  g(11696700)a(1393595))
| Mödl Martha | | soprano
[ 1912 - 2001 ]
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| She was employed at a mail order firm in Nürnberg and later worked as an accountant. She began voice training at the Konservatorium of Nürnberg at the age of 20, then studied with Otto Mueller in Milan. She made her debut in 1943 at the Stadttheater of Remscheid as Hänsel in Hänsel und Gretel. She was still singing alto when she was engaged at the opera house of Düsseldorf (1945-49) before switching to dramatic soprano. In 1949 she went to the Hamburg Staatsoper where she developed into a celebrated Wagnerian soprano. In 1957 she sang at the first postwar Bayreuth Festival: Kundry, the third Norn and Gutrune. She remained a fixture at Bayreuth through subsequent decades. She appeared as Brünnhilde (1953-56), Kundry (1951-57, 1959-60), Gutrune (1951-52, 1954), Isolde (1952-53, 1962), Sieglinde (1954-55), Waltraute (1966-67) and Fricka in the Ring (1967). In 1950 she was celebrated as Carmen at Covent Garden. In 1952 she was invited to join the Wiener Staatsoper, where she had first sung in 1948. Since 1953 she has also been a member of the opera of Stuttgart. She was successful in appearances at La Scala, Covent Garden, Grand Opéra Paris and many German stages. In 1964-65 she appeared at the Salzburg Festival as Klytämnestra. She also appeared in the world premiere of the opera Baal by F. Cerha on 7 August 1981. In 1956-60 she was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera (debut as Brünnhilde in Siegfried). For the following three seasons she appeared there in twelve performances as Isolde, Kundry and Brünnhilde. At the dedication of the newly built Wiener Staatsoper on 5 November 1955 she sang Leonore in Fidelio. She also took part in the opening of the rebuilt Staatsoper in Munich in 1963, in the role of the nurse in Die Frau ohne Schatten. She appeared frequently at the opera house of Cologne. In 1968 she sang at the Stadttheater Münster (Westphalia) at the first German performance of Britten's Gloriana. On September 25, 1969 she sang at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in the world premiere of Boris Blacher's 200 000 Taler, and in the same house the world premiere of Fortner's Elisabeth Tudor on 23 October 1972. Another world premiere was A. Reimann's Melusine on April 29, 1971 at the Schwetzingen Festival. In 1971 she appeared in Kiel in the world premiere of the opera Geisterliebe by Isang Yun. Her career continued with undiminished success even into her 80's, when she appeared in a number of TV performances of operas and operettas. In 1976 she sang at the world premiere of G. von Einem's Kabale und Liebe at the Vienna Staatsoper. In 1978 at the Festival of Gandersheim she appeared in the title role (a speaking role) in Garcia Lorca's Das Haus der Bernarda Alba. Another world premiere in a role that was dedicated to her was Mumie in Gespenstersonate by Aribert Reinmann. In 1989 she took on the role of the old Countess in Tchaikovsy's Pique Dame at the opera houses of Cologne, Nice and Essen. On 26 September 1993 she appeared in the opera house of Dortmund in the world premiere of Wilfried Hiller's Der Rattenfänger, and another world premiere on 10 November 1995 at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein Düsseldorf in Gervaise Macquart by G. Klebes as Mother Bazouge. An overwhelming, rich voice production and a fascinating dramatic presentation rendered her interpretations unforgettable, particularly as one of the great Wagnerian heroines. Literature: W. Schäfer: Martha Mödl (Hanover, 1967). Recordings: HMV (Walküre, Fidelio), Cetra (Elektra), Philips (Oedipus Rex, Götterdämmerung), Decca (Parsifal), DGG (Frau ohne Schatten), Telefunken, Eurodisc (La forza del Destino), Koch Records (Schwarzer Peter), Bruno Walter Society (Der Ring des Nibelungen), Fritz Busch Society (Un ballo in Maschera), Estro Armonico (Elektra), Cetra Opera Live (Tristan und Isolde), Ariola (Der Rattenfänger), Decca-Video (Arabella). |
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