Sophie Diez or Dietz (''née'' Hartmann) (1 September 1820 – 3 May 1887) was a German

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 ...

who sang leading roles with the Munich Hofoper (now known as 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 a career spanning 40 years. She is most remembered today for having created the role of Magdalena in Wagner's ''

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (; "The Master-Singers of Nuremberg"), WWV 96, is a music drama, or opera, in three acts, by Richard Wagner. It is the longest opera commonly performed, taking nearly four and a half hours, not counting two breaks between acts, and is traditio ...

'', but she also sang in the world premieres of several other operas by lesser-known German composers.

Life and career

Diez was born in Munich and received her early training from her father who was a musician in the city. In 1836 she joined the chorus of the Munich Hofoper where the conductor

Franz Lachner Franz Paul Lachner (2 April 1803 – 20 January 1890) was a German composer and conductor. Biography Lachner was born in Rain am Lech to a musical family (his brothers Ignaz, Theodor and Vinzenz also became musicians). He studied music with Si ...

noticed the beauty of her voice and gave her further training.Eisenberg, Ludwig (1903)
''Großes biographisches Lexikon der Deutschen Bühne im 19. Jahrhundert''
pp. 200–201. P. List She made her debut as a soloist on 1 December 1836 as Angelina in Cherubini's '' The Water Carrier'' and in February of the following year appeared as Benjamin in Étienne Méhul's ''

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...

''. Shortly thereafter she was engaged as permanent member of the company.''

Meyers Konversations-Lexikon ' or ' was a major encyclopedia in the German language that existed in various editions, and by several titles, from 1839 to 1984, when it merged with the '. Joseph Meyer (1796–1856), who had founded the publishing house in 1826, intended t ...

'' (1885–1892)
"Diez, Sophie"
Vol. 4, p. 966. Bibliographisches Institut. Online version retrieved 22 June 2014 . She went on to sing many leading roles with the Hofoper and appeared in several world premieres. By 1867, she had sung 122 roles in 94 operas, including all the female roles (apart from Marcellina) in ''

The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' ( it, Le nozze di Figaro, links=no, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premie ...

'' and all six female roles in ''

The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (German: , ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a ''Singspiel'', a popular form during the time it was written that inclu ...

''.''Signale für die musikalische Welt''
(January 1867), p. 50 In addition to her performances in Munich, Diez also appeared as a guest singer in several other German cites, including Stuttgart, Cologne, Dresden, and Hamburg.Flüggen, Ottmar G. (1892)
''Biographisches bühnen-lexikon der deutschen theater''
p. 61. A. Bruckmann In 1866, she was given the title '' Kammersängerin'' by Prince Luitpold and a jubilee celebration was staged by the Hofoper to mark the 30th anniversary of her debut. Diez officially retired from the company in December 1877, although she made one more appearance the following April as Nandl in one of Ignaz Lachner's Alpine Scenes, ''Das Versprechen hinter'm Herd''. In 1841, she had married

Ernst Friedrich Diez Ernst Friedrich Diez or Dietz (17 March 1805 – December 1892) was a German lyric tenor who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Germany and Austria. He is most closely associated with the Munich Hofoper (now known as the Bavarian State Oper ...

, who was 15 years her senior and sang as a tenor with the Munich Hofoper from 1837 to 1849. They appeared in several productions together, including the Munich premiere of Lortzing's ''

Zar und Zimmermann ''Zar und Zimmermann'' (''Tsar and Carpenter'') is a comic opera in three acts, music by Albert Lortzing, libretto by the composer after Georg Christian Römer's ''Der Bürgermeister von Saardam, oder Die zwei Peter'', itself based on the French p ...

'' in July 1841—she as Marie and he as the Marquis de Chateauneuf. Sophie Diez died in Munich in 1887 at the age of 66 and was buried in the

Alter Südfriedhof The Alter Südfriedhof (''Old South Cemetery'') also known as "Alter Südlicher Friedhof" is a cemetery in Munich, Germany. It was founded by Duke Albrecht V as a plague cemetery in 1563 about half a kilometer south of the Sendlinger Ga ...

cemetery. Her husband died five years later.

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...

dedicated several of his early songs to her, including his 1879 ''Für Musik'', a setting of

Emanuel Geibel Emanuel von Geibel (17 October 18156 April 1884) was a German poet and playwright. Life Geibel was born at Lübeck, the son of a pastor. He was originally intended for his father's profession and studied at Bonn and Berlin, but his real interests ...

's poem "Nun die Schatten dunkeln" ("Now the Shadows Darken").

Roles created

Sophie Diez sang in the following world premieres:List sourced from Casaglia and ''Königliches Hof- und Nationaltheater'' (year book
184018451849
*Lauretta in

Franz Xaver Pentenrieder Franz Xaver Pentenrieder (6 February 1813 – 17 July 1867) was a German composer of church music and operas. Pentenrieder was born in Kaufbeuren, Bavaria and studied with Johann Nepomuk Kalcher and Joseph Hartmann Stuntz in Munich. He entered t ...

's ''Die Nacht zu Paluzzi'', Königliches Hof- und National-Theater, Munich, 2 October 1840 *Käthchen in

Heinrich Esser Heinrich Joseph Esser (15 July 1818 – 3 June 1872) was a German violinist, influential conductor and composer. Biography Heinrich Esser was born in Mannheim. He got musical instruction by Franz Lachner who was court conductor in Mannheim f ...

's ''Die zwei Prinzen'', Königliches Hof- und National-Theater, Munich, 10 April 1845 *Ascanio in

's ''Benvenuto Cellini'', Königliches Hof- und National-Theater, Munich, 7 October 1849 *Magdalena in

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 ''

'', Königliches Hof- und National-Theater, Munich, 21 June 1868 *Mathilde in

Josef Rheinberger Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (17 March 1839 – 25 November 1901) was a Liechtensteiner organist and composer, residing in Bavaria for most of his life. Life Josef Gabriel Rheinberger, whose father was the treasurer for Aloys II, Prince of Liecht ...

's ''Die sieben Raben'', Königliches Hof- und National-Theater, Munich, 23 May 1869

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diez, Sophie German operatic sopranos 1820 births 1887 deaths 19th-century German women opera singers Singers from Munich People from the Kingdom of Bavaria