Margarete Klose
Encyclopedia
Margarete Klose, was a German
opera
tic mezzo-soprano
. Her 'official' year of birth was 1902.
Klose made her début in 1926 at Ulm
theatre in a supporting role of Emmerich Kalman
's operetta Countess Maritza
. Her next role was Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi
's Il trovatore
. For the next three years Klose sang in Ulm and Kassel
, before joining the Nationaltheater Mannheim
in 1929.
In 1932 Klose went back to Berlin where she was engaged alternately at Berlin State Opera
(1932 to 1949 and 1955 to 1961) and Deutsche Oper Berlin
(1949 to 1958).
In addition she was a celebrated guest e. g. at Vienna State Opera
, the Royal Opera House
Covent Garden
, La Scala
in Milan, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden
, Nationaltheater München, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
, La Monnaie
in Brussels, in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
From 1936 to 1942 Klose regularly sang at the Bayreuth Festival
every summer, where she became popular especially in the role of Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde
. She also sang at the Richard Wagner-Festival in Sopot
(1935) and the Salzburg Festival
(1949 and 1955).
When in 1946 the great Wagner soprano Frida Leider
gave her farewell concert in Berlin, Klose was her partner on stage.
In 1961 Margarete Klose retired from the stage and concentrated fully on her teaching activities. In the summer she regularly gave master classes at the Salzburg
Mozarteum.
In 1968 she died suddenly at the age of 69.
-singer. In addition she sang a lot of Verdi and Richard Strauss
and was famous as Bach
- and Lied
-singer.
Klose worked with all the great singers and conductors of her time and was a favorite of Wilhelm Furtwängler
, who engaged her for his famous last recording - Wagner's Die Walküre
in 1954.
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...
. Her 'official' year of birth was 1902.
Life
The native of Berlin lost her father early in life and had to earn her living as a secretary, until a colleague recommended her to the Klindworth-Scharwenka conservatory, where she got a thorough musical education.Klose made her début in 1926 at Ulm
Ulm
Ulm is a city in the federal German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the River Danube. The city, whose population is estimated at 120,000 , forms an urban district of its own and is the administrative seat of the Alb-Donau district. Ulm, founded around 850, is rich in history and...
theatre in a supporting role of Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
's operetta Countess Maritza
Countess Maritza
Gräfin Mariza is an operetta in three acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with a libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna on 28 February 1924 at the Theater an der Wien....
. Her next role was Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
. For the next three years Klose sang in Ulm and Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
, before joining the Nationaltheater Mannheim
Nationaltheater Mannheim
The present National Theatre Mannheim , which dates from 1957, is a theatre and opera company in Mannheim, Germany with a variety of performance spaces...
in 1929.
In 1932 Klose went back to Berlin where she was engaged alternately at Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
(1932 to 1949 and 1955 to 1961) and Deutsche Oper Berlin
Deutsche Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is an opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, Germany. The resident building is also home to the Berlin State Ballet.-History:...
(1949 to 1958).
In addition she was a celebrated guest e. g. at Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, the Royal Opera House
Royal Opera House
The Royal Opera House is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply "Covent Garden", after a previous use of the site of the opera house's original construction in 1732. It is the home of The Royal Opera, The...
Covent Garden
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in Milan, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
, Nationaltheater München, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, La Monnaie
La Monnaie
Le Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie , or the Koninklijke Muntschouwburg is a theatre in Brussels, Belgium....
in Brussels, in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
From 1936 to 1942 Klose regularly sang at the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
every summer, where she became popular especially in the role of Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg. It was composed between 1857 and 1859 and premiered in Munich on 10 June 1865 with Hans von Bülow conducting...
. She also sang at the Richard Wagner-Festival in Sopot
Sopot
Sopot is a seaside town in Eastern Pomerania on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in northern Poland, with a population of approximately 40,000....
(1935) and the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
(1949 and 1955).
When in 1946 the great Wagner soprano Frida Leider
Frida Leider
Frida Leider was a German opera singer.Leider was one of the most important dramatic sopranos of the 20th century. Her most famous roles were Wagner's Isolde and Brünnhilde, Beethoven's Fidelio, Mozart's Donna Anna, and Verdi's Aida and Leonora...
gave her farewell concert in Berlin, Klose was her partner on stage.
In 1961 Margarete Klose retired from the stage and concentrated fully on her teaching activities. In the summer she regularly gave master classes at the Salzburg
Salzburg
-Population development:In 1935, the population significantly increased when Salzburg absorbed adjacent municipalities. After World War II, numerous refugees found a new home in the city. New residential space was created for American soldiers of the postwar Occupation, and could be used for...
Mozarteum.
In 1968 she died suddenly at the age of 69.
Significance
During the 30s and 40s Klose was considered the leading German mezzo, internationally sought after especially as WagnerRichard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
-singer. In addition she sang a lot of Verdi and Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
and was famous as Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
- and Lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
-singer.
Klose worked with all the great singers and conductors of her time and was a favorite of Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, who engaged her for his famous last recording - Wagner's Die Walküre
Die Walküre
Die Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
in 1954.
External links
Sources
- Branscombe, Peter (1992), 'Klose, Margarete' in The New Grove Dictionary of OperaNew Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
, ed. Stanley Sadie (London) ISBN 0-333-73432-7 - Seeger, Horst; Das große Lexikon der Oper, Herrsching, 1985, ISBN 3-88199-243-X
- Vieten, Jacob: Margarete Klose. [Discography, pictures, documents]. in: Stimmen die um die Welt gingen. Vol. 74. Münster (Germany) 2003
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5