Luise Jaide (also Louise Jaide-Schlosser) (26 March 1842 – 2 January 1914) was a German

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 librett ...

tic

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

who had an active career during the latter half of the 19th century. Among her signature roles were Amneris in '' Aida'', Azucena in '' Il trovatore'', Frau Reich in ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'', Idamante in '' Idomeneo'', Irmentraud in ''

Der Waffenschmied ''Der Waffenschmied'' (The Blacksmith, Armourer) is an opera (Singspiel) in three acts by Albert Lortzing. The German-language libretto was by the composer after Friedrich Wilheim von Ziegler's ''Liebhaber und Nebenbuhler in einer Person'' (Lover ...

'', and Mary in '' The Flying Dutchman''. She is best remembered today for playing several roles in the first complete presentation of

Richard 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 ''

The 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 ''Nibelung ...

'' at the very first

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

in 1876.Jaide, Luise Biography at operissimo.com (in German)
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Biography

Born Luise Jaide in

Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the States of Germany, state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Frankfurt Rhine Main Area, Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it th ...

, Jaide studied at the

Stuttgart Conservatory The State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is a professional school for musicians and performing artists in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1857, it is one of the oldest schools of its kind in Germany. History The school was f ...

. She made her professional opera debut in 1859 as Pierotto in

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

's ''

Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic ''melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history ''Li ...

'' at the Dresden Court Theater under the name Louise Orth. Subsequent engagements took her to the Municipal Theater of

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

and the German Opera Theater in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

. From 1861 to 1862, she was committed to the Staatsoper Hannover and she performed at the Stadttheater Regensburg from 1862 to 1865. She returned to Darmstadt in 1865, where she remained for the next twelve years, performing under the name of Louise Jaide. In 1872, Richard Wagner heard Jaide perform in Darmstadt and was very impressed by her vocal and dramatic abilities. He invited her to take part in the first presentation of the complete Ring Cycle at the Bayreuth Festival in 1876. This was the first time that the third and fourth operas in the Ring cycle, ''

Siegfried Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

'' and '' Götterdämmerung'', were heard. Jaide played Erda in ''Siegfried'' at its première on August 16, 1876, and she played Waltraute in ''Götterdämmerung'' at its première on August 17, 1876. She also sang the role of Waltraute in Wagner's '' Die Walküre'' as part of the first complete Ring cycle on August 14, 1876. As a guest artist Jaide appeared at the Staatsoper Stuttgart (1873), the opera house in Wiesbaden (1874), the Vienna State Opera (1874 and 1877), and the Oper Frankfurt (1875). From 1878 to 1879, Jaide was a member of the opera house in Bremen. From 1879 to 1889, she was committed to the opera house in

. From 1889 to 1890, she was a principal artist at the

Vlaamse Opera The Vlaamse Opera (Flemish Opera) is an opera company in Belgium directed by Jan Vandenhouwe which operates in two different opera houses in two Flemish cities, the Vlaamse Opera Antwerp at Van Ertbornstraat 8 and the Vlaamse Opera Ghent at Schouwbu ...

, after which she retired from the stage. After her opera career ended, Jaide dedicated herself to teaching aspiring opera singers in Darmstadt.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaide, Luise 1842 births 1914 deaths 19th-century German women opera singers German operatic mezzo-sopranos Musicians from Darmstadt State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart alumni