Related Research Articles
Elisabeth Rethberg was a German operatic spinto soprano singer who was active from the period of the First World War through the early 1940s. After Richard Strauss assigned the role of the Empress in his Die Frau ohne Schatten to her at the Dresden Opera in 1919, she went on to perform as Verdi's Aida at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and La Scala in Milan, among others. She returned to Dresden often, including to appear in title role of Die ägyptische Helena in the world premiere.
Walter Berry was an Austrian lyric bass-baritone who enjoyed a prominent career in opera. He has been cited as one of several exemplary operatic bass-baritones of his era.
Leopoldine Rysanek was an Austrian dramatic soprano.
Die Frau ohne Schatten, Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the Vienna State Opera on 10 October 1919, critics and audiences were unenthusiastic. Many cited problems with Hofmannsthal's complicated and heavily symbolic libretto. However, it is now a standard part of the operatic repertoire.
Helga Dernesch is an Austrian soprano and mezzo-soprano. Her career has taken her through four successive phases: from mezzo-soprano to lyric soprano to dramatic soprano, and after about 1980 back to mezzo again. "Her voice had great richness and power, and her strikingly handsome stage appearance and intense acting made her a compelling performer."
Ticho Parly was a Danish-born Heldentenor who sang leading roles in most of the major opera houses of Europe as well as the United States, including the Metropolitan Opera, where he debuted in 1966 as Tristan opposite Birgit Nilsson in Tristan und Isolde.
Wolfgang Brendel is a German opera singer (baritone), and a professor of voice at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He has performed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America.
A dramatic soprano is a type of operatic soprano with a powerful, rich, emotive voice that can sing over, or cut through, a full orchestra. Thicker vocal folds in dramatic voices usually (but not always) mean less agility than lighter voices but a sustained, fuller sound. Usually this voice has a lower tessitura than other sopranos, and a darker timbre. They are often used for heroic, often long-suffering, tragic women of opera. Dramatic sopranos have a range from approximately low A (A3) to "high C" (C6). Some dramatic sopranos, known as Wagnerian sopranos, have an exceptionally big voice that can assert itself over a large orchestra (of more than 80 or even 100 players). These voices are substantial, often denser in tone, extremely powerful and, ideally, evenly balanced throughout the vocal registers. Wagnerian sopranos usually play mythic heroines. Successful Wagnerian sopranos are rare and often Wagnerian roles are performed by Italianate dramatic sopranos.
Susan Owen is an American operatic soprano. Born in Salisbury, North Carolina, she earned a Bachelor of Music degree from East Carolina University in 1980 and a Master of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1983. In 1990 she won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. From 1995 to 1999 she was a member of the Staatstheater Kassel, Intendant Michael Leinert. From 1999 to 2002 she was a member of the Staatstheater Darmstadt with Mark Albrecht.
Robert Nagy was an American operatic tenor who had a lengthy and fruitful association with the Metropolitan Opera that lasted for three decades. His association with the Met began when he won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 1956. He mostly portrayed comprimario roles at the Met where his most memorable early role was the Messenger in Aida, a role he sang 172 times for the company. He notably sang in the world premieres of two operas by Samuel Barber at the Met: Vanessa (1958) and Antony and Cleopatra (1966). He also sang in the company premieres of Die Frau ohne Schatten (1966), Billy Budd (1978) and L'enfant et les sortilèges (1981). Although Nagy specialized in supporting roles, he also portrayed several leading parts at the Met, among them Florestan in Fidelio, Herodes in Salome, the Kaiser in Die Frau ohne Schatten and the Drum Major in Wozzeck. He remained on the Met roster through the end of the 1987–88 season, performing 1,187 performances with the Met during his thirty years with the company.
Richard Mayr was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone who was particularly admired for his performances in works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss. He notably created the role of Barak, the Dyer in the world premiere of Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten.
Wolfgang Schöne is a German bass-baritone who made an international career in opera and concert, based at the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 1973 to 2005. He created roles in world premiered of operas, in Josef Tal's Die Versuchung at the Bavarian State Opera in 1976, in Hermann Reutter's Hamlet in Stuttgart in 1980, in Henze's Die englische Katze at the Schwetzingen Festival in 1983 and K. in Aribert Reimann's Das Schloß at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in 1992.
Ursula Schröder-Feinen was a German operatic dramatic soprano who performed internationally, including at the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival.
Franz Grundheber is a German operatic baritone. At the Hamburg State Opera, he performed over 150 roles from 1966. His voice is flexible enough to sing Italian opera as well as Wagner roles and contemporary opera; he is a stage presence in acting and singing. He has performed at major international opera houses and is known for his performance of the title role of Alban Berg's Wozzeck, filmed for DVD in 1994 in a production staged by Patrice Chéreau.
Elisabeth Schärtel was a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto. A member of the Cologne Opera from 1959 to 1967, she performed leading parts at major European opera houses and regularly at the Bayreuth Festival.
Simone Schneider is a German operatic soprano. As a member of Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz, she performed coloratura roles such as the Mozart's Queen of the Night. As a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart from 2006, she has performed a wide range of leading roles including Donizetti's Maria Stuarda and the Feldmarschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. She performed as a guest in major opera houses in Germany and Europe.
Marianne Schech was a German operatic soprano and academic who appeared internationally. She was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1946 to 1970. She is known for leading roles in works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, playing, for example, the Dyer's Wife in the U.S. premiere of Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss at the San Francisco Opera in 1959. She made several recordings, including in 1951 the role of Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, conducted by Robert Heger, in 1960 the role of Chrysothemis in Elektra by Richard Strauss, conducted by Karl Böhm, Senta in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, conducted by Franz Konwitschny, and Venus in Tannhäuser, also conducted by Konwitschny.
Robert Schunk is a German operatic tenor who appeared in leading roles such as Florestan in Fidelio, Siegmund in Wagner's Die Walküre and the Emperor in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, at international opera houses and festivals.
Ruth Hesse is a German dramatic mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, and appeared internationally, including the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. She appeared regularly at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, and was appointed an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1982. In Berlin, she took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord.
Sigrid Kehl is a German operatic soprano and mezzo-soprano.
References
- Notes
