Hedwig Hillengass

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Hedwig Hillengaß (born October 5, 1902 in Mannheim ; † May 22, 1970 ibid) was a German opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

Hillengaß grew up in her hometown of Mannheim in the Lindenhof district . After her secondary school leaving certificate , she first worked in the telegraph office in Mannheim. She studied singing with Jane Freund-Nauen in Mannheim .

Her first stage engagement was in the 1925/1926 season at the Stadttheater Pforzheim ; there she was engaged as a singer (beginner) with an extra series commitment until 1927. From 1928 to 1931 she was called “1. Operetta singer ”at the Heilbronn City Theater. Her roles with a focus on operetta included Sonja in The Tsarevich , Lisa in The Land of Smiles , the female title role in Viktoria and her Husar and Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus . In the seasons 1931/1932 and 1932/1933 she was engaged as an operetta singer at the Stadttheater Plauen . She appeared in the operettas Der Opernball , Im Weißen Rößl , Die Schöne Helena (title role), Der Graf von Luxemburg (as Angèle Didier), Boccaccio (as Fiametta) and Der Zigeunerbaron (as Saffi).

After the development years, Hedwig Hillengaß changed in 1933 as “1. Operetta Singer ”at the National Theater Mannheim and entered the opera in the following two seasons . Until 1935 she was a permanent member of the ensemble at the Mannheim National Theater. There she sang roles in operettas (Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron ; Julia de Weert in Der Vetter aus Dingsda ), but also her first major operatic roles, such as the title role in the then extremely successful opera Mona Lisa and Minnie in Puccini's verismo opera Das Mädchen aus dem golden west .

In 1935 she went to the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe as the "first lyric soprano", youthful-dramatic soprano and character soprano . Hedwig Hillengaß sang Baroness Freimann in Der Wildschütz , Ninabella in Die Zaubergeige , Marie in Die Sellte Braut , the title role in Carmen , and Pamina in Die Zauberflöte . She also took on roles in operettas, such as Electress Marie in The Bird Trader and Countess Laura in The Begging Student . In May 1936, Bizet's opera Carmen was broadcast with her in the leading role on the Reichssender Stuttgart . In 1937 Hedwig Hillengaß was appointed chamber singer . In 1938 she sang the role of Djula in the German-language premiere of the opera Ero der Schelm by Jakov Gotovac at the Karlsruhe State Theater .

During her time in Karlsruhe she was hired to perform the world premiere of Werner Egk's opera Peer Gynt as “Die Rothaarige” at the Düsseldorf Opera House ; here she sang with the bass player Josef Greindl . Due to her performance shown in this opera, she was committed to the Düsseldorf Opera for the seasons 1939/1940 and 1940/1941. There she sang in Das Rheingold (as Freia), Boris Godunow , Die Zauberflöte (as Pamina), Tannhäuser (as Venus), Manon Lescaut (title role), Die Hochzeit des Figaro (as Countess Almaviva), Jenufa (title role) and Don Giovanni .

She then moved to the State Theater in Cracow in what was then the Imperial Government of Poland. She worked here until the State Opera was closed due to the war at the end of the 1943/1944 season.

In 1946, shortly after the end of the war, she was engaged at the Städtische Bühnen Heidelberg , where she was principal soprano until the 1952/1953 season. Here, too, the focus of her work was opera. As a guest she also appeared occasionally at the Karlsruhe State Theater. Hedwig Hillengaß could also be heard on Südfunk . She also sang at the Schwetzingen Festival .

Her other stage roles included Ramiro in La finta giardiniera , Senta in the Flying Dutchman , Marschallin and Octavian in the Rosenkavalier , the title role in Aida , Desdemona in Otello , the title role in Puccini's opera Tosca and Dolly in Sly or The Legend of the Resurrected Sleeper .

Hedwig Hillengaß died as a result of an accident at the age of 68. In her time she was one of the great sopranos in Germany. Experts appreciated her well-groomed voice, with which she performed both songs in the concert hall and difficult roles in the theater.

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personal data
SURNAME Hillengass, Hedwig
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH October 5, 1902
PLACE OF BIRTH Mannheim
DATE OF DEATH May 22, 1970
Place of death Mannheim