Claire Born
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Claire Born (17 February 1898 – 18 December 1965) was a German operatic soprano. A long-term member of the
Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...
and 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, she appeared at leading international opera houses and festivals, in roles such as Donna Elvira in Mozart's '' Don Giovanni'', Eva in Wagner's '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and the title role of ''
Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...
''. She performed in world premieres including Hindemith's ''
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story ''Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first per ...
'' and
Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of ...
's ''Vom Fischer un syner Fru''.


Career

Born in Bayreuth, Born received her voice training in Chemnitz and Vienna. She began her artistic career in 1917 at the
Theater Chemnitz Theater Chemnitz is the municipal theatre organization in Chemnitz, Germany. Performances of opera, ballet, plays, symphonic concerts, and puppet theatre take place in its three main venues: the Opernhaus Chemnitz (for opera, ballet and musical th ...
where she worked until 1920. From 1920 to 1929 she belonged to the
Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...
.Claire Born
on Historicopera
She was especially successful with roles of the lyric-
dramatic soprano 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 ...
repertoire, such as the Countess in Mozart's ''
Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...
'', Pamina in his ''
Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that includ ...
'', Agathe in Weber's ''
Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 18 ...
'', and Rosalinde in ''
Die Fledermaus ' (, ''The Flittermouse'' or ''The Bat'', sometimes called ''The Revenge of the Bat'') is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée, which premiered in 1874. Background The original li ...
'' by Johann Strauss. She appeared with the Vienna State Opera in Amsterdam in 1924 in the title role of ''
Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...
'' by Richard Strauss, In 1925, she was Donna Elvira in Mozart's '' Don Giovanni'' at the Paris Opera. She made her Bayreuth Festival debut that year, as Eva in '' Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' and as Gutrune in ''
Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as ...
''. 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 Ama ...
, as the Countess in ''Figaro'' between 1922 and 1929, as Donna Elvira between 1922 and 1927, and as Ariadne in 1926. File:Cardillac, 1926. Scene II. Act with Robert Burg as Cardillac and Claire Born as his daughter.jpg, ''
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story ''Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first per ...
'', 1926. Robert Burg as Cardillac and Born as his daughter File:Elektra, 1927. Anna Wolf-Ortner als Elektra und Claire Born als Chrysothemis (cropped).jpg, '' Elektra'', 1927. Anna Wolf-Ortner, left, as Elektra and Born as Chrysothemis
From 1926 to 1932, Born was a member of the Dresden
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 ...
as one of the leading singers. She performed in the premiere of Hindemith's ''
Cardillac ''Cardillac'', Op. 39, is an opera by Paul Hindemith in three acts and four scenes. Ferdinand Lion wrote the libretto based on characters from the short story ''Das Fräulein von Scuderi'' by E. T. A. Hoffmann. Performance history The first per ...
'' on 9 November 1926 as the Daughter, and in the premiere of
Othmar Schoeck Othmar Schoeck (1 September 1886 – 8 March 1957) was a Swiss Romantic classical composer, opera composer, musician, and conductor. He was known mainly for his considerable output of art songs and song cycles, though he also wrote a number of ...
's '' Vom Fischer un syner Fru'' on 3 October 1930 as Ilsebill, a title character. In 1924 she appeared at the
Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...
, and in 1935 at the
Graz Opera The Graz Opera (German: Oper Graz) is an Austrian opera house and opera company based in Graz. The orchestra of the opera house also performs concerts as the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra (''Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester''). History Opera h ...
. Her roles also included Dorabella in Mozart's '' Così fan tutte'', Micaela in Bizet's '' Carmen'', Alice Ford in Verdi's ''
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 ...
'', Irene in Wagner's ''
Rienzi ' (''Rienzi, the last of the tribunes''; WWV 49) is an early opera by Richard Wagner in five acts, with the libretto written by the composer after Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel of the same name (1835). The title is commonly shortened to ''Rie ...
'', Senta in his ''
Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner cla ...
'', Elsa in his ''
Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...
'' and both Freia and Fricka in his ''
Das Rheingold ''Das Rheingold'' (; ''The Rhinegold''), WWV 86A, is the first of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National ...
'', Minneleide in Pfitzner's ''
Die Rose vom Liebesgarten ''Die Rose vom Liebesgarten'' is a 1900 opera by Hans Pfitzner to a libretto by James Grun, one of Pfitzner's fellow students at the Frankfurt Conservatory, which had been prompted by an 1890 painting by Hans Thoma ''Der Wächter vor dem Liebesga ...
'', the Duchess of Parma in Busoni's ''
Doktor Faust ''Doktor Faust'' is an opera by Ferruccio Busoni with a German libretto by the composer, based on the myth of Faust. Busoni worked on the opera, which he intended as his masterpiece, between 1916 and 1924, but it was still incomplete at the time o ...
'', Nedda in Leoncavalo's '' Bajazzo'', Maddalena in Giordano's '' Andrea Chénier'', Lauretta in Puccini's ''
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 Pucci ...
'' and Suzel in Mascagni's ''
L'amico Fritz ''L'amico Fritz'' () is an opera in three acts by Pietro Mascagni, premiered in 1891 from a libretto by P. Suardon ( Nicola Daspuro) (with additions by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti), based on the French novel ''L'ami Fritz'' by Émile Erckmann a ...
''. Born was married to the banker Richard Kronstein. Because of her Jewish origin, she had to leave Germany in 1933, and after the
Anschluss The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938. The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
in 1938 also Austria. She moved to Switzerland and then to London, where she worked as a singing teacher. After the war, she returned to Vienna, where she taught voice from 1946 to 1948. She died there on 18 December 1965.


See also

* Salzburg Festival: history and repertoire, 1922–1926


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Born, Claire 1898 births 1965 deaths People from Bayreuth German operatic sopranos Voice teachers 20th-century German women opera singers