Helen Donath
Helen Donath , née Helen Erwin , (born July 10, 1940 in Corpus Christi , Texas ) is an American opera singer ( soprano ).
Life
Helen Donath went to school in Corpus Christi and began studying there. She later continued her studies in New York , where she had her first concert appearance at the age of 18. In 1962 she received her first engagement in Germany at the Cologne Opera . She made her debut as the second Rhine daughter Wellgunde in Richard Wagner's Rheingold . From 1963 to 1968 she sang at the Hanover Opera House . Here she met her future husband, the pianist and conductor at the Klaus Donath opera house .
In 1966 she signed a guest contract with the Bavarian State Opera in Munich , which was extremely beneficial to her career. In 1967 and 1968 she sang Pamina in the Magic Flute at the Salzburg Festival . With that she finally achieved her international breakthrough. Opera and concert guest appearances have since taken her all over the world, for example to the Scala in Milan , the Royal Opera House in London , the State Operas in Berlin , Vienna , Munich, Dresden and Hamburg , to Paris , Tokyo and again and again to her American homeland. In 1991 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera New York as Marzelline in Fidelio and as Susanna in Le nozze di Figaro . Special highlights were the role of Marschallin in Rosenkavalier in Detroit , under the direction of her husband Klaus Donath and directed by her son Alexander Donath, and the Despina in Così fan tutte at the Salzburg Festival from 2004 to 2006. She made a guest appearance at the Cologne Opera last 2015 as' Mrs. Grose 'in The Turn of the Screw .
Helen Donath has received several awards for her services, including a. as a Bavarian chamber singer, as an honorary doctorate from the University of Miami and in 1990 with the Lower Saxony Prize . In 2005 she received the Cross of Merit 1st Class of the Lower Saxony Order of Merit .
Discography
Helen Donath made over a hundred records, including the following roles:
- Pamina ( The Magic Flute ),
- Gretel ( Hansel and Gretel ),
- Goose girl ( royal children ),
- Micaela ( Carmen ),
- Sophie ( Der Rosenkavalier ),
- Marzelline ( Fidelio ),
- Ännchen ( Der Freischütz ),
- Eva ( The Mastersingers of Nuremberg )
- Governess ( The Turn of the Screw ).
literature
- Dorit Amelang: Helen Donath , in Tigo Zeyen , Anne Weber-Ploemacher (ed.), Joachim Giesel (photos): 100 Hanoverian Heads , Hameln: CW Niemeyer Buchverlage, 2006, ISBN 978-3-8271-9251-6 and ISBN 3 -8271-9251-X , pp. 52f.
Web links
- Helen Donath at Operissimo on the basis of the Great Singer Lexicon
- Biography and photos at bach-cantatas.com , accessed September 30, 2010
- JS Bach - Matthäus-Passion, BWV 244 , conductor Karl Richter , 1971, youtube.com, accessed September 30, 2010
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Donath, Helen |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Erwin, Helen (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American opera singer (soprano) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 10, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Corpus Christi , Texas |