Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann by August Weger

Hedwig Reicher-Kindermann (1853–1883) was a German opera singer whose range covered both soprano and

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, typica ...

. She trained as a pianist until she was 15 when her father recognized her singing abilities. In 1871, she was engaged by the Court Theatre in Munich where she performed as a singer, dancer and actress. After singing in Bayreuth in 1876, she made guest appearances in Austria, France and Italy. In 1880, she was engaged by the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

where she became known for her Wagnerian roles. From September 1882, she toured widely with

Angelo Neumann Josef Angelo Neumann (18 August 1838 – 20 December 1910) was a German operatic baritone and theater director. First a baritone at major opera houses in Europe, including the Vienna Imperial Opera, he was the managing director of the Leipzig O ...

's Niebelungentheater but died in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into prov ...

, Italy, on 2 June shortly after appearing as Brünnhilde in

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

on 15 July 1853, Hedwig Kindermann was the fifth daughter of the baritone

August Kindermann August Kindermann (6 February 1817 – 6 March 1891) was a German bass-baritone singer and regisseur, particularly noted for his performances in the operas of Richard Wagner. He was born in Potsdam. He began his career singing in the chorus of ...

and his wife Magdalena née Hofmann. Her mother, a teacher at the Leipzig Conservatory taught her piano from the age of five while she was also trained in voice by her father. When she was 15, she entered the Munich Music School as a pianist but also took part in the choir under

Franz Wüllner Franz Wüllner (28 January 1832 – 7 September 1902) was a German composer and conductor. He led the premieres of Wagner's ''Das Rheingold'' and ''Die Walküre'', but was much criticized by Wagner himself, who greatly preferred the more celebrate ...

. In 1871, she made her debut at the Court Theatre in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and went on to appear in the Court Opera of Munich as the Countess in

Albert Lortzing Gustav Albert Lortzing (23 October 1801 – 21 January 1851) was a German composer, librettist, actor and singer. He is considered to be the main representative of the German ''Spieloper'', a form similar to the French ''opéra comique'', which ...

's '' Der Wildschütz'', continuing to perform there until 1877. She took part in the first presentation of Wagner's full

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...

at Bayreuth from 13 to 17 August 1876, performing the role of Erda. While performing at the

Hamburg Opera The Hamburg State Opera (in German: Staatsoper Hamburg) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Gener ...

(1877–78), she appeared in the role of Grimerde in ''

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 ...

''. Over the next two years, she continued her success in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

(in Italian operas),

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

. In 1880, she was engaged by the Leipzig Opera where she became known for her Wagnerian roles. From September 1882, she toured widely with Angelo Neumann's Niebelungentheater, singing Wagnerian roles in Germany, Belgium and London where the Ring was presented for the first time at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

. While touring in Italy, she died in Trieste on 2 June 1883 shortly after appearing as Brünnhilde in ''Götterdämmerung''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reigher-Kindermann, Hedwig 1853 births 1883 deaths Actresses from Munich German operatic sopranos 19th-century German actresses