Minnie Nast (10 October 1874 – 20 June 1956) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

soprano. She was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...

and studied at the Karlsruhe Conservatory, making her début at

Aachen Aachen ( ; ; Aachen dialect: ''Oche'' ; French and traditional English: Aix-la-Chapelle; or ''Aquisgranum''; nl, Aken ; Polish: Akwizgran) is, with around 249,000 inhabitants, the 13th-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, and the 28th- ...

in 1897. Nast performed in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

from 1898 to 1919 and then taught singing there until the bombing of the city in 1945 during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She also toured in Canada, the United States, Russia, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and England. After the 1907 winter season, a shipwreck cost many of the opera company their lives and made her decide never to tour overseas again. Nast specialized in light and

soubrette A soubrette is a type of operatic soprano voice ''fach'', often cast as a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy". Theatre In theatre, a soubrette is a c ...

roles, especially

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, and she created the part of Sophie 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'' ...

'' in 1911. Her clear tone and lack of continuous vibrato were echoed by other sopranos of the period. She made some recordings which indicate high technical accomplishment, including her part in the trio from ''Der Rosenkavalier''. She also sang the part of Micaëla in the first recording of ''Carmen''. Nast died in

Füssen Füssen is a town in Bavaria, Germany, in the district of Ostallgäu, situated one kilometre from the Austrian border. The town is known for violin manufacturing and as the closest transportation hub for the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau cast ...

. Minnie Nast left recordings for G&T (Dresden 1902 and Berlin 1905-07), Odeon (Berlin 1907 and 1910-11), Gramophone (Dresden 1908 and Berlin 1908-11, among these Micaela in complete "Carmen") and Polyphon (Leipzig 1910). In 1911 she recorded scenes from "Rosenkavalier" with her fellow creators Margarethe Siems and Eva von der Osten for Gramophone and Odeon.

References

Literature

* Rainer E. Lotz, Axel Weggen und Oliver Wurl: Discographie der deutschen Gesangsaufnahmen Band 2, Birgit Lotz Verlag, Bonn 1998, {{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, Minnie 1874 births 1956 deaths German operatic sopranos 19th-century German women opera singers 20th-century German women opera singers Musicians from Karlsruhe