Emmy Lisken (3 February 1923 in

Moers Moers (; older form: ''Mörs''; archaic Dutch language, Dutch: ''Murse'', ''Murs'' or ''Meurs'') is a German List of cities and towns in Germany, city on the western bank of the Rhine, close to Duisburg. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel (d ...

– 11 October 2020 in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

) was a German

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

in opera and concert.

Career

Born in Moers, Lisken studied voice at the Konservatorium Düsseldorf with Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann. She was engaged from 1955 at the

Theater Basel Theater Basel is the municipal theatre of the city of Basel, Switzerland, which is home to the city's opera and ballet companies. The theatre also presents plays and musicals in addition to operas and operettas. Because the theatre does not ha ...

and the Cologne Opera. In Cologne, she participated in 1957 in the premiere of Wolfgang Fortner's ''

Bluthochzeit (''Blood Wedding'') is an opera () in two acts by Wolfgang Fortner. The libretto, also by Fortner, is based on German translation of García Lorca's 1933 play '' Bodas de sangre''. It premiered at the Cologne Opera on 8 June 1957. Compositio ...

'' in the role of Leonardo's Wife. A live recording of the premiere was issued 50 years later. From 1958 she worked mainly as a concert and oratorio singer, performing in European countries and at international festivals such as Festival du Marais in Paris. She recorded compositions by

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard w ...

with conductors such as Wolfgang Gönnenwein,

Helmut Kahlhöfer Helmut Kahlhöfer (25 July 1914 – 12 April 1988) was a German church musician and academic teacher. He was the founder and for decades the conductor of the choir Kantorei Barmen-Gemarke. Life and career Born in Barmen (now part of Wuppertal), ...

Hans Thamm Hans Thamm (1921 – 13 March 2007) was a German choral conductor, the founder and for more than three decades director of the boys' choir Windsbacher Knabenchor. Career Thamm was born in Kamenz, Saxony. He received his first musical training in ...

, and others. Lisken was a voice teacher at the Leopold-Mozart Konservatorium in Augsburg from 1976 to 1998. Her daughter Annette Seiltgen was one of her students.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lisken, Emmy German contraltos 1923 births 2020 deaths People from Moers