Elisabeth Breul (25 August 1930 – 12 October 2016)
was a German operatic
soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...
and
singing teacher
A voice teacher or singing teacher is a musical instructor who assists adults and children in the development of their abilities in singing.
Typical work
A voice teacher works with a student singer to improve the various skills involved in sing ...
.
Life and career
Born in
Gera
Gera () is a city in the German state of Thuringia. With around 93,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Thuringia after Erfurt and Jena as well as the easternmost city of the ''Thüringer Städtekette'', an almost straight string of ...
, Breul first studied at the Musikhochschule in Gera with Marta-Luise Fink and then at the
Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber
The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (or Dresden University of Music Carl Maria von Weber; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university school of music, university of music in Dresden, ...
in Dresden with Klara Elfriede Intrau. From 1960 to 1992, she was a Member of the
Leipzig Opera
The Leipzig Opera () is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany.
History
Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Singspiel perfo ...
as
lyric soprano
A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...
. On the basis of guest contracts she also worked at the
Staatsoper Dresden
The Semperoper () is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden (Saxon State Opera) and the concert hall of the Staatskapelle Dresden (Saxon State Orchestra). It is also home to the Semperoper Ballett. The building is located on the Th ...
and the
Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin is a German opera company based in Berlin. The company produces operas, operettas and musicals.
The opera house is located on Behrenstraße, near Unter den Linden. Since 2004, the Komische Oper Berlin, along with the Be ...
. Breul had international appearances at
la Monnaie
The Royal Theatre of La Monnaie (, ; , ; both translating as the "Royal Theatre of the Mint") is an opera house in central Brussels, Belgium. The National Opera of Belgium, a federal institution, takes the name of this theatre in which it is ho ...
in Brussels, at the operas of
Brünn
Brno ( , ; ) is a Statutory city (Czech Republic), city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava (river), Svitava and Svratka (river), Svratka rivers, Brno has about 403,000 inhabitants, making ...
,
Łódź
Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...
,
Budapest
Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
and
Genoa
Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...
. In the music centres of Romania, France, Spain and the USSR she also performed as a guest in concert halls.
In 1970 Breul received the
National Prize of the German Democratic Republic
The National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) () was an award of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) given out in three different classes for scientific, artistic, and other meritorious achievement. With scientific achievem ...
and in 1972 the
Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau
The Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau is a classical music award. Since 1964 it has been awarded by the Lord Mayor of Zwickau. Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau. Between 1964 and 2002 the prize was awarded annually, since 2003 bienni ...
. From 1962 Breul worked as a music teacher at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden and
. In 1977 she was appointed professor in Dresden and in 1982 in Leipzig. Breul has been an honorary member of the Leipzig Opera since 1992. On stage, she sang mostly lyrical roles. As a concert singer she performed in particular with
Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (German: joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...
- and
Handel-Repertoire.
Breul died in
Leipzig
Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
at age 86.
References
Further reading
*
*
"Ein Opernabend mit Elisabeth Breul"
External links
"Elisabeth Breul" Operissimo Operissimo is an online database based in Zürich, which is dedicated to recording details of classical music concerts and opera performances. The database currently includes biographies on over 7,500 composers and 44,000 performing artists,
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breul, Elisabeth
1930 births
2016 deaths
People from Gera
German operatic sopranos
German voice teachers
Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber
Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber alumni
Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig
20th-century German women opera singers