Margarete Karoline "Grete" Merrem-Nikisch (7 July 1887 – 12 March 1970) was a
German operatic
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 ...
.
Life
Born in
Düren
Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur.
History
Roman era
The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...
, Merrem-Nikisch first studied with Rudolf Schulz-Dornburg
Rudolf Schulz-Dornburg
/ref> in Cologne and then at the renowned Königlichen Konservatorium in Leipzig, where she also made her debut in 1910 at the Leipzig Opera. One year later she gave her first guest performance at the Berlin Court Opera as a goose maid in Humperdinck's opera '' Königskinder''. In 1913 she was engaged by the Semperoper in Dresden and took part in several premieres there: in 1916 she played the slave Arsinoë in Albert's opera ''Die toten Augen
''Die toten Augen'' (''The Dead Eyes'') is an opera (called a or 'stage poem' by the composer) with a prologue and one act by Eugen d'Albert to a libretto in German by Hanns Heinz Ewers and (Achille Georges d'Ailly-Vaucheret) after Henry's own ...
'', in 1917 the title role in Hans Pfitzner's opera ''Das Christ-Elflein
''Das Christ-Elflein'' (''The Little Elf of Christ'') is an opera in two acts by Hans Pfitzner to a German-language libretto by Pfitzner and Ilse von Stach. The work was originally premiered in 1906 as a Christmas play by von Stach with incidenta ...
'', in 1926 the Lady in Hindemith's '' Cardillac''. During this time she occasionally performed abroad, for example at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
, where she sang the role of Eva in Wagner's ''Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
(; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...
'' in 1914; the performance was conducted by her father-in-law Arthur Nikisch.
Merrem-Nikisch documented her versatility with a spectrum from tragic opera (among others the title role 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 ...
'' and the role of Irene in Wagner's '' Rienzi'') to operetta ('' Die Fledermaus'', '' The Merry Widow''). She celebrated great successes in several Mozart roles, such as Dorabella in ''Così fan tutte
(''All Women Do It, or The School for Lovers''), K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte w ...
'', Zerlina in ''Don Giovanni
''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...
'' and Susanna in '' Le nozze di Figaro''. In 1930 she took the part of Veronika in Jan Brandts-Buys
Jan Willem Frans Brandts Buijs ( Zutphen, 12 September 1868 – Salzburg, 7 December 1933) was a Dutch-Austrian composer who came from a long line of Dutch organists and composers of protestant church music.
His father was an organ player in th ...
′ opéra comique
''Opéra comique'' (; plural: ''opéras comiques'') is a genre of French opera that contains spoken dialogue and arias. It emerged from the popular '' opéras comiques en vaudevilles'' of the Fair Theatres of St Germain and St Laurent (and to a l ...
' and said goodbye to the stage. After that she was appointed an honorary member of the Dresden Opera.
Recordings were made with well-known Dresden and Berlin artists such as Karin Branzell
Karin Branzell (24 September 189115 December 1974) was a Swedish operatic contralto (sometimes described as a mezzo-soprano), who had a prominent career at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and in Europe. Her very wide range enabled her to sing b ...
, Meta Seinemeyer
Meta Seinemeyer (September 5, 1895 – August 19, 1929) was a German opera singer with a spinto soprano voice.
Seinemeyer was born in Berlin, where she studied at the Stern Conservatory with Ernst Grenzebach. She made her debut at the Deutsche Op ...
and Richard Tauber. She can be heard in an acoustic Polydor production of Strauss' autobiographical opera '' Intermezzo''. In 1924, shortly after the premiere of the work in Dresden, she took over the role of Christine from her colleague Lotte Lehmann.
In 1914 Merrem-Nikisch married the well-known jurist , whose memoirs she published in 1969 under the title ''Wissenschaft und Kunst''.
Merren-Nikisch died in Kiel.
Grete Merrem-Nikisch als Marie.jpg, As Marie in '' The Bartered Bride'', 1917
Boris Godunow mit Robert Burg als Boris, Grete Merrem-Nikisch als Feodor.jpg, As Feodor, male role, in ''Boris Godunov
Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...
'', with Robert Burg
Robert Burg (29 March 18909 February 1946), real name Robert Bartl, was a German baritone in opera, concert and recital. He belonged to the opera in Dresden for almost three decades, where he shaped the revival of Verdi operas. He performed in ...
, 1923
Grete Nikisch als Christine, Intermezzo.jpg, As Christine in '' Intermezzo'', 1924
Bibliography
* Karl-Josef Kutsch, Leo Riemens: ''Merrem-Nikisch, Grete.'' In '' Großes Sängerlexikon''. 3rd edition, München 1997–2000, vol. 3,
* Elizabeth Forbes: ''Grete Merrem-Nikisch''. In Laura Williams Lacy (editor): ''The Grove Book of Opera Singers''. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008,
References
External links
Grete Merrem-Nikisch
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merrem Nikisch, Grete
1887 births
1970 deaths
People from Düren
German operatic sopranos
20th-century German women opera singers