Hella Ruttkowski

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Helena Marie "Hella" Ruttkowski (born December 13, 1920 in Nuremberg ; † November 16, 2008 there ) was a German opera singer ( alto ).

Life

Training and beginnings

After attending the Lyceum, Hella Ruttkowski studied singing at the Nuremberg Municipal Conservatory . She also had her voice trained privately with the vocal teacher Julie Schützendorf-Koerner.

In 1944 Ruttkowski was hired as a soloist, initially as a so-called "performance artist", at the Nuremberg Opera House , to which she belonged without interruption until her stage farewell in 1980. In the 1943/44 season she sang the role of Floßhilde and the Second Norn in Wieland Wagner's new production of Götterdämmerung in August 1944 .

After the war-related closure of all German theaters, Ruttkowski was committed to armaments work at the Nuremberg Siemens-Schuckert works from September 1944 . After the factory was destroyed in the heavy air raid on Nuremberg on January 2, 1945 , Ruttkowski held out with occasional appearances, including a. in front of wounded Wehrmacht soldiers "above water". After the war she sang in US military clubs.

Nuremberg Opera House

With the resumption of theater operations at the Nuremberg Municipal Theaters in 1946, Ruttkowski continued her stage career at the Nuremberg Opera House. There she sang leading roles in a wide variety of fields in the course of her career. Her stage roles initially included Cherubino in Le nozze di Figaro , Dorabella in Così fan tutte , Frau Reich in Die Lustigen Frauen von Windsor and Hansel in Hansel and Gretel .

In 1950 she sang the role of Magdalene alongside Trude Eipperle , Lorenz Fehenberger and Kurt Böhme in the first Nuremberg Meistersinger production after the Second World War under the direction of Rudolf Hartmann . In the 1951/52 season she took on the title role in a new production of the opera Carmen , which from then on was regarded as her special “brilliant role ”. her stage partner in this production was Josef Traxel as Don José. Ruttkowski later switched to the dramatic field with roles such as Amneris in Aida , Hexe in Rusalka , Marina in Boris Godunow and Maria von Magdala in Die toten Augen . She also sang the title role in the opera Mignon . In a new production in the 1953/54 season, she interpreted the Knusperhexe in Hansel and Gretel with great success , which also made her known nationwide. In the season 1956/57 she sang in new productions the Maddalena in Rigoletto (at the side of Cesare Curzi as Duke) and the Dryad in Ariadne auf Naxos . In October 1963, she and Sonja Knittel , as mayor's wife Veronika, were part of the first cast of the one-act musical play Der Wunderdoktor by Georges Bizet , which had its German-language premiere with this production. The successful production stayed in the program for several seasons, was recorded for television by ZDF and broadcast in 1964.

Towards the end of her stage career, Ruttkowski took over the character subject in opera. a. she was the Mary in The Flying Dutchman . In total, Ruttkowski sang over 150 different leading and supporting roles in the course of her career.

Ruttkowski was involved in several Nuremberg premieres. In the 1954/55 season she was part of the premiere cast of the operetta Das Bad auf der Tenne by Friedrich Schröder, alongside Sonja Knittel, Kurt Wehofschitz and Jonny Born . In March 1962 she took part in the world premiere of the opera Der Glücksfischer by Mark Lothar at the Nuremberg Opera House . In the season 1968/69 she sang under the musical direction of Hans Gierster as landlady Mrs. Wang in the world premiere of the opera Träume von Isang Yun .

Among her recent stage credits Aunt Paula in included in the season 1979/80 Paul Burkhard's "Musical Comedy" The fireworks , by which it adopted in June 1980, from the stage, and the housekeeper, Mrs. Pearce in the musical My Fair Lady , at on the side of Kurt Leo Sourisseaux (Professor Higgins) and Marita Krâl (Eliza Doolittle).

Occasionally Ruttkowski also made guest appearances on international stages, for example in January 1958 at the Teatro Nacional de São Carlos in Lisbon in Elektra and Die Walküre , in 1959 at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Ariadne on Naxos (as a dryad, among others with Montserrat Caballé in the Nymph Trio) and in July 1963 in Die Walküre at the Teatro Comunale in Florence .

Ruttkowski was also active as a concert singer and worked a. a. next to Karl Mikorey , in church concerts with.

Private

Ruttkowski's fiancé died on the Eastern Front during World War II . In 1948 she married the actor and later Nuremberg bookseller Hans Friedrich Rüssel († 1974). The marriage resulted in two sons. Hella Ruttkowski died at the age of 87 in her native Nuremberg.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Hella Ruttkowski . In: Tobias Reichard, Anno Mungen , Alexander Schmidt (eds.): HITLER.MACHT.OPER . Propaganda and music theater in Nuremberg. Michael Imhof Publishing House. Petersberg 2018. Page 162/163. ISBN 978-3-7319-0735-0
  2. ↑ a b Between “Meistersinger” and “Götterdämmerung” . Onetz.de from July 27, 2018. Accessed December 29, 2018.
  3. ^ Nuremberg . Opera reviews. In: Opera . Issued March 1957. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  4. ↑ The beautiful Galathee. The miracle doctor . In: Die ZEIT of January 10, 1964
  5. ↑ The miracle doctor . Occupation. TV schedule from January 12, 1964. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  6. ↑ First performance TRÄUME by Isang Yun . Program booklet Städtische Bühnen Nürnberg-Fürth 1968/69. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. ↑ Elektra - Richard Strauss . Occupation. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  8. ↑ The Valkyrie - Richard Wagner . Occupation. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  9. ↑ Leonardo Pinzauti: Il Maggio musicale fiorentino dalla prima alla trentesima edizione . Occupation. Vallecchi Editore, 1967. page 389. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  10. ↑ Stagione Lirice Estiva 1963 . Occupation. In: Franco Manfriani: Die Walkure di Richard Wagner. The Ring of the Nibelung. 70 ° Maggio musicale 2007 . Documentation. Edizioni Pendragon 2007. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  11. ↑ The church choir celebrated its 30th anniversary. . Church chronicle St. Martin Nuremberg. October 1950. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. ↑ a b bookseller Benedikt Rüssel: Farewell after 45 years . Frankencenter info. Edition 1/2014. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  13. ↑ Christian Ruessel . Profile at Prabook.com. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Ruttkowski, Hella
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ruttkowski, Helena Marie (maiden name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (alto)
DATE OF BIRTH December 13, 1920
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg , German Empire
DATE OF DEATH November 16, 2008
Place of death Nuremberg