Judith Beckmann (born May 10, 1935) is an American-German soprano. She has spent the majority of her stage career in Germany and Austria.

Life and work

Beckmann was born in

Jamestown, North Dakota Jamestown is a city in Stutsman County, North Dakota, United States. It is the county seat of Stutsman County. The population was 15,849 at the 2020 census, making it the ninth largest city in North Dakota. Jamestown was founded in 1883 and i ...

, into a talented musical family, the daughter of an opera singer and a pianist. She received her musical education at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

and the

Music Academy of the West The Music Academy is a classical music training program in Montecito in Santa Barbara County, California. Overview The academy hosts an annual eight-week summer music festival, highlighted by concerts and workshops directed by famous composer ...

in Santa Barbara, studying under her father and

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

. In 1961 she won a singing contest in San Francisco, through which she was awarded a scholarship to study with

Henny Wolff Henny Wolff (3 February 1896 – 29 January 1965) was a German soprano concert singer and voice teacher. She made an international career, known for performing music by Bach and Handel, but also performing contemporary classical music. Compose ...

at the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg The Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg is one of the larger universities of music in Germany. It was founded 1950 as ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' (Public college of music) on the base of the former private acting school of Annem ...

and with

Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann Franziska Martienssen-Lohmann, née Meyer-Estorf (6 October 1887 – 2 February 1971) was a German soprano who focused on Lieder singing, and a voice teacher who gave master classes internationally, in collaboration with her husband. She wrote boo ...

in Düsseldorf. Her musical debut came in 1962 at the former National Theater of

Braunschweig Braunschweig () or Brunswick ( , from Low German ''Brunswiek'' , Braunschweig dialect: ''Bronswiek'') is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany, north of the Harz Mountains at the farthest navigable point of the river Oker, which connects it to the Nor ...

, in the role of Fiordiligi in Mozart's ''

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 ...

''. This was the beginning of an ongoing and successful career with engagements at the

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the De ...

and the

Bavarian State Opera The Bayerische Staatsoper is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bayerische Staatsorchester. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

in Munich. From 1964, Beckmann was a permanent member at the

Deutsche Oper am Rhein The Deutsche Oper am Rhein (German Opera on the Rhine) is an opera company based in Düsseldorf and Duisburg. The opera also has an associated classical ballet company. Axel Kober has been its Music Director since 2009. The resident orchestra, th ...

in Düsseldorf and from 1967 at the

Hamburg State 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 ''General ...

. She appeared 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'', whic ...

's ''

Der Wildschütz ''Der Wildschütz oder Die Stimme der Natur'' (''The Poacher, or The Voice of Nature'') is a German ''Komische Oper'', or comic opera, in three acts by Albert Lortzing from a libretto by the composer adapted from the comedy ''Der Rehbock, oder Di ...

'' and was a "most alluring Eurydice in Jacques Offenbach's parody of the Orpheus story". From 1969 she appeared with the

Vienna State Opera 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 S ...

. In 1975 she was appointed a , simultaneously with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French, ...

. In 1986 she played The Marschallin in ''

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'' ...

'' at the Teatro Regio in Turin, and in 1988 she appeared as

Ariadne Ariadne (; grc-gre, Ἀριάδνη; la, Ariadne) was a Cretan princess in Greek mythology. She was mostly associated with mazes and labyrinths because of her involvement in the myths of the Minotaur and Theseus. She is best known for having ...

in Strauss's opera ''

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' ...

'' at the

Theater Dortmund Theater Dortmund is a theatrical organization that produces operas, musicals, ballets, plays, and concerts in Dortmund, Germany. It was founded as the Stadttheater Dortmund in 1904. Supported by the German Government, the organization owns and o ...

. She has been associated with the

, which bestowed upon her the Medal of Honor. Beckmann has won acclaim for her interpretations of the works of

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 ...

, and has recorded cantatas such as ''Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest'', BWV 194. She is married to conductor Irving Beckmann. Their daughter is the conductor Catherine Rückwardt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beckmann, Judith American sopranos 20th-century American women opera singers German sopranos 20th-century German women opera singers 1935 births Living people People from Jamestown, North Dakota USC Thornton School of Music alumni Music Academy of the West alumni American emigrants to Germany