Gwendolyn Killebrew

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Gwendolyn Killebrew
Movie-star-type glamour photo of young woman with long hair
Killebrew, around 1980
BornAugust 26, 1941
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died(2021-12-24)December 24, 2021 (aged 80)
Düsseldorf, Germany
EducationJuilliard School
Occupations
OrganizationDeutsche Oper am Rhein
TitleKammersängerin
AwardsMetropolitan Opera National Council Auditions
Websitewww.gwendolynkillebrew.com/vitae.html

Gwendolyn Killebrew (August 26, 1941

Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1976 to 2006, where she took part in the world premiere of Klebe's Gervaise Macquart
, and performed in other contemporary operas. After retirement, she worked as a music educator, giving master classes and teaching privately.

Early life and education

Killebrew was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 26, 1941. She studied piano and horn[4] at Temple University in Philadelphia,[5] receiving a bachelor's degree in music education in 1963,[6] and worked as a music teacher and music therapist.[4] She studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York with Hans Heinz and Christopher West.[1]

Career

In 1965 Killebrew participated in the

Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., was opened on September 10, 1971, she performed in the world premiere of Ginastera's Beatrix Cenci. Killebrew appeared as Amneris in Verdi's Aida at the Salzburg Easter Festival from 1972. She participated in the world premiere of Orff's De temporum fine comoedia at the 1973 Salzburg Festival. She was Carmen again at the Santa Fe Opera in 1975,[1] and at the Met in 1979.[7]

Killebrew was a member of the

Die Bassariden, and in 1993 Marcolfa in Fortner's In seinem Garten liebt Don Perlimplin Belisa. In 1995, she took part in the world premiere of Klebe's Gervaise Macquart, and in 1998 in the German premiere of Giorgio Battistelli's Orchesterprobe [it]. Roles at the Deutsche Oper also included Mrs. Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff, Annina in Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss, Amelfa in Rimsky-Korsakov's Der goldene Hahn, and Burija in Janáček's Jenůfa.[1] She also appeared there as Isabella in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and as Verdi's Maddalena in Rigoletto and Azucena in Il trovatore.[5] She performed in Monteverdi operas, as Ericlea in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in 2003,[11] and as Nutrice in L'incoronazione di Poppea in 2004.[12] She was named Kammersängerin by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1988. Her last performance there was as Bacchis in Offenbach's La belle Hélène in 2009, directed by Christof Loy.[13] She was named an honorary member of the house in 2011.[4][13]

From 1978, Killebrew appeared at the Bayreuth Festival, performing roles in the Jahrhundertring, the centenary performance of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen staged by Patrice Chéreau. She appeared as Schwertleite in Die Walküre and as Waltraute in Götterdämmerung, also in the version filmed in 1980.[14] She appeared as Fricka in the Ring cycle at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1979.[1]

Killebrew was also active in concert and as a recitalist.

Günther Reich, Jessye Norman, and Wolfgang Neumann.[16] After retirement from performing, she worked as a music educator, giving master classes and teaching privately.[15]

She died in Düsseldorf on December 24, 2021.[15]

Recordings

Killebrew recorded in 1970 the title role of Handel's Tamerlano in Copenhagen, with conductor John Moriarty. A reviewer of a reissue noted in 2003:

As Tamerlano, Killebrew has a strong and resonant voice; it rings at the top and has a defined chest voice adding powerful presence to her characterisation – her aria Vuo dar pace in Act I Scene II announces singing of real presence.[17]

In 1976, she took part in a live recording of Dvořák's

Ivo Zidek as the prince.[18][19]

In 1986, she recorded Mahler's

Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Gary Bertini. Lewis M. Smoley wrote in a book comparing recordings of the Mahler symphonies that she "has a deep, rich, if heavyish, timbre that suits the profound, other-worldly atmosphere of Nietzsche's poetry".[20]

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Other sources have 1939.[2][3]

References

  1. ^ .
  2. .
  3. .
  4. ^ a b c d e Goertz, Wolfram (December 29, 2021). "Nachruf auf Gwendolyn Killebrew : Karajan entdeckte sie in New York". Rheinische Post (in German). Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Abschied von Gwendolyn Killebrew". Fono Forum (in German). December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  6. OCLC 7306029
    .
  7. ^ a b "Performances with Killebrew, Gwendolyn [Mezzo Soprano]". Metropolitan Opera archives. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  8. ^ "Die Walküre {400} Metropolitan Opera House: November 21, 1967". Metropolitan Opera archives. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  9. ^ "Die Walküre {406} Matinee Broadcast ed. Metropolitan Opera House: February 24, 1968., Broadcast". Metropolitan Opera archives. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  10. SONY. Archived from the original
    on April 7, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  11. ^ Menzel, Gerhard (June 25, 2003). "Il ritorno d'Ulisse in Patria". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  12. ^ Klein, Susanne; Menzel, Gerhard (March 14, 2004). "L'incoronazione di Poppea". Online Musik Magazin (in German). Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Altistin Gwendolyn Killebrew gestorben". Musik Heute (in German). December 28, 2021. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  14. ^ "Gwendolyn Killebrew" (in German). Bayreuth Festival. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  15. ^ a b c "Abschied von Gwendolyn Killebrew". Deutsche Oper am Rhein (in German). Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  16. ^ "Prom 23 / Arnold Schoenberg Gurrelieder". BBC. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  17. ^ Woolf, Jonathan (April 2003). "George Frideric Handel (1685-1759) / Tamerlano". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved December 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "Gwendolyn Killebrew" (in German). muziekweb.nl. Retrieved December 28, 2021.
  19. .
  20. .

External links