Erika Vienna

Erika Wien (born September 2, 1928 in Vienna ; † October 10, 2019 in Zurich ) was an Austrian singer ( mezzo-soprano ) and actress .

Live and act

Erika Wien was born in Vienna on September 2, 1928 and completed her vocal studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna . Her teachers included Hans Duhan , Josef Witt , Wolfgang Steinbrück and Erik Werba . After completing her studies, she had her first engagements at the Vienna Volksoper between 1952 and 1953 and was then active at the Bremen Theater from 1953 to 1959 . From 1959 to 1964 she appeared at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein , followed by an engagement at the Zurich Opera House from 1964 to 1980 . As a dramatic alto , she was one of the most prominent members of the Zurich Opera ensemble , especially in the management era of Hermann Juch .

Vienna had guest appearances at the Deutsche Oper Berlin , the State Opera Berlin , the State Operas of Vienna , Munich , Hamburg and Stuttgart , as well as the opera houses of Frankfurt am Main , Hanover , Cologne , Nuremberg , Wiesbaden and Wuppertal . Furthermore, she had guest engagements at the Holland Festival , the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino , in Brussels and Bordeaux , in Lyon and Marseille , at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires , in the Grand Opéra Paris , the opera houses of Los Angeles , San Diego and San Francisco , in Nantes and Toulouse , as well as in Turin and Genoa .

Her repertoire included the title role in Carmen , Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro , Maddalena in Rigoletto , Azucena in Il trovatore , Amneris in Aida , Eboli in Verdi's Don Carlos , Ulrica in Un ballo in maschera , Mrs. Quickly in Verdi's Falstaff , Fenena in Nabucco , Mary in The Flying Dutchman , Ortrud in Lohengrin , Erda and Fricka in Der Ring des Nibelungen , Brangaene in Tristan and Isolde , Venus in Tannhäuser and the Singers' War on Wartburg , Orfeo in Orfeo ed Euridice , Marina Mnick in Boris Godunow , the Countess in Queen of Spades , Milada in Dalibor , the witch Ježibaba in Rusalka , Klytaimnestra in Strauss 'Elektra , Marie in Bergs Wozzeck , Konschakovna in Prince Igor , the artist in Jenůfa , the High Priestess in Penthesilea , Adelaide in Strauss' Arabella or Leokadja Begbick in the rise and fall of the city of Mahagonny .

In the Zurich Opera House she was involved in the premieres of Madame Bovary under the composer Heinrich Sutermeister , the director Michael Hampe and the musical director Reinhard Peters (May 26, 1967) and in June 1977 in An Angel Comes to Babylon by the composer Rudolf Kelterborn .

Erika Wien also had great success as a concert and oratorio soloist , where she was able to convince above all in works by Johann Sebastian Bach , Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms . She also appeared in recitals and was a concert singer in Germany, Switzerland, as well as in Vienna, Madrid , Granada and Paris .

Erika Wien died on the night of October 9-10, 2019 in Zurich.

↑ Opera singer Erika Wien is dead. Report on magin.klassik.com, October 15, 2019. Accessed October 15, 2019.