Regine Crespin

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Regine Crespin (1987)

Régine Crespin (born February 23, 1927 in Marseille , † July 5, 2007 in Paris ) was a French opera singer ( soprano ).

Life

Crespin had Italian-French parents who later owned a large shoe shop in Nîmes . She initially decided to become a pharmacist . After winning the Concours des plus belles voix de France , she changed her career aspirations. However, because she failed the university entrance exam at the age of 16, her pragmatic father allowed her to study singing with Georges Jouatte . In fact, she was accepted into the Paris Conservatory .

She made her debut at the Paris Opera , where she sang for six years. But her first successes came only in the provinces, such as in Reims in 1948 as Charlotte in Werther , in 1950 as Elsa in Wagner's Lohengrin in Mulhouse , as Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre or in Puccini's Tosca . In 1957 she took part in the world premiere of Francis Poulenc's opera Dialogues des carmélites at the Opéra de Paris.

When she sang to Wieland Wagner , she could only sing the arias in French. Nevertheless, she received the role of Kundry in Parsifal at the Bayreuth Festival from Wagner in 1958 , which she sang until 1961. She found the support of the professor of German literature, Lou Bruder, for the necessary German lessons. They married soon after. After eleven years, the marriage was divorced without children.

At this point she was already an internationally sought-after interpreter. In 1959 she sang in Glyndebourne and in 1962 she made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera . With Herbert von Karajan she gave again in 1967 at the Metropolitan Opera Sieglinde with Birgit Nilsson as Brünnhilde and took part with him at the Salzburg Festival from 1967 to 1968 . She also sang this role in Die Walküre in the complete Decca recording of “Ring” with Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic . From 1976 to 1992 she taught at the Paris Conservatory. Then she taught master classes a. a. at Mannes College of Music in New York .

Crespin sang both parts for lyric soprano and occasionally parts for dramatic soprano . Régine Crespin had a fine, warm, clear voice and the ability to sing German with almost no accent.

Discography

Quotes

“ Régine Crespin has been the erotic heroine of the Paris Opera since the 1950s. A diva of the perfect piani. A soprano who never sounded “like”, not like Mödl , not like Varnay , not like Nilsson , but always - very unique. The French repertoire in her subject was defined qualitatively by Régine Crespin. "

- Georg-Albrecht Eckle, 2007

“ With her voice, her talent, but also her humor and generosity, Régine Crespin was a great ambassador for French culture. "

- Nicolas Sarkozy , 2007

literature

  • Régine Crespin: La vie et l'amour d'une femme . Autobiography. Fayard, Paris 1982, ISBN 2-213-01162-1 .
  • Régine Crespin: à la scene, à la ville . expanded new edition of the 1982 autobiography. Actes Sud, Arles 1997, ISBN 2-7427-1347-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ La vie et l'amour , Tagesspiegel , July 6, 2007
  2. ↑ "Régine Crespin, une grande wagnérienne s'éteint" ( Memento of the original of July 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Le Figaro , July 6, 2007 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.lefigaro.fr
personal data
SURNAME Crespin, Regine
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French opera singer (soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH February 23, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Marseille
DATE OF DEATH July 5, 2007
Place of death Paris