Marie-Louise Gilles (or Marie-Luise Gilles; born 1937) is a German

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 ...

in opera and concert, a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of voice, and an opera

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Career

Born in

Düren Düren (; ripuarian: Düre) is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, between Aachen and Cologne on the river Rur. History Roman era The area of Düren was part of Gallia Belgica, more specifically the territory of the Eburones, a people ...

, Gilles studied at the Folkwangschule in Essen with Hilde Wesselmann. After a first engament at the Stadttheater Oberhausen, she was a member of the

Staatstheater Wiesbaden The Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden ('Hessian State Theatre Wiesbaden') is a German theatre located in Wiesbaden, in the German state Hesse. The company produces operas, plays, ballets, musicals and concerts on four stages. Known also as the ...

from 1961 to 1964, where she appeared as Dorabella 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 ...

'' and performed

trouser role A breeches role (also pants role or trouser role, or Hosenrolle) is one in which an actress appears in male clothing. Breeches, tight-fitting knee-length pants, were the standard male garment at the time these roles were introduced. The theatric ...

s in operas by Richard Strauss, Octavian 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'' ...

'' and the composer 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' ...

''. After Munich and Bremen, she sang from 1968 at the

Staatsoper Hannover Hanover State Opera (german: Staatsoper Hannover) is an opera company in Hanover, the state capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. The company is resident in the Hanover Opera House (), and is part of a publicly-funded umbrella performing arts organ ...

. The same year, she appeared at the

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 ...

as the

valkyrie In Norse mythology, a valkyrie ("chooser of the slain") is one of a host of female figures who guide souls of the dead to the god Odin's hall Valhalla. There, the deceased warriors become (Old Norse "single (or once) fighters"Orchard (1997:36) ...

Grimgerde in Richard Wagner's ''

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 ...

''. She performed in 1969 in Hans Pfitzner's ''

Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; grc, Πραίνεστος, ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Pren ...

'' another trousers role,

's pupil Silja. In 1973, she appeared in Benjamin Britten's ''

Owen Wingrave ''Owen Wingrave'', Op. 85, is an opera in two acts with music by Benjamin Britten and libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after a short story by Henry James. It was originally written for televised performance. Britten had been aware of the story sin ...

'', conducted by

George Alexander Albrecht George Alexander Albrecht (15 February 1935 – 21 December 2021) was a German conductor and composer, who also worked as a musicologist and academic teacher. A prolific composer at a young age, he was Generalmusikdirektor (GMD) of the Staatsope ...

, with

Gerhard Faulstich Gerhard Faulstich is a German baritone. After voice studies at the , Gerhard Faulstich was active since 1965 as a concert singer. He made his operatic debut at the in as Leonardo in Wolfgang Fortner's opera ''Bluthochzeit''. In 1981, he joined t ...

in the title role, Astrid Schirmer as Miss Wingrave, and

Theo Altmeyer Theo Altmeyer (16 March 1931 – 28 July 2007) was a German classical tenor. Although he was a successful opera singer, he is chiefly remembered for his work as an oratorio soloist. He possessed a rich and lyrical voice that he employed with grea ...

in supporting roles. She sang in 1977 the parts of Waltraute and Second Norne in Wagner'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 p ...

'', alongside

Herbert Becker Herbert Lawrence Becker (born 1951) is an American former magician, escapologist, stunt performer, author, and businessman. As a magician, Becker performed as ''Kardeen''. Biography Early life Herbert Lawrence Becker was born in Hollywood, Flor ...

and

Ute Vinzing Ute Vinzing (born 9 September 1936Gerhard Asche In ''Opernwelt''. September/October 2016 issue, .) is a German operatic soprano who received the title Kammersängerin. She is known for dramatic roles by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, includin ...

. Leading parts included characters by Verdi (Azucena in '' Der Troubadour'', Eboli in ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Friedri ...

'') and Wagner (Brangäne in ''

Tristan und Isolde ''Tristan und Isolde'' (''Tristan and Isolde''), WWV 90, is an opera in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the 12th-century romance Tristan and Iseult by Gottfried von Strassburg. It was compose ...

'', Ortrud in ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in Germany, German Arthurian literature. The son of Percival, Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which fi ...

'', Fricka in ''Die Walküre''), and Santuzza in Mascagni's ''

Cavalleria rusticana ''Cavalleria rusticana'' (; Italian for "rustic chivalry") is an opera in one act by Pietro Mascagni to an Italian libretto by Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti and Guido Menasci, adapted from an 1880 short story of the same name and subsequent play b ...

''. In operas by Alban Berg, she performed Countess Geschwitz in ''

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

'' and the soprano part of Marie in ''

Wozzeck ''Wozzeck'' () is the first opera by the Austrian composer Alban Berg. It was composed between 1914 and 1922 and first performed in 1925. The opera is based on the drama ''Woyzeck'', which the German playwright Georg Büchner left incomplete at h ...

''. From 1982, Gilles has been a professor at the

Musikhochschule Hannover 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 ...

. She was also a stage director for opera. Gilles was one of the soloists for the series of broadcasts and recordings of Bach's cantatas with

Diethard Hellmann Diethard Hellmann (28 December 1928 – 14 October 1999) was a German Kantor and an academic in Leipzig, Mainz and Munich. Professional career Born in Grimma, Dietmann Hellmann was a member of the Thomanerchor. He studied church music in Leipzig ...

. In 1972, she recorded the alto part in J. S. Bach's ''

St Matthew Passion The ''St Matthew Passion'' (german: Matthäus-Passion, links=-no), BWV 244, is a '' Passion'', a sacred oratorio written by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1727 for solo voices, double choir and double orchestra, with libretto by Picander. It sets ...

'' with Philipp Röhl conducting his choir . The same year, she recorded the part of Gertrude in Heinrich Marschner's opera ''

Hans Heiling ''Hans Heiling'' is a German Romantic opera in 3 acts with prologue by Heinrich Marschner with a libretto by Eduard Devrient, who also sang the title role at the première at the Königliche Hofoper (now Berlin State Opera), Berlin, on 24 May 1 ...

'', conducted by

Gerd Albrecht Gerd Albrecht (19 July 1935 – 2 February 2014) was a German conductor. Biography Albrecht was born in Essen, the son of the musicologist Hans Albrecht (1902–1961). He studied music in Kiel and in Hamburg, where his teachers included Wilhel ...

, with choir and orchestra of RAI Turin, with

Bernd Weikl Bernd Weikl (born 29 July 1942) is an Austrian operatic baritone, particularly known for his performances in the stage works by Richard Wagner. He also has written books and directed operas. Career Born in Vienna, he moved with his family to M ...

in the title role, Gerti Zeumer as Anna and

Ursula Schröder-Feinen Ursula Schröder-Feinen (21 July 1936 – 9 February 2005) was a German operatic dramatic soprano who performed internationally, including at the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival. Life and career She was born in Gelsenkirchen, wher ...

as the .

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gilles, Marie-Louise 1937 births Living people People from Düren Folkwang University of the Arts alumni German operatic mezzo-sopranos 20th-century German women opera singers Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover German opera directors