![Hilde Gueden (1962)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9b/Hilde_Gueden_%281962%29.jpg)
Hilde Güden (or Gueden; 15 September 1917 – 17 September 1988) was an Austrian
soprano who was one of the most appreciated
Strauss
Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...
ian and
Mozartian sopranos of her day. Her youthful and lively interpretations made her an ideal interpreter of roles such as Zerbinetta in ''
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 ...
'' and Susanna in ''
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 ...
''.
Early life
Born Hulda Geiringer 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 ...
, she studied singing with Otto Iro, piano with Maria Wetzelsberger, and dancing at the
Vienna Music Academy
The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817.
With a student body of over three thousa ...
. She debuted, as Hulda Gerin, in 1937 in Benatzky's operetta ''Herzen im Schnee'' at the
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper (''Volksoper'' or ''Vienna People's Opera'') is an opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions of opera, operetta, musicals, and ballet, during an annual s ...
. Her operatic debut came in 1939, when she sang Cherubino in ''Le nozze di Figaro'' at the
Zurich Opera.
In 1941, the famous conductor
Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner.
Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...
engaged her for the
Munich State Opera, where she sang with much success. From this time she used Hilde Güden as her stage name.
Post-war career
In Italy,
Tullio Serafin
Tullio Serafin (1 September 18782 February 1968) was an Italian conductor and former Musical Director at La Scala.
Biography
Tullio Serafin was a leading Italian opera conductor with a long career and a very broad repertoire who revived many 19t ...
invited her to sing Sophie (''
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'' ...
'') in Rome and
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
. From then on, she gained great successes in Paris,
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
, London,
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...
,
Glyndebourne
Glyndebourne () is an English country house, the site of an opera house that, since 1934, has been the venue for the annual Glyndebourne Festival Opera. The house, located near Lewes in East Sussex, England, is thought to be about six hun ...
, and other major cities. She made her debut at
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 ...
in 1946 by singing Zerlina in Mozart's ''
Don Giovanni'' in 1946. In 1947, she started a long membership with the
Vienna Staatsoper
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 Si ...
, where she was still of the greatest stars up to 1973. In December 1951, she debuted at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
as Gilda in ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...
''. In 1953, she sang Ann Trulove in the first U.S. performance of
Stravinsky's ''
The Rake's Progress
''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...
'' at the
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
.
From late 1950s, she moved from light roles to lyric ones in the same
opera
Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
s; from Susanna to Countess Almaviva (''
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 ...
''), from Zerlina to Donna Elvira (''Don Giovanni''), from Despina to Fiordiligi (''
Così fan tutte''), from Nannetta to Alice Ford (''
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 ...
''), and from Musetta to Mimi (''
La bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...
''). She was also praised for her performances of Violetta in ''
La traviata'', Marguerite in ''
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540).
The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...
'', and Micaëla in ''
Carmen''.
She was a most versatile and accomplished singer. Besides her usual Mozart and
Richard Strauss, she was also an ideal operetta singer. Her 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 ...
'' is considered one of her best roles. In the
bel canto repertoire, she became a famous Gilda in ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...
'' and Adina in ''
L'elisir d'amore''. She was also noted for her
Lieder and
oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
work.
![Grab Hilde Güden - 2020-12-24 - 465c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Grab_Hilde_G%C3%BCden_-_2020-12-24_-_465c.jpg)
She died, aged 71, in
Klosterneuburg
Klosterneuburg (; frequently abbreviated as Kloburg by locals) is a town in Tulln District in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. It has a population of about 27,500. The Klosterneuburg Monastery, which was established in 1114 and soon after gi ...
, and was buried in Munich 's Waldfriedhof Cemetery. (Tenor Fritz Wunderlich is also buried there.)
Recordings
During the 1950s and 1960s, Hilde Güden made dozens of recordings with the best artists of her generation, especially for the Decca/London label. Following is a selection of her recorded works:
1. Mozart: ''
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 ...
'' (as Susanna) with Lisa della Casa, Cesare Siepi, and
Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of new music.
Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conservato ...
(conductor); Vienna State Opera Chorus and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra; rec.1955 (Decca)
2. Mozart: ''
Don Giovanni'' (as Zerlina) with Lisa della Casa, Cesare Siepi, Walter Berry, Suzanne Danco and
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips (8 April 1902 – 13 October 1974) was an Austrian conductor and violinist.
Life and career
Krips was born in Vienna. His father was Josef Jakob Krips, a medical doctor and amateur singer, and his mother was Aloisia, née Seit ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1955 (Decca)
3. Mozart: ''
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 ...
'' (as Pamina) with Wilma Lipp, Leopold Simoneau, Kurt Boehme and
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.
Life and career
Education
Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1955 (Decca)
4. Johann Strauss: ''
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 ...
'' (as Rosalinde) with Wilma Lipp, Anton Dermota, Julius Patzak and
Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner.
Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1950 (London Gramophone LLP 305, Decca, now only available in various "public domain" versions)
5. Johann Strauss: ''
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 ...
'' (as Rosalinde) with Erika Köth, Walter Berry, Regina Resnik and
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born Heribert Ritter von Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, wit ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1960 (Decca)
6. Johann Strauss: ''
Der Zigeunerbaron'' (as Saffi) with Karl Terkal, Walter Berry, Anneliese Rothenberger and
Heinrich Hollreiser
Heinrich Hollreiser (24 June 191324 July 2006) was a German conductor.
Born in Munich, he attended the State Academy of Music there and went on to serve as the conductor at the opera houses in Wiesbaden, Darmstadt, Mannheim, and Duisburg. From ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1959 (EMI)
7. Richard Strauss: ''
Daphne
Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater.
There are several versions of the myth in whi ...
'' (as Daphne) with
Fritz Wunderlich
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35.
Biography
Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...
, James King, Paul Schoffler and
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.
Life and career
Education
Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1964/live (DG)
8. Richard 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'' ...
'' (as Sophie) with Maria Reining,
Sena Jurinac
Srebrenka "Sena" Jurinac () (24 October 1921 – 22 November 2011) was a Bosnian-born Austrian operatic soprano.
Biography
Jurinac was born in Travnik, Bosnia-Herzegovina (then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia), the daughter of a Croatia ...
and
Erich Kleiber
Erich Kleiber (5 August 1890 – 27 January 1956) was an Austrian, later Argentine, conductor, known for his interpretations of the classics and as an advocate of new music.
Kleiber was born in Vienna, and after studying at the Prague Conservato ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1954 (Decca)
9. Richard Strauss: ''
Die schweigsame Frau
''Die schweigsame Frau'' (''The Silent Woman''), Op. 80, is a 1935 comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's '' Epicoene, or the Silent Woman''.
Composition history
Since '' Elektra'' and ''Der ...
'' with Hermann Prey,
Fritz Wunderlich
Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35.
Biography
Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...
,
Hans Hotter
Hans Hotter (19 January 19096 December 2003) was a German operatic bass-baritone. He stood 6 ft 4 in and his appearance was striking. His voice and diction were equally recognisable.
Early life and career
Born in Offenbach am Main, Hesse, ...
, and
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.
Life and career
Education
Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1959/live-Salzburg Festival (DG)
10. Richard Strauss: ''
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 ...
'' (as Zerbinetta) with Lisa della Casa, Irmgard Seefried, Rudolph Schock and
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss.
Life and career
Education
Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1954/live-Salzburg Festival (DG)
11. Richard Wagner: ''
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg'' (as Eva) with Paul Schöffler, Günther Treptow, Karl Dönch, Anton Dermota and
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss.
Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera; rec.1950–51 (Decca)
12. Giacomo Puccini: ''
La bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '' quadri'', '' tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giusep ...
'' (as Musetta) with
Renata Tebaldi, Giacinto Prandelli, Fernando Corena and Alberto Erede (cond.); Orchestra e coro dell'Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Roma; rec.1950 (Decca)
13. Giuseppe Verdi: ''
Rigoletto
''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play '' Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had co ...
'' (as Gilda) with
Aldo Protti
Aldo Protti (19 July 1920 – 10 August 1995) was an Italian baritone opera singer, particularly associated with the Italian repertory. He was particularly appreciated in Verdi roles, especially ''Rigoletto'', his greatest role, but also as Alf ...
,
Mario Del Monaco,
Cesare Siepi and
Alberto Erede
Alberto Erede (8 November 190912 April 2001) was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with operatic work.
Born in Genoa, Erede studied there before studying at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan, then with Felix Weingartner at Basle, and ...
(cond.); Chorus and Orchestra of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, Rome; rec.1954 (Decca)
Video
* Güden can be seen on black-and-white video as the Countess in ''
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 ...
'', in a live performance with
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...
,
Geraint Evans
Sir Geraint Llewellyn Evans (16 February 1922 – 19 September 1992) was a Welsh bass-baritone noted for operatic roles including Figaro in ''Le nozze di Figaro'', Papageno in ''Die Zauberflöte'', and the title role in ''Wozzeck''. Evans was esp ...
,
Graziella Sciutti, and
Evelyn Lear, conducted by
Lorin Maazel, from 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 ...
, 1963. The DVD is published by Video Artists International, Inc. Catalog number DVD 4519.
References
*D. Brook, ''Singers of Today'' (Revised Edition – Rockliff, London 1958), 100–103.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Güden, Hilde
1917 births
1988 deaths
Austrian operatic sopranos
University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni
Musicians from Vienna
20th-century Austrian women opera singers