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Undine (Lortzing)
''Undine'' is an opera in four acts by Albert Lortzing. The German libretto was by the composer after Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué's novella of the same name. There had been a revival of interest in Fouqué following the writer's death in 1843 to which Lortzing responded. Unlike Lortzing's earlier comedies, this work is a serious one, described as a ''romantische Zauberoper'' ('romantic magic opera'). A number of other operas and ballets have been based on Fouqué's version of the myth of the water spirit Undine, including Tchaikovsky's ''Undina'', E. T. A. Hoffmann's ''Undine'', Cesare Pugni's ''Ondine, ou La naïade'' and Hans Werner Henze's '' Ondine''. Performance history The opera was first performed at the Stadttheater Magdeburg on 21 April 1845. Roles Synopsis Act 1 The knight Hugo von Ringstetten, having won a tournament, has been given a quest by Bertalda, the daughter of the Duke. She wants him to explore the enchanted forest. Hugo and his squire Veit have been ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albert Lortzing
Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French '' opéra comique'', which grew out of the '' Singspiel''. Life and career Lortzing was born in Berlin to Johann Gottlieb and Charlotte Sophie Lortzing. They had abandoned their leather shop and travelled through Germany as itinerant actors, founding the Berlin theatre company ''Urania'', and turning their amateur passion into a profession. The young Lortzing's first stage appearance was at the age of 12, entertaining the audience with comic poems during the interval in the ''Kornhaus'' at the Freiburg Münster. From 1817, the Lortzing family were part of Josef Derossi ensemble in the Rhineland, treading the boards at Bonn, Düsseldorf, Barmen and Aachen. Albert Lortzing became an audience favourite, playing the roles of a youthful lover, a country boy and bon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bass (voice Type)
A bass is a type of classical male singing voice and has the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', a bass is typically classified as having a vocal range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C (i.e., E2–E4).; ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music'' gives E2–E4/F4 Its tessitura, or comfortable range, is normally defined by the outermost lines of the bass clef. Categories of bass voices vary according to national style and classification system. Italians favour subdividing basses into the ''basso cantante'' (singing bass), ''basso buffo'' ("funny" bass), or the dramatic ''basso profondo'' (low bass). The American system identifies the bass-baritone, comic bass, lyric bass, and dramatic bass. The German ''Fach'' system offers further distinctions: Spielbass (Bassbuffo), Schwerer Spielbass (Schwerer Bassbuffo), Charakterbass (Bassbariton), and Seriöser Bass. These classification systems can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gottlob Frick
Gottlob Frick (28 July 1906 in Ölbronn-Dürrn – 18 August 1994 in Muhlacker) was a German operatic bass. He was known for his wide repertory including Wagner and Mozart roles, as well as those of Nicolai and Lortzing. Career Frick's teachers included Fritz Windgassen (father and teacher of Frick’s contemporary, the tenor Wolfgang Windgassen). He was a member of the chorus at the Stuttgart State Opera from 1927 to 1934. His first solo role was in Coburg in 1934–35,Opera. June 1954, p339 followed by Freiburg (1936–40) and Königsberg (1938) where Karl Böhm discovered him and engaged him for the Dresden State Opera in 1941, which was his base for the following decade. In 1950 he moved to the Deutsche Oper Berlin, but his international career took him to all the leading houses in Europe. His voice was instantly recognizable by its dark timbre, and was aptly described by Wilhelm Furtwängler as 'the blackest bass in Germany' (''der schwärzeste Bass in Deutschland''): ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hermann Prey
Hermann Prey ( Berlin, 11 July 1929 – Krailling, 22 July 1998) was a German lyric baritone, who was equally at home in the Lied, operatic and concert repertoires. His American debut was in November 1952, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, and his American recital debut took place in 1956, at New York's Carnegie Hall. As a Lieder singer, he was a gifted interpreter of Schubert, including his song-cycles ''Die schöne Müllerin'' and '' Die Winterreise'' and the collection of songs ''Schwanengesang'', as well as of Robert Schumann, Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler. He also appeared frequently as a soloist in Bach's ''Passions'' and Brahms' ''A German Requiem''. Early life and education Hermann Prey was born in Berlin and grew up in Germany. He was scheduled to be drafted when World War II ended. He studied voice at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and won the prize of the Frankfurt contest of the Hessischer Rundfunk in 1952. Career Repertoire and notabl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Schreier
Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conducted by Rudolf Mauersberger, performing as an alto soloist. He became a tenor, focused on concert and lieder singing, well known internationally for the Evangelist parts in Bach's ''Christmas Oratorio'' and Passion. A member of the Berlin State Opera from 1963, he appeared in Mozart roles such as Belmonte in ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail'' and Tamino in ''Die Zauberflöte'', and in the title role of Pfitzner's ''Palestrina'', among others. He appeared at the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera, among others, as one of few singers from the German Democratic Republic to perform internationally. Schreier made many recordings, especially of Bach's works as both a singer and a conductor, even simultaneously. He recorded many lieder i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nicolai Gedda
Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, known professionally as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final operatic recording. Skilled at languages, he performed operas in French, Russian, German, Italian, English, Czech and Swedish, as well as one in Latin. In January 1958, he created the part of Anatol in the world premiere of the American opera ''Vanessa'' at the Metropolitan Opera. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is one of the most widely recorded opera singers in history. His singing is best known for its beauty of tone, vocal control, and musical perception. Early years Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, who later changed the spelling of his surname to Gedda, was born out of wedlock in Stockholm to a Swedish mother and a half-Russian father. He was raised by his aunt Olga Gädda and his adoptive father Michail Ustinov (a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth-Margret Pütz
Ruth-Margret Pütz (born Margret Doerkes, 26 February 1930 – 1 April 2019) was a German operatic coloratura soprano and an academic voice teacher. She was a member of the Staatsoper Stuttgart for many decades, a frequent guest at the Vienna State Opera, and appeared at other major international opera houses and festivals. One of her signature roles was Konstanze in Mozart's ''Die Entführung aus dem Serail''. She is regarded as one of the leading coloratura sopranos of the 1960s. Career Born Margret Doerkes in Krefeld-Uerdingen on 26 February 1931, she took voice lessons with the baritone Berthold Pütz in her hometown. In 1949 at age 18, she was engaged as a beginner (''Anfängerin'') at the Cologne Opera, where she made her debut as the Page in Verdi's ''Rigoletto''. In 1951, she appeared as Gretchen in Lortzing's '' Wildschütz'' and as Nuri in d’Albert's '' Tiefland''. She married Johannes Pütz that year and took her stage name. From 1951 to 1957, she was a member of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anneliese Rothenberger
Anneliese Rothenberger (19 June 191924 May 2010) was a German operatic soprano who had an active international performance career which spanned from 1942 to 1983. She specialized in the lyric coloratura soprano repertoire, and was particularly admired for her interpretations of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss. Life and career Rothenberger was born in Mannheim, Germany. She studied with Erika Müller, and took up her first engagement in Koblenz in 1942. In 1946, Günther Rennert offered her a job at the Hamburg Opera House, where she sang in Rennert's now famous production of Alban Berg's ''Lulu'' twenty years later, a role she would also perform at the Munich Opera Festival, under the direction of Christoph von Dohnányi. 1954 saw her make her debut at the Salzburg Festival, and she appeared in Rolf Liebermann's ''Schule der Frauen'', three years later. From 1954, she became a guest singer at the Vienna State Opera. New York City audiences had their fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Frankfurt Radio Symphony
The Frankfurt Radio Symphony (german: hr-Sinfonieorchester) is the radio orchestra of Hessischer Rundfunk, the public broadcasting network of the German state of Hesse. From 1929 to 1950 it was named ''Frankfurter Rundfunk-Symphonie-Orchester''. From 1950 to 1971 the orchestra was named ''Sinfonie-Orchester des Hessischen Rundfunks'', from then to 2005 ''Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt''. Prior to 2015, the English translation ''Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra'' was used for international tours. The orchestra's range of musical styles includes the classical-romantic repertoire, discoveries in experimental new music, concerts for children and young people and demanding programming concepts. History Hans Rosbaud, its first conductor, put his stamp on the orchestra's orientation up to the year 1937 by focusing not only on traditional music but also contemporary compositions. '' Lindbergh's Flight'' was a piece of music specially commissioned for Radio performed by the orches ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ferdinand Frantz
Ferdinand Frantz (February 8, 1906 in Kassel – May 26, 1959 in Munich), was a German operatic bass-baritone. He was well known in his time for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. Fond of music as a boy, he joined a choral society in Kassel and at 16 was chosen to take a small solo part.Opera. June 1954, p339 Four years of vocal training ensued. Frantz's first role was in the Kassel Staatstheater in 1927, playing Hermann Ortel in a production of Wagner's ''Die Meistersinger''. He sang at the Halle Opera House from 1930 to 1932, then in Chemnitz from 1932 to 1937, and then in Hamburg with the Hamburg State Opera from 1937 to 1943. In 1943, he began singing with the Munich State Opera, where he would sing until the year of his death. Frantz guested at the Vienna Staatsoper, Semper Oper in Dresden, at La Scala, and Covent Garden. He debuted at the Metropolitan Opera in 1949, portraying Wotan in Wagner's ''Die Walküre''. This role caused some consternation among ope ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christa Ludwig
Christa Ludwig (16 March 1928 – 24 April 2021) was a German mezzo-soprano and occasional 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. She sang at many international opera houses and festivals, including at the Vienna State Opera from 1955 to 1994, and at the Metropolitan Opera in many roles. She is remembered for roles such as Mozart's Dorabella, Beethoven's Leonore in ''Fidelio'', Wagner's Kundry, and both Octavian and the Marschallin in ''Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss. In Vienna, she created the title role of Gottfried von Einem's ''Der Besuch der alten Dame'' in 1971. She is widely recognised as having been one of the most significant and distinguished singers of the 20th century. ''The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music'' (2006) st ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trude Eipperle
Trude Eipperle (27 January 1908 – 18 October 1997) was a Germans, German operatic soprano. Life Born in Stuttgart, Eipperle studied at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, Musikhochschule in her native Stuttgart, and made her stage debut in Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Wiesbaden, in 1930. She sang in Nuremberg (1930–34), Braunschweig, Brunswick (1934–37), Munich (1938–44), Cologne (1945–51), and Stuttgart from 1951 onwards. She also appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1942. She made guest appearances in Vienna, Milan, Barcelona, Lisbon, Brussels, Monte Carlo, Paris and London. Her repertory included Nozze di Figaro, Countess Almaviva, The Magic Flute, Pamina, Der Freischütz, Agathe, Tannhäuser (opera), Elisabeth, Lohengrin (opera), Elsa, Die Meistersinger, Eva, Der Rosenkavalier, Marschallin, Arabella, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Empress/Kaiserin (Die Frau ohne Schatten), but she was also admired as Desdemona in Verdi's ''Otello'', Mimi in ' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
