Ruth Hesse
Ruth Hesse | |
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Born | |
Occupation | Operatic mezzo-soprano |
Organizations | |
Awards | Kammersängerin |
Ruth Hesse (born 18 September 1936) is a German dramatic mezzo-soprano. She was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin from 1962 to 1995, and appeared internationally, including the Bayreuth Festival and the Salzburg Festival. She appeared regularly at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, and was appointed an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1982. In Berlin, she took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord.
Life and career
Born in Wuppertal, Hesse first studied with Peter Offermanns in Wuppertal, then with Hildegard Scharf in Hamburg and finally also in Milan.[1] She made her debut in 1958 at the Theater Lübeck as Orpheus in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, and remained there until 1960. Afterwards she was engaged for two seasons at the Staatsoper Hannover. In 1960 she made her debut at the Hamburg State Opera and the Bayreuth Festival, where she performed until 1979 and was gradually assigned larger roles, culminating in Ortrud in Lohengrin, opposite Peter Hofmann and Karan Armstrong.[2]
From 1962 to 1995, she was engaged by the Deutsche Oper Berlin, singing a wide repertoire. She took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord on 7 April 1965, singing the role of Frau von Hufnagel.[1]
From the second half of the 1960s she made her first appearances at major opera houses in Europe in new roles. In 1965, she sang at the
Hesse also gave guest performances at the
She was a regular guest at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, where she appeared as Herodias, the Nurse, Ortrud, Brangäne, Magdalene, Fricka and Waltraute, Eboli, as well as Amneris in Verdi's Aida, Azucena in his Il trovatore, Maddalena in his Rigoletto and Preziosilla in his La forza del destino, Giulietta in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann and Burija in Janáček's Jenůfa. In 1982 she was appointed a Kammersängerin. On 29 November 1988, she retired from the house as Herodias.[1][7]
She also performed in concert, including a performance of Salome at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1975.[1] In 1970, Hesse portrayed Gertrud in a film of Hänsel und Gretel.
Hesse married director Siegwulf Turek in 1976. The couple met in 1975 at the Salzburg Festival. Hess was singing in Die Frau ohne Schatten and Siegwulf was serving as an assistant to the production's set designer, Günther Schneider-Siemssen.[8]
Hesse's performances of Tristan und Isolde (with Nilsson and Jon Vickers, 1973) and Der fliegende Holländer (opposite Sir Donald McIntyre, 1975) may be found on DVD.
Roles
World premieres
- 1963 Milhaud: Oresteia (24 April) – Deutsche Oper Berlin (world premiere of the 3rd part Les Eumenides)[1]
- 1965 Hufnagel's wife in Henze's Der junge Lord (7 April) – Deutsche Oper Berlin[1]
Repertoire
Bartók:
Bizet: Gluck:
Hindemith:
Humperdinck:
Janáček: Korngold: Mozart:
Offenbach:
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Strauss: Stravinsky:
Verdi:
Wagner:
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Recordings
Operas
- Henze: Der junge Lord, with
- Korngold: Violanta, with Chor des Bayerischen RundfunksBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, conductor: Marek Janowski, Choir conductor: Heinz Mende, CBS Masterworks 1980[11],
- Smetana: Die verkaufte Braut, excerpts with Barry McDaniel, Cvetka Ahlin, Melitta Muszely, Martti Talvela, Ruth Hesse, Rudolf Schock, Kurt Böhme; Choir and Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, conductor: Heinrich Hollreiser, LP, Album, Electrola
- Strauss: Die Frau ohne Schatten, with
- Wagner: Lohengrin, with Otto von Rohr, Herbert Schachtschneider (Lohengrin), Leonore Kirschstein (Elsa), Heinz Imdahl (Friedrich von Telramund), Ruth Hesse (Ortrud), Hans Helm, Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor, Large Symphony Orchestra (with members of the Czech Philharmonic), conductor: Hans Swarowsky, aufgenommen im August 1968, Augsburg: Weltbild Classics 1996.
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, with Wiener Staatsoper, Live-Mitschnitt, ca. 1970
- Wagner: Tristan und Isolde, with Wiener Staatsoper, live 5 December 1976[13]
- Wagner: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, with Horst Lunow, Theo Adam (Hans Sachs), Eberhard Büchner, Ruth Hesse (Magdalene), Zoltán Kelemen, Geraint Evans, Peter Schreier (David), Karl Ridderbusch, René Kollo (Walther von Stolzing), Helen Donath (Eva); Staatskapelle Dresden, conductor: Herbert von Karajan, EMI Classics
Choral works
- Bach: Wiener Symphoniker, conductor Hans Swarowsky[14]
- Mozart: Wiener Staatsoper, Wiener Kammerchor, conductor: Pierre Colombo. Festival Classique[15]
Literature
- Opera Nederland: Mezzosopraan Ruth Hesse wordt 80 jaar, retrieved 23 March 2019
References
- ^ ISBN 978-3-59-844088-5.
- ^ "Ruth Hesse" (in German). Bayreuth Festival. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Goldmann, A. J. (September 2014). "Die Frau ohne Schatten". Opera News. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
- ^ Anderson, Robert (August 1975). "Opera: Die Frau ohne Schatten". The Musical Times, Vol. 116, No. 1590, p. 723. Retrieved 27 May 2019 (subscription required).
- ^ Herbort, Heinz Josef (24 August 1974). "Salzburger Festspiele 1974: Märchen und Intrigen". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-3-47-600510-6.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Vorstellungen mit Ruth Hesse" (in German). Vienna State Opera. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
- ^ "Der liebste Mensch seit 1976". siegwulf-turek.at. Retrieved 27 May 2019 (in German).
- ^ a b "Ruth Hesse". isoldes-liebestod.net (in German). Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ "Humperdinck, E.: Hänsel und Gretel (Kommentierte Diskographie)". Klassikforum (in German). Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ^ a b Martell, Victor (July 2003). "Erich Wolfgang Korngold (1897-1957) / Violanta". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- ISBN 978-3-47-600510-6.
- ^ Birgit Nilsson / The Great Live Recordings birgitnilsson100.com
- ^ Martell, Victor (July 2014). "Forgotten Artists - An occasional series by Christopher Howell / 8. Hans Swarowsky (1899-1975)". musicweb-international.com. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
- OCLC 23452075
External links
- Ruth Hesse at IMDb
- Ruth Hesse discography at Discogs
- Aryeh Oron, Fiume Simonini: Ruth Hesse (Mezzo-soprano), on Bach Cantatas Website