Eva Helga Bertha von der Osten (19 August 1881 – 5 May 1936) was a German

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

Biography

She was born in

Helgoland Heligoland (; german: Helgoland, ; Heligolandic Frisian: , , Mooring Frisian: , da, Helgoland) is a small archipelago in the North Sea. A part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein since 1890, the islands were historically possessions ...

, the daughter of actor (1847–1905) and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt (1850–1911). Von der Osten debuted in 1902 at the Dresdner Hofoper and performed there regularly until the end of her career. She was a favorite of the Dresden opera-going public and sang many of the most important roles of the soprano repertory. Von der Osten also was active as an opera director and served in that capacity for the premiere performance of

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

’s ''

Arabella ''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Performance history It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the Dr ...

''. She created the role of Octavian in Strauss' ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...

''. Von der Osten’s career led to guest appearances in many of Europe’s leading opera houses. From 1923 to 1924, she found great success in the female roles of

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

—particularly that of Isolde in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

''—while touring with director

Leo Blech Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Opernhaus (later the Berlin State Opera / Staatsoper Unter den Linden) from 1906 to 1937, and late ...

’s “German Opera Company” in North America. When she retired in 1927 after a 25-year career, Von der Osten had made over 2500 operatic appearances. She was married to the

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

Friedrich Plaschke Friedrich Plaschke (7 January 1875 – 4 February 1952) was a Czech operatic bass-baritone. From 1900 to 1937 he was a member of the Dresden Hofoper. He also appeared as a guest artist with companies in the United States, the Bayreuth Festival, ...

(1874–1952) and thus used the name "Eva Plaschke-von der Osten". Eva Plaschke von der Osten Grab

Von der Osten died in 1936 at her estate at Talmühlenstraße 49 in Kurort Hartha (today:

Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cott ...

). She is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

- Tolkewitz beside her sister, the singer

Vali von der Osten Vali (also, Vally) von der Osten (29 November 1882 – 15 August 1923) was a German soprano. She was the daughter of actor Emil von der Osten (1847–1905) and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt (1850–1911). Von der Osten was born in Dresden, where ...

. Her nephew,

Wolfgang Windgassen Wolfgang Windgassen (26 June 1914 – 8 September 1974) was a heldentenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas. Life and career Born in Annemasse, France, he was the son (and pupil) of a well known German Heldentenor, Fritz ...

, was a heldentenor held in similar stature.

Literature

* André Kaiser: ''Berühmte Persönlichkeiten aus der Ortschaft Kurort Hartha: Eva von der Osten (1884–1936) – eine Dresdner Opernsängerin von Weltruf'', in ''Rund um den Tharandter Wald''
Amtsblatt der Stadt Tharandt, März 2009, page 27f.

External links

* home Photo of Eva von der Osten as Sieglindein ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second 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 Theatre Munich on ...

'' by Richard Wagner. {{DEFAULTSORT:Osten, Eva Von Der 1881 births 1936 deaths German operatic sopranos Musicians from Dresden 20th-century German women opera singers