Virginia Gungl (31 December 1848 – 28 August 1915) 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 ...

of Hungarian origin, prima donna on the stages in Munich and Frankfurt. Her voice spanned more than two octaves.

Career

Daughter of the composer and conductor

Joseph Gungl Joseph Gungl, correct: ''Josef Gung'l'' (1 December 1809 – 1 February 1889), was an Hungarian composer, bandmaster, and conductor. He was soprano Virginia Naumann-Gungl's father. Biography Gungl was born in Schambeck, Austrian-Hungarian mon ...

, she was born in New York where her father was on tour. She studied with the conductor and composer Hans von Bülow in Munich. In 1869, she made her debut at the Bayerische Staatsoper, then moved to Vienna for two more years of musical study. She was then hired in Berlin in 1872 where her first role was in '' The Magic Flute'' then at the Cologne Opera (1872-1874), the Mecklenburg State Theatre (1874-1875) the Opern- und Schauspielhaus Frankfurt (1875-1880). She sang at the Theater Bremen (1880-1882), the Royal Theater Kassel (1883-1885) where she worked with

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...

Virginia Naumann-Gungl (1848-1915)
on Gustav-Mahler.eu from 1883 to 1885 and the Deutsches Nationaltheater Weimar (1885-1891). There, she bade farewell to the stage in 1892 as Isolde in '' Tristan und Isolde''. During her career she sang at the Bavarian Royal Opera in Munich (1875), the Leipzig Municipal Theater (1889), the Royal Theater in Karlsruhe (1873) and the Municipal Theater in Hannover (1877). From Frankfurt, she moved to Weimar, where she later became singing teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. Naumann-Gungl died in Frankfurt on 28 August 1915 at age 66.

Repertoire

* Léonore in '' Fidelio'' * Reiza in '' Oberon'' * Donna Anna in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; Vienna (1788) title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanis ...

'' * Rachel in ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of t ...

'' * Countess Almaviva 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 ...

'' * Pamina in '' The Magic Flute'' * Aida *

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the Carmen (novella), novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first perfo ...

* Isolde in '' Tristan und Isolde'' * Sélika in '' L'Africaine'' * Senta in '' Der Fliegende Holländer''.

References

Bibliography

* ''Gran Enciclopèdia de la Música Clàsica'', vol. II, Sarpe, 558 p. () *

K. J. Kutsch Karl-Josef Kutsch, also known as K. J. Kutsch, (born 11 May 1924) is a German physician and co-author with Leo Riemens of the '' Großes Sängerlexikon'', the standard reference for opera singers. Life and work Born in Gangelt, Kutsch studied ...

and Leo Riemens, '' Großes Sängerlexikon, Vol 4'', Munich, 1999. * L.Fränkel, ''Virginia Naumann-Gungl'', 1915.

External links

Naumann-Gungl (Gungl), Virginia
on LMU
Virginia Naumann-Gungl
on ''operissimo.com'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Naumann-Gungl, Virginia 1848 births 1915 deaths Singers from Berlin 19th-century German women opera singers German operatic sopranos German music educators German women music educators American voice teachers