Waltraud Meier

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Waltraud Meier (born January 9, 1956 in Würzburg ) is a German opera singer ( mezzo and dramatic soprano ) and Wagner interpreter.

Life

Waltraud Meier sang in five different choirs while she was still at school, but after graduating from high school , she first decided to study English and Romance languages . In 1976 the decision followed to embark on a career as a singer entirely. She studied singing a. a. with Dietger Jacob. She made her debut in the role of Lola in Cavalleria rusticana at the Würzburg City Theater . In the following years the singer developed a broad repertoire and engagements in Mannheim (1976–1978), Dortmund (1980–1983), Hanover (1983–1984) and Stuttgart (1985–1988) followed. Waltraud Meier made her international debut in 1980 in Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon as Fricka in Die Walküre .

In 1983 she began her world career in Bayreuth as Kundry in Richard Wagner's Parsifal . In this role she excelled at the Bayreuth Festival every year for the next ten years . The music critic Joachim Kaiser called them at the time (1995 in the Illustrierte Bunte ) the “Callas of the present”. In 1993 she switched to the dramatic soprano subject, whereupon the singer took on the role of Isolde in Heiner Müller's production and embodied it until 1999. In 2000, the “Millennium Ring” followed in Bayreuth, staged by Jürgen Flimm and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli , in which Meier sang and played Sieglinde in Die Walküre alongside Plácido Domingo . For many years she formed the so-called Bayreuth dream couple with Siegfried Jerusalem at the festival . With Jerusalem she was u. a. in Parsifal (1987–1988, director: Götz Friedrich , conductor: James Levine and Daniel Barenboim ), in Götterdämmerung (1988–1992, director: Harry Kupfer , conductor: Daniel Barenboim) and in Tristan und Isolde (1993–1999, director: Heiner Müller, conductor: Daniel Barenboim).

Today the singer , who is celebrated in the roles of Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud ( Lohengrin ), Venus ( Tannhauser ) and Sieglinde, is considered one of the most important international Wagner interpreters. As a singer and artist, Meier is always looking for a challenge and dedicates herself to singing in its purest form in song recitals and concerts. In the 2003/2004 season she could only be heard as a song interpreter and concert singer. In 2007 she opened the season at La Scala in Milan with the title role in Tristan und Isolde, directed by Patrice Chéreau and conducted by Daniel Barenboim.

On December 29, 2014 she sang her last Isolde at the Berlin State Opera under the direction of Daniel Barenboim and was made an honorary member of the German State Opera Berlin after the performance . In July 2015 she was last seen as Isolde at the Munich Opera Festival. On March 28, 2016 she was last heard as Kundry at the Berlin Easter Festival at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, also under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. On August 10, 2018, she sang the role of Ortrud for the last time at the Bayreuth Festival and thus said goodbye to the Bayreuth Festival.

Awards and honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Bayerischer Rundfunk: City portrait of Würzburg: Famous personalities .
  2. ↑ Good quotes: quote .
  3. ^ Wiebke Dethlefs: Maria Callas redivivus .
  4. ↑ Waltraud Meier becomes an honorary member of the Berlin State Opera. Article from December 30, 2014 on klassik.com , accessed on January 8, 2015.
  5. ↑ Waltraud Meier celebrated at the Munich Opera Festival. Article from July 9, 2015 on focus.de , accessed on July 10, 2015.
  6. ^ Lehmann-Ring of the Vienna State Opera for Waltraud Meier. In: Klassik.com , April 5, 2011, accessed October 9, 2017.
  7. ↑ Waltraud Meier becomes honorary member of the Vienna State Opera , June 14, 2017, accessed on October 9, 2017.
personal data
SURNAME Meier, Waltraud
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German opera singer (mezzo and dramatic soprano) and Wagner interpreter
DATE OF BIRTH January 9, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Wurzburg