Erika Schubert

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Erika Schubert (born April 6, 1920 in Graz ; † January 8, 2019 ) was an Austrian opera singer ( alto ).

Life

Erika Schubert attended the private school of the Evangelical Community in Graz. Her artistic career began in 1935, at the age of 15, as an extra and ballet teacher at the Graz Opera House . She received her vocal training at the music school of the Graz Conservatory from the vocal professor Herbert Thöny and at the affiliated " Franz Mixa Opera School ".

Her first stage engagement was in the 1940/41 season as an apprentice at the Graz Opera House, where she made her debut in 1941 as one of the Three Boys in Mozart's opera Die Zauberflöte . By 1942, piece contracts for opera and drama followed at the Graz Opera House. From January 1942 until 1944 she was engaged as a so-called "performance artist" at the Strasbourg Opera House . In addition, she successfully performed from there in Stuttgart, Freiburg, Karlsruhe and Saarbrücken.

Shortly before the end of the Second World War , Schubert returned to her home town of Graz and sang melodies by Leo Fall among others at the first performance in the Graz theater in 1945, while still under Russian occupation . In July 1945 she participated in the reopening of the bomb-damaged Graz Opera House. From 1945 to 1993 Schubert was a permanent member of the Graz Opera. Until her final stage farewell in 1998, she was still under contract there. In 2005 she appeared again in public at an artist talk for the Society of Graz Opera Friends. She was an honorary member of the Graz Opera. Her leading roles at the Graz Opera House included Carmen , Octavian , Klytämnestra and Erda in the Ring cycle. In Graz she also appeared in operettas and musicals. She interpreted, among other things, the trouser role of Count Orlowsky in the Strauss operetta Die Fledermaus and was the housekeeper Mrs. Pearce in My Fair Lady .

At the Graz Opera House, Schubert also took on numerous operetta roles in new productions. a. Fürstin Anhilte in Die Csárdásfürstin (1975/76 season), Countess Palmatica in Der Bettelstudent (1976/77 season), Madame Palmyra Beaubuisson in The Opera Ball (1976/77 season), the hotel owner Carla Schlumberger in Die Zirkusprinzessin (1977/78 season) , Countess Stasa Kokozoff in Der Graf von Luxemburg (season 1978/79) and the educator Mirabella in Der Zigeunerbaron (season 1986/87).

In 1953 she made her debut at the Bayreuth Festival as Rossweiße in Die Walküre . In 1962 she sang the sword there, 1964 again the Rossweiße. In 1953 she made a guest appearance with the ensemble of the Bayreuth Festival at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples . In 1955 she was a guest at the Wagner Festival in Barcelona .

In March 1955 she made her debut at the Vienna State Opera as the gypsy Czipra in the Strauss operetta Der Zigeunerbaron . There she also sang Schwertleite (April 1960), the third maid in Elektra (1960–1963) and Annina in La Traviata (January 1968). In the 1967/68 and 1968/69 seasons she appeared as Siegrune in the Ring cycle at La Scala in Milan .

Schubert sang on over 40 stages in Germany and abroad. She made guest appearances at the Rome Opera House (1956, as Schwertleite), at the Grand Opéra Paris (1957), at the Nuremberg Opera House (1959), at the Théâtre de La Monnaie (1960, 1964 and 1966), at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo (1962 and 1970 , as Schwertleite), at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein , in Amsterdam (1966) as well as at the Toulouse Opera House and at the Opéra de Lyon . She also performed in Avignon , Venice , Cairo and Japan ( Osaka ).

Schubert, who also worked as a teacher, has received several awards for her artistic and cultural work. She was "Styrian Chamber Singer ", a title that was created especially for her, holder of the Golden Decoration of Honor of the State of Styria, holder of the Silver and Golden Decoration of Honor of the City of Graz and, since October 2004, in recognition of her special services to the city of "Citizen of the City of Graz ”. In 1996 she was given the professional title of "Professor".

She died at the age of 98.

Repertoire and audio documents

Schubert initially sang parts for Spielalt and the lyrical role subject. Her repertoire included roles such as Marcellina in Le Nozze di Figaro , Irmentraut in Der Waffenschmied , Frau Reich in Die Lustigen Weiber von Windsor , Nicklaus in Hoffmann's Stories and Frau Marthe Schwerdtlein in Margarethe . Later more dramatic roles and the character subject were added.

She mainly sang roles by Verdi (Maddalena in Rigoletto , Ulrica in Ein Maskenball ), Richard Strauss (Octavian, Klytämnestra, Herodias in Salome ) and Richard Wagner (Erda, Mary in the Flying Dutchman ).

Schubert's voice is documented by radio recordings and various live recordings ( Ring cycle from Bayreuth). She made radio recordings for Radio Saarbrücken , Hessischer Rundfunk and the Alpenland broadcaster, among others .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Erika Schubert . Obituary notice. In: Kleine Zeitung of January 11, 2019. Accessed on January 19, 2019.
  2. ↑ a b Prof. Erika Schubert . Obituary. Official website of the city ​​of Graz . Retrieved January 19, 2019
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Graz singer Erika Schubert is 90 . ORF.at. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Erika Schubert: A life for the (Graz) opera . Obituary. In: Kleine Zeitung of January 10, 2019. Accessed on January 19, 2019.
  5. ↑ Cast lists of the Bayreuth Festival . In: 1876 ​​BAYREUTH 1991 . Documentation. Published by the festival management. Editor: Peter Emmerich. 1991.
  6. ↑ List of roles by Erika Schubert. In: Chronik der Wiener Staatsoper 1945-2005 , p. 730. Löcker Verlag, Vienna 2006. ISBN 3-85409-449-3 .
personal data
SURNAME Schubert, Erika
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian opera singer (alto)
DATE OF BIRTH April 6, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Graz , Styria, Austria
DATE OF DEATH January 8, 2019