Jane Rhodes

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Jane Rhodes (1962)

Jane Rhodes (born March 13, 1929 in Paris , † May 7, 2011 in Neuilly-sur-Seine ) was a French opera singer ( soprano and mezzo-soprano ).

Life

Rhodes studied singing at the Paris Conservatory ( Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse de Paris ) in the singing class of Mathilde Watto; She also received acting lessons from the stage and film actor Pierre Renoir . She first sang as a chorister in the choir of the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris.

In 1953 she made her stage debut as a soloist at the Nantes Opera House in the role of Marguerite in Faust's Damnation . In November 1954 she sang the role of Renata in the concert premiere of the opera Der fierige Engel by Sergei Prokofiev in Paris . In February 1956 she sang the role of Isadora in the world premiere of the opera Le Fou by Marcel Landowski at the Grand Théâtre in Nancy ; in January 1957 there followed the role of Morgane in the world premiere of the opera Le Chevalier de Neige by Georges Delerue .

In 1958 Rhodes sang the title role in the opera Tosca at the Paris Opéra-Comique . In January 1958 Rhodes first appeared at the Grand Opéra Paris ; she made her debut there with Marguerite in Faust's Damnation . Other roles at the Paris Opera were the title role in Salome (October / November 1958; March 1959, Palais Garnier ) and the Princess Eboli in Don Carlos (June, September / October 1967, Palais Garnier). In November 1959 she sang the title role in the opera Carmen for the first time in a production by the Belgian actor and director Raymond Rouleau and under the musical direction of the Franco-Italian conductor Roberto Benzi . The Carmen belonged henceforth to Rhodes' special shine roles. She had great success at the Grand Opéra again in 1974 in the role of Kundry in Richard Wagner's Parsifal stage festival in a production by August Everding ; her partners were René Kollo and Hans Sotin .

In October 1960 she sang Isabelle in the staged world premiere of the opera Les adieux by Marcel Landowski at the Paris Opéra-Comique ; Landowski had written this role especially for Rhodes and dedicated the opera to her. In 1968 there followed the role of the woman in the monodrama La voix humaine by Francis Poulenc and the role of Concepción in the one-act play The Spanish Hour . Rhodes also sang in France at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (July 1961 and 1964 as Poppea in Die Krönung der Poppea ; 1978 as Dido in Dido and Aeneas ), at the Nice Opera House (1966/1967 as Carmen), at the Opera House from Marseille (1972 as Concepción), at the Opéra de Monaco (1972 as Carmen; 1974 as Charlotte in Werther ), at the Théâtre de Paris and at the Bordeaux Opera House (1976 as Concepción). In 1970 she took over the role of Marguerite again in a production by Maurice Béjart in the Palais des Sports de Paris .

Since 1960 she has also made guest appearances outside of France. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (debut: in November 1960 as Carmen; February / March 1962 there also Salome in German), at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires (May / June 1961, as Carmen and Marguerite), in Japan (Tour 1961, as Carmen) and at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels (1971).

Rhodes was an estimated performer in the operetta by Jacques Offenbach . She sang the title roles in the operettas Die Schöne Helena , La Périchole , The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein and Metella in Parisian Life . From 1969 she sang the title role in La Périchole at the Théâtre de Paris in over 400 performances. In 1971 she made a guest appearance in Brussels in the title role of La Périchole . She sang Metella in 1976 at the Toulouse Opera House and in 1985 at the Théâtre du Châtelet.

Since the late 1970s, Rhodes has mainly appeared as a song singer . She continued her recitals into the 1980s and 1990s. Her repertoire focused on French composers such as Henri Duparc , Claude Debussy , Gabriel Fauré , Darius Milhaud , Maurice Ravel and Francis Poulenc; In the field of German art song, Rhodes sang songs by Johannes Brahms several times .

Rhodes was also active as an actress . She took part in two opera films: 1961 in Faust's Verdammnis and 1962 in The Drama of Carmen under the musical direction of Leonard Bernstein . In 1976 she was in the French television film Un mari, c'est un mari by Serge Friedman . In this comedy film, Rhodes played the role of the opera diva La Sangria .

Awards

In recognition of her artistic merits, Rhodes was appointed Chevalier des Ordre National du Mérite and Commandeur des Arts et Lettres .

Private

Rhodes had been married to the Franco-Italian conductor Roberto Benzi since 1966 . Rhodes died on the morning of May 7, 2011 in the Hôpital américain de Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine; Rhodes had previously been treated there for two weeks for neurological disorders.

Voice and sound documents

Rhodes' voice, always alternating between the soprano and mezzo-soprano voices, allowed her to interpret both the dramatic soprano section and roles for mezzo-soprano. In addition to Tosca and Salome, Rhodes also performed Carmen, Princess Eboli and Judith in Duke Bluebeard's castle . In addition to her convincing vocal interpretation, reviews repeatedly highlighted Rhodes' acting potential, her performance and her attractive stage appearance, which predestined her especially for the title role in Carmen .

The voice of Jane Rhodes has come down to us on numerous sound documents. In 1957 she sang the role of Renata in the first complete recording of the work, which was made under the musical direction of Charles Bruck for the French record company Véga. Rhodes embodied an "excellent Renata, who is completely absorbed in her role, to the point of ecstasy in her damn scene". In 1996, Geerd Heinsen wrote in the opera magazine Orpheus about her interpretation: "Jane Rhodes remains a shattering experience as a hallucinating Renata".

A complete recording of the opera Tosca with Rhodes in the title role was made at the Véga record company in 1960 . In particular, the French repertoire of Rhodes is documented on records. There are complete recordings of the operas Mignon , Mirelle by Charles Gounod and Le roi d'Ys and Édouard Lalo , as well as cross-sections of the operas Carmen (with Roberto Benzi as conductor) and La Juive (with Rhodes as Rachel). In the field of operetta, complete recordings of Die Schöne Helena (title role) and Orpheus in der Unterwelt (Rhodes as public opinion) have been published. Rhodes also played solo recitals with operatic arias and melodies by Jacques Offenbach. There are also live recordings of recitals.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Carmen au Palais Garnier (biography of Jane Rhodes)
  2. ↑ Décès de la cantatrice Jane Rhodes death report in: Le Figaro from May 7, 2011
  3. ^ L'Ange de feu CD review at Forum Opéra
  4. ↑ CD tips for Ognennyi Angel Klassika.de
personal data
SURNAME Rhodes, Jane
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French opera singer (soprano and mezzo-soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Paris
DATE OF DEATH May 7, 2011
Place of death Neuilly-sur-Seine