Elke Cordelia Neidhardt AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a

German Australian German Australians (german: link=no, Deutsch-Australier) are Australians with German ancestry. German Australians constitute one of the largest ancestry groups in Australia, and German is the fifth most identified European ancestry in Australia ...

actress and opera and theatre director. She appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Australia, and directed operas in Zurich, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg, Vienna, Cologne and Australia. She is best known in Australia for directing operas with

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder ...

, and most particularly for directing the first full modern Australian production of Richard Wagner's ''

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 ''Nibelun ...

'', in Adelaide in 2004.

Career

Elke Neidhardt was born in Stuttgart. She graduated from the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart, and later directed operas in Zurich, Amsterdam, Aix-en-Provence, Salzburg and Vienna. Elke also made two films in Germany ''Der Schatten: Ein Märchen für Erwachsene'' (1963) and the

Jerry Cotton Jerry Cotton is the fictional character in a series of pulp magazine-type crime novels. The novels have been written by many different writers in German-speaking countries and in Finland over the course of several decades. Overview The novel ...

thriller '' Mordnacht in Manhattan'' (1965). She married an Australian and moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. In 1967 she played Dr. Anna Steiner, a German doctor, in some episodes of the television series '' Skippy the Bush Kangaroo''. Neidhardt then appeared in other Australian television series such as '' The Link Men'' (1970) and ''Shannon's Mob'' (1975). She was also in a small number of Australian feature films, including ''

Libido Libido (; colloquial: sex drive) is a person's overall sexual drive or desire for sexual activity. Libido is influenced by biological, psychological, and social factors. Biologically, the sex hormones and associated neurotransmitters that act u ...

'' (1973; in which she appeared nude), ''

Alvin Purple ''Alvin Purple'' is a 1973 Australian sex comedy film starring Graeme Blundell in the title role; the screenplay was written by Alan Hopgood and directed by Tim Burstall, through his production company Hexagon Productions and Village Roadshow ...

'' (1973) and ''

The True Story of Eskimo Nell ''The True Story of Eskimo Nell'' (retitled ''Dick Down Under'' in the United Kingdom) is a 1975 Australian western comedy film produced, directed, and written by Richard Franklin, and starring Max Gillies as Deadeye Dick and Serge Lazareff as M ...

'' (1975). Her last film was ''Inside Looking Out'' (1977). From 1977 to 1990 Neidhardt was the resident director for

. She returned to Germany for six years, working at the Cologne State Opera and directing three productions of Richard Wagner's ''

''. In 2001 Neidhardt directed the first fully staged Australian production of Wagner's ''

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

'', for the

State Opera of South Australia State Opera South Australia (SOSA) is a professional opera company in Adelaide, South Australia, established in 1976. History State Opera South Australia was established in 1976 as a statutory corporation under the ''State Opera of South Aust ...

. In 2004 she directed the first full modern Australian production of the ''Ring Cycle'', in Adelaide, which attracted great praise. Other operas she directed in Australia or overseas included '' Don Giovanni'', ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1887 French-language drama ...

'', '' La traviata'', '' Salome'', ''

Werther ''Werther'' is an opera (''drame lyrique'') in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Édouard Blau, Paul Milliet and Georges Hartmann (who used the pseudonym Henri Grémont). It is loosely based on Goethe's epistolary novel '' Th ...

'', ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, wi ...

'', ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of 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 first appears in Wolf ...

'', '' Andrea Chénier'', ''

The Flying Dutchman The ''Flying Dutchman'' ( nl, De Vliegende Hollander) is a legendary ghost ship, allegedly never able to make port, but doomed to sail the seven seas forever. The myth is likely to have originated from the 17th-century Golden Age of the Dut ...

'', ''

I puritani ' (''The Puritans'') is an 1835 opera by Vincenzo Bellini. It was originally written in two acts and later changed to three acts on the advice of Gioachino Rossini, with whom the young composer had become friends. The music was set to a libretto ...

'', ''

La finta semplice ''La finta semplice'' (''The Fake Innocent''), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in ...

'' and ''

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

''. She also directed a touring production of Shakespeare's '' A Midsummer Night's Dream'' for the

Bell Shakespeare Company Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. It is based in Sydney. The Bell Shakespeare vision is to create theatre that allows audiences of all walk ...

. She lectured at

NIDA Nida or NIDA may refer to: People * Nida Allam (born 1993), American politician * Nida Fazli (1938–2016), Indian Hindi and Urdu poet and lyricist * Nida Eliz Üstündağ (born 1996), Turkish female swimmer * Eugene Nida (1914–2011), American l ...

and the

Sydney Conservatorium of Music The Sydney Conservatorium of Music (formerly the New South Wales State Conservatorium of Music and known by the moniker "The Con") is a heritage-listed music school in Macquarie Street, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the old ...

. In 2006 she was a member of the judging panel for '' Operatunity Oz'', along with Richard Gill, Yvonne Kenny and Antoinette Halloran. Neidhardt had a reputation for clashing with the conductors she worked with. She was also known for her bluntness and frankness, describing Australian culture as "quite massively behind"; criticising the prudishness of theatrical authorities about things such as nudity; regarding the Sydney Opera House as "awful to work in"; and criticising the decision not to repeat her 2004 Adelaide production of the ''Ring Cycle'' despite its overwhelming success.

Personal life

In 1967 Neidhardt married Christopher Muir, an Australian television director. They had a son, Fabian, before divorcing in 1977. Fabian Muir is now a

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

-based photographer and writer. Neidhardt had a 35-year relationship with Australian actor and musician

Norman Kaye Norman James Kaye (17 January 1927 – 28 May 2007) was an Australian actor and musician. He was best known for his roles in the films of director Paul Cox. Early life and education Kaye was born in Melbourne and won a scholarship to study at ...

, nursing him through the final stages of Alzheimer's disease until his death in May 2007. He had frequently proposed marriage to her, but she always declined, feeling that marriage was unnecessary.

Australian citizenship and honours

Neidhardt became an Australian citizen in early 2007. She was appointed a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gov ...

(AM) in the

Australia Day Australia Day is the official national day of Australia. Observed annually on 26 January, it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip following days of exploration of Port ...

Honours 2011, "for service to the performing arts as an opera director and producer, and through the tuition and mentoring of young emerging artists".

Death

She died on 25 November 2013, aged 72., "Ring Cycle pioneer Elke Neidhardt dies at 72"
''The Australian''. Retrieved 26 November 2013 Her death occurred during Neil Armfield's new staging of the ''Ring Cycle'' in

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Neidhardt, Elke 1941 births 2013 deaths Australian film actresses Australian television actresses Australian theatre directors German film actresses German emigrants to Australia German opera directors Female opera directors German stage actresses German television actresses German theatre directors Helpmann Award winners Members of the Order of Australia Australian opera directors Actresses from Stuttgart State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart alumni