Hedwig Fassbender | |
|---|---|
| Born | 23 October 1954 |
| Education | Musikhochschule Köln |
| Occupations |
|
| Organizations | Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts |
| Website | www |
Hedwig Fassbender (born 23 October 1954) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano and academic voice teacher. She has appeared in leading roles at major European opera houses, including some soprano roles such as Wagner's Isolde and Sieglinde.
Born in Iversheim, Fassbender first studied piano and music pedagogy at the Musikhochschule Köln, and then began to study voice with Ernst Haefliger in Munich. [1] [2] During her studies, she received prizes at the Hugo Wolf Competition [1] in Vienna and the Mozartfest Competition of the Musikhochschule Würzburg. She became a member of the Theater Freiburg, then of Theater Basel, [2] where she worked for five years. Her roles there included trousers roles such as Cherubino in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro , Idamante in his Idomeneo , and Nicklausse in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann . [3]
She has worked freelance since 1987, appearing as a guest in Barcelona, Vienna, Hamburg, and Berlin, among others. She turned to dramatic roles, such as Bizet's Carmen and Fricka im Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen . In 1989, she appeared at the Dutch National Opera in Amsterdam as Marguerite in La Damnation de Faust by Berlioz. In 1997, she was Judith in Bartók's Bluebeard's Castle at the Opéra national du Rhin in Strasbourg. She performed the role of Anja Larsson in the premiere of Philippe Manoury's 60e parallèle at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 3 March 1997. [3]
In 2001, she appeared in the soprano role of Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde at the Theater Saarbrücken. [4] Further soprano roles have included Marie in Berg's Wozzeck , the Foreign princess in Dvořák's Rusalka , the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, and Ariane in Ariane et Barbe-bleue by Paul Dukas. She was nominated for Singer of the Year for her Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre in Liège. [4] More recent roles have included Herodias in Salome by Richard Strauss, and the Kostelnicka in Janáček's Jenůfa . At the Oper Frankfurt, she appeared as Babuschka in Prokofieff's Der Spieler , and Gertrud in Humperdick's Hänsel und Gretel, among others. [2] She appeared there also in the premiere of Der goldene Drache by Peter Eötvös in 2014, performing six roles. [5]
In 1998, Fassbender recorded the alto part in Bach's Mass in B minor with the EuropaChorAkademie, conducted by Joshard Daus. [6] In 2000, she recorded with the same choir the alto part in Bach's St Matthew Passion , alongside Andreas Wagner as the Evangelist, Friedemann Kunder as the vox Christi, and soprano Britta Stallmeister. [7] She recorded the role of Isolde in 2005, conducted by Leif Segerstam. [2]
Fassbender was professor of voice at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt from 1999 to 2017. There, she was Ausbildungsdirektorin, director of the voice department, from 2001 to 2011, and dean of the acting department from 2008 to 2011. When the university received the award Hessischer Exzellenzpreis für Hochschullehre (Hessian Prize for Excellence in Academic Teaching) in 2011, the award was also credited to her work. [8] She has regularly trained singers at the Opernstudio Zürich (IOS) from 2015, and at the opera studios of the Paris Opera and the Bolshoi Theatre. Her students have included Anne Bierwirth, Björn Bürger, Kateryna Kasper, Katharina Magiera, and Esther Dierkes. [9]
Christa Ludwig was a German mezzo-soprano and sometime dramatic soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, lieder, oratorio, and other major religious works like masses, passions, and solos in symphonic literature. Her performing career spanned almost half a century, from the late 1940s until the early 1990s.
Anja Harteros is a German soprano. Since winning the 1999 Cardiff Singer of the World competition she has been particularly associated with the Bavarian State Opera and enjoyed an international career.
Hanna Schwarz is a German mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. In 1976 she performed the roles of Fricka and Erda in the centenary Jahrhundertring production at the Bayreuth Festival, directed by Patrice Chéreau.
Barbara Scherler is a German classical mezzo-soprano and contralto singer in opera and concert. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and active in performances and recordings of operas of the 20th century.
Gabriele Schnaut was a German classical singer who started her operatic career as a mezzo-soprano in 1976 and changed to dramatic soprano in 1985. She performed at the Bayreuth Festival from 1977, in the filmed Jahrhundertring, to 2000. After a breakthrough performance as Richard Wagner's Isolde at the Hamburgische Staatsoper in 1988, she became a leading dramatic soprano on the stages of the world in roles such as Wagner's Brünnhilde and Richard Strauss' Elektra. From 2008, she ventured into dramatic mezzo-soprano character roles such as Klytämnestra in Elektra, Herodias in Salome and Kostelnicka Buryjovka in Leoš Janáček's Jenufa.
Marie-Louise Gilles is a German mezzo-soprano in opera and concert, a professor of voice, and an opera stage director.
Marga Schiml is a German opera singer who sings mezzo-soprano and alto. She has appeared at major European opera houses and festivals, such as the Vienna State Opera, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Hamburg State Opera and La Scala, at the Salzburg Festival and the Bayreuth Festival. She is also an academic voice teacher.
Astrid Schirmer is a German operatic soprano and an academic teacher. She sang mostly dramatic parts at major German opera houses and appeared at the Bayreuth Festival.
Petra Lang is a German opera singer. Beginning as a mezzo-soprano, from 2012 a soprano, she is known for her interpretation of music by Richard Wagner and Gustav Mahler. She made an international career in both opera and concert. She has performed at the Bayreuth Festival from 2005, singing the title role of Isolde in 2016.
The EuropaChorAkademie is a German mixed choir, founded by Joshard Daus in 1997 as a group formed by students of two music universities, the University of Mainz and the University of the Arts Bremen. They have performed internationally and recorded choral works including Mahler's Second Symphony and Schönberg's Moses und Aron.
Margit Neubauer is an Austrian operatic mezzo-soprano who was for decades a member of the Oper Frankfurt. She appeared at international festivals such as the Salzburg Festival. Her repertory ranges from Baroque opera to premieres of new works.
Elisabeth Kulman is an Austrian classical singer who has performed operatic roles in soprano, mezzo-soprano and contralto repertory. She has appeared at opera houses in Vienna and internationally. She has performed early operas such as Legrenzi's Il Giustino as well as new works, creating the role of Gora in the premiere of Reimann's Medea at the Vienna State Opera. She recorded Lieder by Mussorgsky, Bach's Christmas Oratorio with Peter Schreier and Beethoven's Missa solemnis with Nikolaus Harnoncourt. From 2015, she has focused on concert singing.
Mechthild Georg is a German operatic mezzo-soprano, and a professor of voice at the Musikhochschule Köln.
Melinda Paulsen is an American mezzo-soprano and contralto who has appeared mostly in Germany, with a focus on concert singing. She has been an academic voice teacher at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt.
Britta Stallmeister is a German operatic soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt from 1998 to 2015, she has appeared in major European opera houses and international festivals. She has performed in premieres, and in recitals and recordings.
Kateryna Kasper is a Ukrainian operatic soprano. A member of the Oper Frankfurt, she has appeared in major international opera houses. She has performed in recitals and recordings. Her broad repertory includes works from Cavalieri's Spiel von Seele und Körper to the premiere of Der goldene Drache by Péter Eötvös.
Hedwig Mathilde Plümacher was a German operatic singer who appeared on stage as Hetty Plümacher. A long-term member of the Staatstheater Stuttgart, she also performed at international festivals and major opera houses, as well as recording music.
Kathrin Göring is a German operatic mezzo-soprano, a member of the Oper Leipzig who has appeared at other major opera houses, also in concert and recital, and made recordings. She has appeared in Leipzig in leading roles such as Bizet's Carmen and Wagner's Parsifal. She sang both Fricka and Waltraute in Der Ring in Minden.
Hildegard Heichele is a German soprano in opera, concert and recital. A member of the Oper Frankfurt from 1974, she has appeared in major European opera houses, concert halls and international festivals. She is known for Mozart roles such as Susanna, Blonde and Despina. Heichele is featured on opera recordings, including a DVD of Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss from the Royal Opera House in London, and singing concerts, such as the opening of the Alte Oper with Mahler's Eighth Symphony in 1981.
Anne Bierwirth is a German contralto, focused on concerts and recordings of sacred music, appearing internationally. Besides the standard repertoire such as Bach's Christmas Oratorio, she has explored rarely performed Baroque music such as Bach's St Mark Passion and Reinhard Keiser's Passion oratorio Der blutige und sterbende Christus.
{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |