Birgit Remmert (born 4 September 1966) is a German operatic mezzo-soprano and contralto who has appeared in major European opera houses, concert halls and festivals. She has performed title roles such as

Dalila Delilah ( ; , meaning "delicate";Gesenius's ''Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon'' ar, دليلة, Dalīlah; grc, label=Greek, Δαλιδά, Dalidá) is a woman mentioned in the sixteenth chapter of the Book of Judges in the Hebrew Bible. She is loved b ...

Penthesilea Penthesilea ( el, Πενθεσίλεια, Penthesíleia) was an Amazonian queen in Greek mythology, the daughter of Ares and Otrera and the sister of Hippolyta, Antiope and Melanippe. She assisted Troy in the Trojan War, during which she was ...

, and Iokaste in an opera composed for her.

Career

Born in

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, Remmert took voice lessons from age 17. She studied at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold with Helmut Kretschmar. As a student, she achieved several prizes at international competitions. Remmert was from 1992 to 1998 a member of the ensemble of the Opernhaus Zürich, where she appeared as Farnace in Mozart's '' Mitridate, re di Ponto'', as Ulrica in Verdi's ''

Un ballo in maschera ''Un ballo in maschera'' ''(A Masked Ball)'' is an 1859 opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The text, by Antonio Somma, was based on Eugène Scribe's libretto for Daniel Auber's 1833 five act opera, '' Gustave III, ou Le bal masqué''. The ...

'', as Mrs. Quickly in his ''

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

'', in the title role of '' Samson et Dalila'' by Saint-Saëns, as Suzuki in Puccini's ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', as Zita in his ''

Gianni Schicchi () is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's ''Divine Comedy''. The work is the third and final part of Puccin ...

'', and as Orlofski in '' Die Fledermaus'' by Johann Strauss, among others. She performed at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amad ...

the role of the Nutrice in Monteverdi's '' L'incoronazione di Poppea'' in 1993, in Purcell's ''

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

'' in 2004, and as Ježibaba in Dvořák's ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalky/rusalki; ; pl, rusałka}) is a typically feminine entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water, with counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as the French Melus ...

'' in 2008. She appeared in Europe, at the Festival Montpellier in 1998, singing the title role of Schoeck's ''

'' in a

concert version A concert performance or concert version is a performance of a musical theater or opera in concert form, without set design or costumes, and mostly without theatrical interaction between singers. Concert performances are commonly presented in c ...

, at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

in 2000 and 2001 in the role of Fricka in Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'', at the

Semperoper The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the ...

in Dresden where she was Fricka, Erda and Waltraute in the Ring Cycle of 2001 to 2004, at the Teatro Real Madrid as Ortrud in his '' Lohengrin'' in 2005), and at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

in Venice as Gaea in ''

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

'' by Richard Strauss the same year. In Zurich, she appeared as Juno in a new production of Handel's ''

Semele Semele (; Ancient Greek: Σεμέλη ), in Greek mythology, was the youngest daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia (Greek goddess), Harmonia, and the mother of Dionysus by Zeus in one of his many origin myths. Certain elements of the cult of Dionysu ...

'' in 2009. The same year, she was the Nurse in ''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), 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 ...

'' by Richard Straussstaged by

David Pountney Sir David Willoughby Pountney (born 10 September 1947) is a British-Polish theatre and opera director and librettist internationally known for his productions of rarely performed operas and new productions of classic works. He has directed over ...

and conducted by

Franz Welser-Möst Franz Leopold Maria Möst (born 16 August 1960), known professionally as Franz Welser-Möst, is an Austrian conductor. He is currently music director of the Cleveland Orchestra. Biography Franz Leopold Maria Möst was born in Linz, Austria, ...

. Composer Stefan Heucke wrote an opera for her, ''Iokaste'', which premiered at the

Ruhrfestspiele Ruhrfestspiele (Ruhr Festival) in Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, is one of the oldest theatre festivals in Europe. Founded after World War II, the festival is a major annual cultural event for the Ruhr area. It always starts on 1 ...

in June 2014. The only character,

Iocaste In Greek mythology, Jocasta (), also rendered Iocaste ( grc, Ἰοκάστη ) and also known as Epicaste (; ), was a daughter of Menoeceus, a descendant of the Spartoi Echion, and queen consort of Thebes, Greece, Thebes. She was the wife of ...

, mother and wife of Oedipus, is portrayed by an actress and a singer, to present Iocaste's view on the tragic development as an

inner monologue Intrapersonal communication is the process by which an individual communicates within themselves, acting as both sender and receiver of messages, and encompasses the use of unspoken words to consciously engage in self-talk and inner speech. Intr ...

Awards

* 1989 Scholarship of the

* 1990 First prize Concorso Internazionale di Musica Camera, Finale Ligure, Italy * 1991 Prize of the

Deutscher Musikrat The Deutscher Musikrat (DMR, ''German Music Council''; ) is an umbrella organization for music associations and the 16 music councils of the German federal states.musikrat.deÜberblick über Organisationsstruktur des DMR(retrieved on 10 May 2019) ...

at the

Deutscher Musikwettbewerb The Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German music competition; ) is a national music competition in Germany for classical soloists and chamber music ensembles held annually by the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council). It was first held in 1975 and ...

* 2007 ECHO Klassik for the recording of '' Christus'' by Franz LisztFranz Liszt (1811-1886) "Christus"
bonitz-music-network.eu

References

External links

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Birgit Remmert
Operabase
Birgit Remmert / Born 4 September 1966

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

Birgit Remmert
david-molnar.eu

Bach Cantatas Website
5. Juni 2017 / Werk der Woche: Stefan Heucke – Deutsche Messe
Schott {{DEFAULTSORT:Remmert, Birgit German operatic mezzo-sopranos German contraltos 1966 births Living people Musicians from Braunschweig Hochschule für Musik Detmold alumni