Fidelio, Playbill of the Worldpremiere, Vienna, Kärntnertortheater, May 23, 1814

Fidelio (Op. 72) is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux, and for the 1804 opera Leonora by Ferdinando Paer (a score of which was owned by Beethoven). The opera tells how Leonore, disguised as a prison guard named "Fidelio", rescues her husband Florestan from death in a political prison.

Background[link]

Bouilly's scenario fits Beethoven's aesthetic and political outlook: a story of personal sacrifice, heroism and eventual triumph (the usual topics of Beethoven's "middle period") with its underlying struggle for liberty and justice mirroring contemporary political movements in Europe.

As elsewhere in Beethoven's vocal music, the music is not especially kind to the singers. The principal parts of Leonore and Florestan, in particular, require great vocal skill and endurance in order to project the necessary intensity, and top performances in these roles attract admiration.

Some notable moments in the opera include the "Prisoners' Chorus", an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, Florestan's vision of Leonore come as an angel to rescue him, and the scene in which the rescue finally takes place. The finale celebrates Leonore's bravery with alternating contributions of soloists and chorus.

Performance history[link]

The theatrical mask contemplated by a putto on the Beethoven monument by Kaspar von Zumbusch (Vienna, 1880) commemorates Beethoven's sole opera in the city where it made its debut.

Like many other works in Beethoven's career, Fidelio went through several versions before achieving full success. The opera was first produced in a three-act version at Vienna's Theater an der Wien, on 20 November 1805, with additional performances the following two nights. The 1805 and 1806 versions are referred to, by academic convention, as Leonore in order to distinguish them from the final two-act version. However all three versions were premiered as Fidelio.

The success of these performances was greatly hindered by the fact that Vienna was under French military occupation, and most of the audience were French military officers. After this premiere, Beethoven was pressured by friends to revise and shorten the opera into just two acts, and he did so with the help of Stephan von Breuning. The composer also wrote a new overture (now known as "Leonore No. 3"; see below). In this form the opera was first performed on 29 March and 10 April 1806, with greater success. Further performances were prevented by a dispute between Beethoven and the theater management.

In 1814 Beethoven revised his opera yet again, with additional work on the libretto by Georg Friedrich Treitschke. This version was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater on 23 May 1814, under the title Fidelio. The 17-year-old Franz Schubert was in the audience, having sold his school books to obtain a ticket. The increasingly deaf Beethoven led the performance, "assisted" by Michael Umlauf, who later performed the same task for Beethoven at the premiere of the Ninth Symphony. The role of Pizarro was taken by Johann Michael Vogl, who later became known for his collaborations with Schubert. This version of the opera was, finally, a great success for Beethoven, and Fidelio has been an important part of the operatic repertory ever since.

Beethoven cannot be said to have enjoyed the difficulties posed by writing and producing an opera. In a letter to Treitschke he said, "I assure you, dear Treitschke, that this opera will win me a martyr's crown. You have by your co-operation saved what is best from the shipwreck. For all this I shall be eternally grateful to you."^[1]

The opera was published in all three versions as Beethoven's Opus 72.

[edit] The overtures to Fidelio

Beethoven struggled to produce an appropriate overture for Fidelio, and ultimately went through four versions. His first attempt, for the 1805 premiere, is believed to have been the overture now known as "Leonore No. 2". Beethoven then focused this version for the performances of 1806, creating "Leonore No. 3". The latter is considered by many listeners as the greatest of the four overtures, but as an intensely dramatic, full-scale symphonic movement it had the effect of overwhelming the (rather light) initial scenes of the opera. Beethoven accordingly experimented with cutting it back somewhat, for a planned 1808 performance in Prague; this is believed to be the version now called "Leonore No. 1". Finally, for the 1814 revival Beethoven began anew, and with fresh musical material wrote what we now know as the Fidelio overture. As this somewhat lighter overture seems to work best of the four as a start to the opera, Beethoven's final intentions are generally respected in contemporary productions.

Gustav Mahler introduced the practice, common until the middle of the twentieth century, of performing "Leonore No. 3" between the two scenes of the second act. In this location, it acts as a kind of musical reprise of the rescue scene that has just taken place. A new, modern-styled production that premiered in Budapest in October 2008, for example, features the "Leonore No. 3" overture in this location.^[2]

Roles[link]

Note: the second version of the opera premiered on 29 March 1806 with the same cast as the first premiere, except with Joseph August Röckel as Florestan. The only other performance of the second version was on 10 April 1806.

Synopsis[link]

Two years prior to the opening scene, the nobleman Florestan has exposed or attempted to expose certain crimes of the nobleman Pizarro. In revenge, Pizarro has secretly imprisoned Florestan in the prison over which Pizarro is governor.

The jailer of the prison, Rocco, has a daughter, Marzelline, and a servant (or assistant), Jaquino. Florestan's wife, Leonore, came to Rocco's door dressed as a boy seeking employment, and Rocco hired her.

On orders, Rocco has been giving Florestan diminishing rations until he is nearly starved to death.

Place: A Spanish state prison, a few miles from Seville

Time: Late 18th century

Act 1[link]

Florestan (Günther Treptow) and Leonore (Karina Kutz); September 1945, Deutsche Oper Berlin

Jaquino and Marzelline are alone. Jaquino asks Marzelline when she will agree to marry him, but she says that she will never marry him now that she has fallen in love with Fidelio, who is Leonore in disguise. (Jetzt, Schätzchen, jetzt sind wir allein ["Now, darling, we are alone"]). Jaquino leaves, and Marzelline expresses her desire to become Fidelio's wife (O wär ich schon mit dir vereint ["If only I were already united with thee"]). Rocco and Jaquino enter, looking for Fidelio. Fidelio enters carrying a heavy load of newly repaired chains. Rocco compliments Leonore on her skill, and misinterprets her modest reply as hidden attraction to his daughter. Marzelline, Leonore, Rocco, and Jaquino sing a quartet about the love Marzelline has for Fidelio (Mir ist so wunderbar ["A wondrous feeling fills me"], also known as the Canon Quartet).

Rocco tells Leonore that as soon as the governor has left for Seville, she and Marzelline can be married. He tells them, however, that unless they have money, they will not be happy. (Hat man nicht auch Gold beineben ["If you don't have money on the side"]). Leonore says that she wants something else at least as much as money: To know why Rocco will not permit her to help him in the dungeons when he always comes back out of breath. Rocco says that there is a prison where he can never take her, and inside is a man who has wasted away for two years because of his powerful enemies. Marzelline begs her father to keep Leonore away from such a terrible sight. Instead Rocco and Leonore sing of courage (Gut, Söhnchen, gut ["All right, son, all right"]), and soon Marzelline joins in their acclamations.

All but Rocco leave. A march is played as Pizarro enters with guards. Rocco gives Pizarro a message with a warning that the minister plans a surprise visit tomorrow to investigate accusations that Pizarro is a tyrant. Pizarro exclaims that he cannot let the minister discover the imprisoned Don Florestan, who has been thought dead. Instead, Pizarro will murder Florestan (Ha, welch ein Augenblick! ["Hah! What a moment!"]). Pizarro orders that a trumpet be sounded at the minister's arrival. He offers Rocco money to kill Florestan, but Rocco refuses (Jetzt, Alter, jetzt hat es Eile! ["Now, old man, we must hurry!"]), and instead Pizarro orders him to dig a grave in the ruined well in the dungeons. When the grave is ready, Rocco should sound the alarm for Pizarro to come disguised into the dungeon, and kill Florestan himself. Leonore has seen Pizarro plotting, but has not overheard what he said. She is agitated, but thoughts of her husband calm her down (Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin? ... Komm, Hoffnung, lass den letzten Stern ["Scum! Where are you going? ... Come, hope, let the last star"]).

Jaquino begs Marzelline to marry him, but she refuses. Leonore, hoping to find Florestan, asks Rocco to let the poor prisoners roam in the garden and enjoy the beautiful weather. Marzelline also begs him, and Rocco agrees to distract Pizarro while the prisoners are set free. The prisoners, overjoyed at their freedom, sing joyfully (O welche Lust ["O what a joy"]), but, remembering that they could be caught, are soon quiet.

Rocco reenters and tells Leonore of his success with Pizarro: Pizarro will allow the marriage, and Leonore will be permitted to join Rocco on his rounds in the dungeon (Nun sprecht, wie ging's? ["Speak, how did it go?"]). They prepare to go to the cell of a prisoner who, says Rocco, must be killed and buried within the hour. Leonore is so shaken that Rocco tries to persuade her to stay behind, but she insists on coming. As they prepare to leave, Jaquino and Marzelline rush in and tell Rocco to run: Pizarro has learned that the prisoners are free, and he is furious (Ach, Vater, Vater, eilt! ["O, father, father, hurry!"]).

Before they can move, Pizarro enters and demands an explanation. Rocco pretends that they are celebrating the King's naming day, and suggests quietly that Pizarro save his anger for the prisoner in the dungeons below. Pizarro tells him to hurry and dig the grave, then announces that the prisoners will be shut in again. Rocco, Leonore, Jacquino, and Marzelline reluctantly usher the prisoners back to their cells. (Leb wohl, du warmes Sonnenlicht ["Adieu, warm sunshine"]

Act 2[link]

Rocco (Wilhelm Schirp) and Marzelline (Irma Beilke); September 1945, Deutsche Oper Berlin

Florestan is alone in his cell, deep inside the dungeons. He sings first of his trust in God, then has a vision of Leonore coming to save him (Gott! Welch Dunkel hier! ["God! What darkness here"]... In des Lebens Frühlingstagen ["In the spring days of life"]). He collapses and falls asleep. Rocco and Leonore come to dig his grave and find him asleep. As they dig Rocco urges Leonore to hurry (Wie kalt ist es in diesem unterirdischen Gewölbe! ["How cold it is in this underground chamber"] ... Nur hurtig fort, nur frisch gegraben). This is the Gravedigging Duet.

Florestan awakes and Leonore recognizes him. When Florestan learns at last that he is in Pizarro's prison, he asks that a message be sent to his wife, Leonore Florestan, but Rocco says it's impossible. Florestan begs for a drop to drink, and Rocco tells Leonore to give him one. Florestan does not recognize Leonore but tells her she will be rewarded in Heaven (Euch werde Lohn in bessern Welten ["You shall be rewarded in better worlds"]). She begs Rocco to be allowed to give Florestan a crust of bread, and he agrees. Florestan eats.

Rocco obeys his orders and sounds the alarm for Pizarro, who appears and asks if all is ready. Rocco says that it is and tells Leonore to leave, but instead she hides. Pizarro reveals his identity to Florestan, who accuses him of murder (Er sterbe! Doch er soll erst wissen ["Let him die! But first he should know"]). As Pizarro brandishes a dagger, Leonore leaps between him and Florestan and reveals her identity. Pizarro raises his dagger to kill her but she pulls a gun and threatens to shoot him.

Just then the trumpet is heard, announcing the arrival of the minister. Jaquino enters, followed by soldiers, to announce that the minister is waiting at the gate. Rocco tells the soldiers to escort Governor Pizarro upstairs. Florestan and Leonore sing to their victory as Pizarro declares he will have revenge, and Rocco expresses his fear of what is to come (Es schlägt der Rache Stunde ["Revenge's bell tolls"]). Together, Florestan and Leonore sing a love duet (O namenlose Freude! ["O unnamed joy!"]).

Here overture "Leonore No. 3" is sometimes played.

The prisoners and townsfolk sing to the day and hour of justice which has come (Heil sei dem Tag! ["Hail to the day!"]). The minister, Don Fernando, announces that tyranny has ended. Rocco enters, with Leonore and Florestan, and he asks Don Fernando to help them (Wohlan, so helfet! Helft den Armen! ["So help! Help the poor ones!"]). Rocco explains how Leonore disguised herself as Fidelio to save her husband. Marzelline is shocked. Rocco describes Pizarro's murder plot, and Pizarro is led away to prison. Florestan is released from his chains by Leonore, and the crowd sings the praises of Leonore, the loyal savior of her husband (Wer ein holdes Weib errungen ["Who has got a good wife"]).

Instrumentation[link]

The orchestra consists of 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, and strings. There is also an offstage trumpet.

Reception[link]

Fidelio was Arturo Toscanini's first complete opera performance to be broadcast over the NBC radio network, in December 1944, by the NBC Symphony Orchestra, featuring soloists from the Metropolitan Opera (though a shortwave broadcast of one act, conducted by Toscanini, had earlier been relayed from an August 16, 1936 performance at Salzburg.) Divided into two consecutive broadcasts, the 1944 performances were later issued by RCA Victor on LPs and CDs. Toscanini made it clear that Beethoven believed in liberty and was opposed to tyrants such as Napoleon Bonaparte; in the conductor's opinion, Beethoven would have likely opposed Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini as well.

Conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler remarked in Salzburg in 1948, not long after the end of World War II and fall of Nazism:

"[T]he conjugal love of Leonore appears, to the modern individual armed with realism and psychology, irremediably abstract and theoretical.... Now that political events in Germany have restored to the concepts of human dignity and liberty their original significance, this is the opera which, thanks to the music of Beethoven, gives us comfort and courage.... Certainly, Fidelio is not an opera in the sense we are used to, nor is Beethoven a musician for the theater, or a dramaturgist. He is quite a bit more, a whole musician, and beyond that, a saint and a visionary. That which disturbs us is not a material effect, nor the fact of the 'imprisonment'; any film could create the same effect. No, it is the music, it is Beethoven himself. It is this 'nostalgia of liberty' he feels, or better, makes us feel; this is what moves us to tears. His Fidelio has more of the Mass than of the Opera to it; the sentiments it expresses come from the sphere of the sacred, and preach a 'religion of humanity' which we never found so beautiful or necessary as we do today, after all we have lived through. Herein lies the singular power of this unique opera.... Independent of any historical consideration ... the flaming message of Fidelio touches deeply.

We realize that for us Europeans, as for all men, this music will always represent an appeal to our conscience.^[3]

Recordings[link]

	"Komm Hoffnung" performed by Alice Guszalewicz
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

See also[link]

• Rescue opera

References[link]

Notes

Sources

• Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
• Warrack, John, and Ewan West (1992). The Oxford Dictionary of Opera. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-869164-5

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fidelio

Wikisource has the text of the 1920 Encyclopedia Americana article Fidelio.

• Brooklyn Repertory Opera: Fidelio page
• Description of Beethoven's Fidelio
• Fidelio: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Fidelio at the Opera Company of Philadelphia
• Opera Guide Synopsis – Libretto – Highlights
• "Opera in a nutshell" Soundfiles (MIDI)
• Performance history, from opera.stanford.edu
• Overture Video: "Leonore No. 3", David Bernard conducting the Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
• Program notes from "Apollo's Fire", reporting the tale about Schubert selling his school books to attend the premiere. The source is Schubert's friend Moritz von Schwind.
• Recording of "Komm Hoffnung" by Lotte Lehmann in MP3 format
• Léonore, ou l'amour conjugal; fait historique en deux actes et en prose mêlée de chantes (French) (origin of Fidelio's libretto)
• Review: Fidelio played by Daniel Barenboim and the West-Eastern Divan orchestra

Waltraud Meier (born 9 January 1956 in Würzburg) is a Grammy Award–winning German dramatic soprano and mezzo-soprano singer. She is particularly known for her Wagnerian roles as Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, Venus and Sieglinde, but has also had success in the French and Italian repertoire appearing as Eboli, Amneris, Carmen and Santuzza. She resides in Munich.

Meier has performed in the world's famed opera houses (including La Scala, Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Colón Theater). She has performed under the batons of conductors including Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, and Giuseppe Sinopoli. She has been named a "Kammersängerin" by both the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Vienna State Opera, and "Commandeur" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Education, vocal training and early career[link]

Waltraud Meier was born in Würzburg, Germany.^[1] She sang in numerous choral groups during her younger years. Upon finishing her secondary education, she began graduate studies in English and Romance Languages while also taking voice lessons. She studied singing with Professor Dietger Jacob.^[1] In 1976, she decided to concentrate on a singing career and soon thereafter debuted at the Würzburg Opera as Lola in Cavalleria rusticana. Over the next several years she performed regularly at the opera house in Mannheim (1976–1978).^[1]

1980s[link]

She made her international debut in 1980 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires,^[1] appearing as Fricka in Die Walküre. She also continued to appear regularly in Germany at the opera houses in Dortmund (1980–1983),^[1] Hanover (1983–1984) and Stuttgart (1985–1988).

Following a success as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal at the 1983 Bayreuth Festival, Meier's international career gained momentum, and she had debuts at Covent Garden (1985) and the Metropolitan Opera (1987)^[2] (as Fricka, with James Levine conducting his first Das Rheingold at the Met).^[3]

She also had debuts at La Scala, the Opéra National in Paris, the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She continued to appear regularly at Bayreuth as Kundry between 1983 and 1993.

1990s[link]

In addition to appearing as Kundry at Bayreuth, Meier continued to appear elsewhere in the role during the 1990s, including a 1991 production at La Scala under the baton of Riccardo Muti and at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, in a version staged by Klaus Michael Grüber and conducted by Semyon Bychkov. In 1992, she appeared for the first time as Kundry at the Metropolitan Opera, opposite Siegfried Jerusalem as Parsifal, with James Levine conducting. The New York Times reported: "Waltraud Meier, bringing her acclaimed performance as Kundry to the Met for the first time, was seductive and gentle in her first approach to Parsifal, holding in reserve a strength and determination that gave her singing an eerie calm."^[4] The following year, Meier returned to the Met as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana. Of that performance, The New York Times wrote:

As Santuzza in "Cavalleria", Waltraud Meier was superb at the first performance on Friday evening, singing clearly and evenly throughout her range, carrying lines smoothly and coloring her tone richly. She gradually worked an incisive, telling edge into her voice without sacrificing its basic beauty; even her shrieks were musical. And she projected a riveting dramatic presence, convincingly fragile as well as ferocious.^[5]

During the 1990s, Meier also moved into roles within the dramatic soprano repertoire. Between 1993 and 1999, she appeared at Bayreuth as Isolde in Tristan und Isolde staged by Heiner Müller and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. In 1998 she added additional dramatic soprano roles, debuting as Leonore in Fidelio at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, again under the direction of Barenboim, and also appearing as Ortrud in a new Lohengrin production at the Bavarian State Opera.

2000s[link]

In 2000, Meier appeared again at Bayreuth, performing the role of Sieglinde in Die Walküre in the "Millennium Ring" at the 2000 festival staged by Jürgen Flimm and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli with Plácido Domingo. She also appeared that year as Isolde at the Salzburg Festival, with Lorin Maazel conducting. In 2001 at the opening of the Munich Opera Festival, the singer made her debut in the role of Didon in Hector Berlioz's Les Troyens with Zubin Mehta conducting.

In 2003 Meier shared a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for her contributions as Venus in Tannhäuser under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. She devoted her 2003-2004 season exclusively to recitals and concerts. She performed in Bach's St Matthew Passion and toured throughout Europe, Russia and the United States with a recital program featuring works by Brahms, Schubert and Hugo Wolf.

She returned to the opera stage in 2004-2005, including appearances as Carmen in a new production at the Semper Oper in Dresden directed by Katarina Lauterbach. In 2005, she appeared again as Isolde, this time in a new production at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, staged by Peter Sellars and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She also returned to the Vienna State Opera as Kundry in Parsifal.

She returned as Kundry in the Met's Parsifal in 2006, appearing opposite Ben Heppner. The New York Times wrote:

The role of Kundry is that of a lone woman surrounded by men, but Waltraud Meier made it the star turn of the evening. Known as volatile both onstage and off, Ms. Meier is suited to the part, propelling herself into it like a wide-bore, high-explosive cannon shell. This was singing of fierceness and fearlessness, all of it pertinent to the persona she represented. Ms. Meier gives all and takes risks, and her audience went crazy for her.^[6]

Meier's 2007 performances include appearances as Isolde (Japan, Berlin, Munich, Milan), Leonore (Munich), Ortrud (Milan, Paris).

A CD featuring Meier and Breinl performing works by Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss, with her song accompanist Joseph Breinl was released in late 2007.^[7] Meier and Breinl are performing numerous recitals in 2007-08 in Japan, Germany, France, Austria, and Spain.^[8]

In July 2008, Meier appeared as Venus in a production of Tannhäuser in Baden-Baden, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff, conducted by Philippe Jordan, and also starring Robert Gambill (Tannhäuser), Stephen Milling (Herrmann), and Camilla Nylund (Elisabeth). The New York Times reported that "Ms. Meier, a musician with deep reserves of force and a gift for madness, was the perfect Venus." ^[9]

On 22 August 2009 she appeared in a televised concert performance of Fidelio at a Henry Wood Promenade Concert in London's Albert Hall in which she also spoke a narration. This was reported as her 2,000th professional engagement. It was conducted by Daniel Barenboim with the West Eastern Divan Orchestra.

In the London Daily Telegraph Rubert Christiansen wrote:

She looked wonderfully elegant and was in good voice - some wild top notes seemed a small price to pay for her total musical and dramatic involvement in Leonore's fate. What a true star and a trouper she is.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Waltraud Meier: photos, CDs, DVDs
• Pensées wagnériennes: Confessions à Waltraud Meier

Peter Seiffert (born January 4, 1954, in Düsseldorf) is a German tenor.

Biography[link]

Seiffert studied at the Musikhochschule in Düsseldorf and made his debut in 1978 at the Deutschen Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf/Duisburg. In 1979, he was awarded second place in the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German Music Competition), and appeared on the TV show Anneliese Rothenberger gibt sich die Ehre (Anneliese Rothenberger has the honour [of meeting ...]).

In 1986, he married the soprano Lucia Popp, 15 years his senior; later, he married another soprano, Petra-Maria Schnitzer.

He established his career at the Bayreuth Festival, regularly appearing in the title role of Lohengrin, which he last performed in 2005 with his wife Schnitzer in the role of Elsa. In 2003 he was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording, for his performance of Tannhäuser, under Daniel Barenboim. Today, he is a sought-after Heldentenor, singing many of the title roles of Wagner's best-known operas.

Sources[link]

Most of the information in this article is taken from the German Wikipedia article.

External links[link]

• Peter Seiffert at the Internet Movie Database
• Biography at the Bayerischen Staatsoper (German)

Christa Ludwig (born 16 March 1928) is a retired German mezzo-soprano, distinguished for her performances of opera, Lieder, oratorio and other major religious works like masses and passions, and solos contained in symphonic literature. Her career spanned from the late 1940s until the early 1990s.

Professional career[link]

Ludwig was born in Berlin to a musical family; her father, Anton Ludwig, was a tenor and an operatic administrator, her mother, the mezzo-soprano Eugenie Besalla-Ludwig who sang at the Aachen Opera during Herbert von Karajan's period as conductor. Ludwig's first voice teacher was her mother.

Ludwig made her debut in 1946 at the age of 18 as Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus at Frankfurt, where she sang until 1952. She was a member of the Darmstadt Opera from 1952 to 1954, then sang the 1954–1955 season at the Staatsoper Hannover. She joined the Vienna State Opera in 1955, where she became one of its principal artists and was appointed Kammersängerin in 1962 and performed with the company for more than thirty years. In 1954, Ludwig made her debut at the Salzburg Festival as Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro, and appeared there regularly until 1981. Ludwig made her debut as Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at the Bayreuth Festival in 1966. In 1960, she performed as Adalgisa alongside Maria Callas as Norma, in Bellini's opera by the same title.

Ludwig made her American debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella in Così fan tutte in 1959. That same year, she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera in as Cherubino, and subsequently sang 121 performances until 1993, including the Met premiere of Die Frau ohne Schatten. Ludwig first appeared at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in 1969 as Amneris in Aida.

As Ludwig's voice matured, she expanded her repertoire from lyric and spinto mezzo-roles to dramatic roles. Her vast repertory eventually grew to encompass Carmen, Ulrica (Un ballo in maschera), Monteverdi's Octavia (L'incoronazione di Poppea), Dido (Les Troyens), Kundry (Parsifal), Klytemnestra (Elektra) and contemporary roles by von Einem and Orff. She also ventured briefly into the spinto and dramatic soprano repertory with performances of Verdi's Lady Macbeth (Macbeth), Strauss's Dyer's Wife (Die Frau ohne Schatten), the Marschallin (Der Rosenkavalier) and Beethoven's Leonore (Fidelio) .

In addition to her opera performances, Ludwig regularly gave recitals of Lieder (together with the German pianist Sebastian Peschko and on occasion, Leonard Bernstein) and as a soloist with orchestras. Her performances of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Wolf, Mahler and Strauss are much admired. She also sang Bach and performed and recorded most of his major vocal works.

From 1957 to 1970, Ludwig was married to the bass-baritone Walter Berry; the couple performed together frequently, notably in Die Frau ohne Schatten. In 1972, she married the French theater actor Paul-Emile Deiber.

In 1993–1994, Ludwig gave a series of farewell recitals in many cities and made her farewell appearance at the Metropolitan Opera, New York, as Fricka in Die Walküre.

Ludwig's final live operatic performance was Klytemnestra in Elektra for the Vienna State Opera in 1994.

The same year, Ludwig published a memoir with Peter Csobádi.^[1] Two English translations of the book are available.

Ludwig has been teaching Master Classes since her retirement.

Quote[link]

In times where personalities are thinly sown, we have first class, yes excellent, musical practitioners, who lack intuition, imagination, and a feeling for composers, who, even though they lived in the past, can speak to us about today. Courage is needed to reveal one's own feelings in interpretation and not tell the audience with raised forefinger: "The composer wanted it like this, and no other way." But at the same time we singers must never forget that we are only the servants of the great minds who created all the wonderful pieces of music we enjoy today. - In My Own Voice (p.119) translated by Regina Domeraski

References[link]

External links[link]

• Biography of Ludwig from Cantabile-subito.de
• Biography of Ludwig from Bach-Cantatas.com
• [1]
• Discography (Capon's Lists of Opera Recordings)

Kaufmann outside London's Royal Opera House following the dress rehearsal for Tosca on 9 May 2008

Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. Although he has sung a variety of leading roles including both the Mozart and Wagner repertoire, he is particularly known for his performances in spinto roles such as Don José in Carmen, Cavaradossi in Tosca, Maurizio in Adriana Lecouvreur, and the title role in Don Carlos.^[1]

Early life and education[link]

Kaufmann was born in Munich. His father worked for an insurance company, and his mother was a kindergarten teacher. He had one older sister. He started studying piano when he was eight, and he sang in his elementary school choir. Although he studied for math entrance exams, in the summer of 1989 he began his vocal training at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich. While studying, he sang some small roles at the Bavarian State Opera. He graduated from school in 1994.^[2]

In 1995, after a vocal crisis, Kaufmann received help from American baritone Michael Rhodes who taught him a "new way of singing" and how to become "more relaxed in my voice and in myself."^[3] In Kaufmann's book Meinen die wirklich mich? he said, "To find a Michael Rhodes that can really help you and bring you to success is really a great stroke of luck."^[4]

Career[link]

He began his professional career at Staatstheater Saarbrücken in 1994^[5] and was soon invited to make debuts in German theaters such as the Stuttgart Opera and Hamburg State Opera, as well as international debuts at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Opéra National de Paris, and La Scala. He made his Salzburg Festival debut in 1999 in a new production of Busoni's Doktor Faust and returned there in 2003 as Belmonte in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail and for concerts of the Beethoven's Ninth with the Berlin Philharmonic.

He performed in Covent Garden in 2006-2007 in the role of Don José in Bizet's Carmen to critical acclaim, and also sang Alfredo in Giuseppe Verdi's La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and in Covent Garden in 2008. In May 2008, Kaufmann made his role debut as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca in Covent Garden, again to critical acclaim.^[6]

In 2008-09 he performed Manon in Chicago opposite Natalie Dessay and in the title role of a new production of Lohengrin at the Bavarian State Opera. He also sang Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival opening night performance of the 2010 season; the production was staged by Hans Neuenfels and conducted by Andris Nelsons.

His debut recording with Decca, Romantic Arias, was released in January 2008. He has also recorded a Schubert song cycle on the same label and the role of Pinkerton in Madama Butterfly for EMI.

In January 2010 he assumed the title role in Jules Massenet's Werther at the Opera Bastille; the performance was recorded and released on DVD in November 2010.

In April 2011 he returned to the Metropolitan Opera as Siegmund in director Robert Lepage's new production of Richard Wagner's Die Walküre the second part of his much larger work Der Ring des Nibelungen, scheduled to be presented in its entirety during the 2011-12 season.^[7] In September 2011, he underwent surgery to remove a lymph node from his chest.^[8][9][10] In December, he was back, performing the title role in Gounod's Faust.^[11]

Personal life[link]

Kaufmann is married to mezzo-soprano Margarete Joswig. They have three children and live in Zürich, Switzerland.^[12]

Repertoire[link]

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Kaufmann's repertoire includes the following:

• Abert: Ekkehard - title role
• Beethoven: Fidelio - Florestan, Jaquino
• Berlioz: La damnation de Faust - Faust
• Bizet: Carmen - Don José
• Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur - Maurizio
• Gounod: Faust - title role
• Humperdinck: Königskinder - Königssohn
• Massenet: Manon - Des Grieux
• Massenet: Werther - title role
• Monteverdi:Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria - Telemaco
• Monteverdi:L'incoronazione di Poppea - Nerone
• Loewe: Drei Wünsche- Hassan
• Mozart: Così fan tutte - Ferrando
• Mozart: Die Zauberflöte - Tamino
• Mozart: Idomeneo - title role
• Mozart: Die Entführung aus dem Serail - Belmonte
• Mozart: La Clemenza di Tito - Tito
• Paer: Leonora - Florestano
• Paisiello: Nina, o sia La pazza per amore - Un Pastore + Lindoro
• Puccini:La Rondine - Ruggero
• Puccini: La bohème - Rodolfo
• Puccini: Tosca - Cavaradossi
• Rossini: Il Barbiere Di Siviglia - Almaviva
• Schubert: Fierrabras - title role
• Marc Schubring: Cyrano de Bergerac - Christian
• Smetana: The Bartered Bride - Hans
• Verdi:Falstaff - Fenton
• Verdi: La traviata - Alfredo
• Verdi: Otello - Cassio
• Verdi: Rigoletto - Duca
• Verdi: Don Carlos - title role
• Wagner: Tannhäuser- Walther
• Wagner: Parsifal - title role
• Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg - Walther
• Wagner: Die Walküre - Siegmund
• Wagner: Lohengrin - title role

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Website jonaskaufmann.com
• Jonas Kaufmann on bach-cantatas
• Unofficial Website