassed English, German, French, and Italian opera from a variety of musical periods. She notably sang in a number of world premieres including Hans Werner Henze's We Come to the River at the Royal Opera, London in 1976.
Diana Damrau is a German soprano who achieved international fame for her performances, primarily in opera, but also in concert and lieder. She has been successful in coloratura soprano roles since her early career, and gradually proceeded into heavier roles 19th-century Italian bel canto repertoire. Her signature roles include the Queen of the Night in The Magic Flute, Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Violetta in La traviata.
Friederike Sailer was a German soprano in opera and concert. She was a member of the Stuttgart Opera, later a voice teacher at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart. She performed at International festivals and recorded with conductors such as Marcel Couraud.
Die Zaubergeige is a 1935 opera by Werner Egk to a libretto by Ludwig Strecker after Count Franz Pocci. Egk revised the opera in 1954.
Die Verlobung in San Domingo is a 1960 opera by Werner Egk after Heinrich von Kleist, premiered on 22 November 1963 at the Bavarian State Opera.
Irische Legende is a 1955 opera by Werner Egk who also wrote the libretto after the 1892/1899 verse drama The Countess Cathleen by W. B. Yeats. It premiered at the Salzburg Festival on 17 August 1955.
Peer Gynt is a 1938 opera by Werner Egk to a libretto after the play Peer Gynt by Henrik Ibsen. The premiere took place on 24 November 1938 at the Berliner Staatsoper where Egk was the conductor at the time.
Circe is a 1945 opera by Werner Egk after Pedro Calderón de la Barca, premiered 1948. Egk reworked it as an opera semibuffa as 17 Tage und 4 Minuten, 1966.
Margarethe Bence was an American opera singer, who sang both mezzo-soprano and contralto parts and was mostly active in German and Austria, including international festivals such as the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Her repertoire included music from Baroque to contemporary premieres.
Tobias Kratzer is a German stage director, especially of opera, who has worked internationally after winning a competition in Graz with two entries in 2008. He has staged works by Verdi and Wagner, but also contemporary music. He directed Wagner's Tannhäuser for the 2019 Bayreuth Festival.
Karl-Christian Kohn was a German opera singer (bass).
Hans Gierster was a German conductor.
Hans Günter Nöcker was a German operatic bass-baritone who was based at the Bavarian State Opera for decades, performing in several world premieres including Aribert Reimann's Lear, and also had an international career.
Waltraud Isoldé Elchlepp is a German protest song singer under the pseudonym Dominique, and an operatic mezzo-soprano and soprano who appeared at major German opera houses and festivals including the Bayreuth Festival. She took part in world premieres such as Reimann's Das Schloß and Bernarda Albas Haus at the Bavarian State Opera. Besides the standard repertoire, she appeared in roles such as Othmar Schoeck's Penthesilea at the Staatsoper Hannover.
Maria Madlen Madsen, temporarily also under the stage name Gerda Hansi, was a German operatic soprano, theatre, film and television actress.
Roland Hermann was a German operatic baritone and former professor at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. A member of the Opernhaus Zürich, he performed leading roles internationally, not only in standard repertoire but also in world premieres and rarely performed works, such as Schoenberg's Moses und Aron.
Wilfried Hiller is a German composer. He became known above all for his stage works for families, children and young people.