Liselotte Hammes (born 1933) is 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 ...

and academic voice teacher. While based at the Cologne Opera, she performed internationally. One of her signature roles is Sophie in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss, which she performed at the Glyndebourne Festival, among other European opera houses.

Career

Hammes was born in Siegburg, probably in 1933. She studied at the

Musikhochschule Köln A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger in ...

, first piano, then voice. In 1957, she made her debut at the Cologne Opera, as Amor in Gluck's ''

Orfeo ed Euridice ' (; French: '; English: ''Orpheus and Eurydice'') is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck, based on Orpheus, the myth of Orpheus and set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the ''azione teatrale'', mea ...

''. She remained a member of the opera house until 1968 when she married, but still appeared there as a guest until the mid-1970s. She appeared as a guest in Germany and internationally, at the Staatsoper Stuttgart, the

Hamburgische Staatsoper 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 ''Genera ...

, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, the

Teatro Verdi di Trieste The Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi is an opera house located in Trieste, Italy and named after the composer Giuseppe Verdi. Privately constructed, it was inaugurated as the Teatro Nuovo to replace the smaller 800-seat "Cesareo Regio Teatro di San Pie ...

and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in 1962, at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

and the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon in 1964 and 1967, at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan and the Rome Opera in 1968, and at the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be ...

in 1971. She appeared as Sophie in '' Der Rosenkavalier'' by Richard Strauss for the opening performance of the

Opernhaus Dortmund Opernhaus Dortmund is the opera house of Dortmund, Germany, operated by the Theater Dortmund organisation. A new opera house opened in 1966, replacing an earlier facility which opened in 1904 and was destroyed during World War I. It was built on ...

on 3 March 1966, alongside

Teresa Żylis-Gara Teresa Żylis-Gara (23 January 1930 – 28 August 2021) was a Polish operatic soprano who enjoyed a major international career from the 1950s through the 1990s. She made her stage debut at the Opera Krakowska in 1958 in the title role of Moni ...

in the title role, Elisabeth Grümmer as the Marschallin, and Kurt Böhme as Ochs, conducted by

Wilhelm Schüchter Wilhelm Schüchter (15 December 1911 – 27 May 1974) was a German conductor. He was Generalmusikdirektor in Dortmund and left a legacy of opera recordings. Career Born in Bonn, Schüchter studied piano at the Hochschule für Musik Köln, comp ...

. She also performed the role at the 1965 Glyndebourne Festival in a production that was recorded. Conducted by John Pritchard, she sang again with Żylis-Gara, this time with Montserrat Caballé as the Marschallin and

Otto Edelmann Otto Edelmann (5 February 1917 – 14 May 2003) was an Austrian operatic bass. Life Edelmann was born in Vienna and studied singing with Gunnar Graarud. His debut was at Gera as Figaro in Mozart's '' The Marriage of Figaro''. He later sang ...

as Ochs. Her repertoire of about 70 roles included the major roles of Susanna in Mozart's '' Le nozze di Figaro'', both Papagena and Pamina in his '' Die Zauberflöte'', Marzelline in Beethoven's '' Fidelio'', Mimi in Puccini's '' La bohème'' and the title role in his ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...

'', Nedda in Leoncavallo's ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'', Marie in Smetana's '' Die verkaufte Braut'' and Ann Truelove in Stravinsky's '' The Rake's Progress''. Hammes also appeared as a concert singer. In 1973, she turned to teaching, first in Bonn and Siegburg, and from 1985 was a professor at the Musikhochschule Köln.

Recording

In 1966, she recorded the role of Zdenka in ''

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 ...

'' by Richard Strauss live at La Fenice in Venice, alongside Melitta Muszely in the title role and with

Meinhard von Zallinger Meinhard von Zallinger-Thurn (25 February 1897 – 24 September 1990) was an Austrian conductor. Life Born in Vienna, von Zallinger came from an old South Tyrol family. He was the son of the legal historian Otto von Zallinger, professor of Germ ...

as conductor.

References

External links

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier – Caballé, Zylis-Gara, Hammes, Edelmann; Pritchard. Glyndebourne, 1965
operadepot.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammes, Liselotte 1933 births Living people People from Siegburg German operatic sopranos 20th-century German women opera singers Voice teachers Women music educators German music educators Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln alumni