  g(11696700)a(1393595))
| | Donath Helen | | soprano |   
| Born Helen Erwin from a family of Aremenian-Syrian descent, at the age of ten, she was already singing in a children's choir. She let her voice develop under the tutelage of Carl Dapholl with further studies under Paola Novikova in New York. In 1958, when she was still quite young, she made her debut as a concert and lieder singer in New York and remained in North America until 1960. In1961 she came to Europe where she was engaged by the Cologne Opera, where she debuted as Wellgunde in Das Rheingold. She remained in Cologne until 1963 when she went to the Staatstheater in Hannover, where she was affiliated until 1968. For her debut, she sang Pamina. In Hannover, she also married the conductor and rehearsal pianist Klaus Donath. From 1965-67, she was also a member of the Opera in Frankfurt am Main. Appearances at the Munich State Opera in 1967 initiated her great career, encompassing both the opera stage and the concert hall. She was heard in the Salzburg festival many times: as Pamina (1967-8), as Ilia (1970, 1973), and by 1976 in many lieder recitals, oratorios, and concerts. She also sang at the Salzburg Easter Festival under Herbert von Karajan. Guest appearances brought her to the Vienna State Opera (where she was seen from 1970-90 as Zerlina, Ännchen in Freischütz, Sophie and Eva; Stuttgart, Dresden and Hamburg, the Deutsche Opernhaus Berlin, the Wiener Volksoper, the Bern (Switzerland) Theater, the Zurich Opera, the Paris Grand Opéra (Sophie in 1981) and many other important houses. In 1971 she sang Sophie at the Bolshoi Opera and in San Francisco. She appeared in Hamburg State Opera's Japanese Tour as Pamina in 1984 and guested at the Seattle Opera in 1989 as Eva. In 1991, her Metropolitan Opera debut was as Marzelline in Fidelio. Subsequently, she was heard there as Susanna and then, in 1994, as the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro. In 1995, she sang the Marschallin for the first time at the Washington Opera. In 1996 she sang the Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro again in Miami. On April 27, 1996, she appeared in the opening performance of the new opera house in Detroit as Mimi in La Bohème. This artist's other stage roles included Eurydice in Gluck's Orfeo, Micaela in Carmen, Marie in The Bartered Bride and Luise in Der junge Lord by H.W. Henze. A preeminent lieder interpreter, she is often accompanied by her husband. She is also internationally known as an oratorio singer. Recordings: Decca (Gluck's Orfeo, Ballo in maschera, Rosenkavalier, Freischütz, Lustige Weiber von Windsor), HMV (Don Giovanni, Meistersinger), Telefunken (Incoronazione di Poppea), Philips (La finta giardiniera, Dido and Aeneas, Haydn's La vera costanza, The Turn of the Screw), DGG (Palestrina by H.Pfitzner, Lucio Silla, Lustige Weiber von Windsor), Electrola (Fidelio, Gluck's Der betrogene Kadi, Schubert's Die Zwillingsbrüder, Arabella, Kienzl's Der Evangelimann, Schubert's Der vierjährige Posten, Lehar's Friederike), Teldec, Eurodisc (Zauberflöte, Carmen, Hänsel und Gretel, Gianni Schicchi), Cantate, Orfeo (Orfeo ed Euridice by J.Haydn, La finta semplice), Wergo, RCA (Nozze di Figaro), Schwann (Der Corregidor), CBS, Acanta, Voce (Alessandro Stradella by Flotow). |
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