Hildegard Rütgers (born 1930) is a German classical contralto singer in opera and concert.
Biography
Rütgers began her training with
Hermann Weißenborn in Berlin,
then studied briefly in Italy and then with Hilde Wesselmann at the
Folkwangschule
The Folkwang University of the Arts is a university for music, theater, dance, design, and academic studies, located in four German cities of North Rhine-Westphalia. Since 1927, its traditional main location has been in the former Werden Abbey in ...
in Essen. At the university level, she took courses in music science at both the
University of Cologne
The University of Cologne () is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in 1388. It closed in 1798 before being re-established in 1919. It is now one of the largest universities in Germany with around 45,187 students. The Universit ...
and the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
.
Rütgers joined the
Städtische Oper Berlin
The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after National Theatre (Munich), Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State ...
as a contralto from 1957 to 1959, specializing also in
oratorio
An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble.
Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...
performances, and then worked with the
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera (in German: ) is a German opera company based in Hamburg. Its theatre is near the square of Gänsemarkt. Since 2015, the current ''Intendant'' of the company is Georges Delnon, and the current ''Generalmusikdirektor'' ...
and at the
Opera house of Essen until 1963. Between 1963 and 1965 she performed at the
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...
, the part of ''Die Vertraute'' (Her confidante) in a production of ''
Elektra'' by
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
, conducted by
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan (; born ''Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan''; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, ...
, alongside
Astrid Varnay
Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading Wagnerian heroic soprano ...
in the title role, and
Martha Mödl,
Hildegard Hillebrecht
Hildegard Hillebrecht (26 November 1925 – 7 October 2018) was a German operatic soprano.
Career
Born in Hanover, Hillebrecht studied singing after attending medical school and made her in the role of Leonora in Verdi's '' Il trovatore''. She s ...
,
James King and
Eberhard Waechter in leading parts.
The production of Mozart's ''
Die Zauberflöte
''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'' at the Salzburg Festival, with Rütgers as the Third Boy, was filmed and released as a made-for-television-movie in 1964.
She appeared alongside
Walter Kreppel as Sarastro,
Roberta Peters
Roberta Peters (May 4, 1930 – January 18, 2017) was an American coloratura soprano.
One of the most prominent American singers to achieve lasting fame and success in opera, Peters is noted for her 35-year association with the Metropolitan Oper ...
as the Queen of the Night,
Pilar Lorengar
Lorenza Pilar García Seta (16 January 1928 – 2 June 1996), known professionally as Pilar Lorengar, was a Spanish ( Aragonese) soprano. She was best known for her interpretations of opera and the Spanish genre Zarzuela, and as a soprano she w ...
and
Waldemar Kmentt
Waldemar Kmentt (Vienna, 2 February 1929 Vienna, 21 January 2015) was an Austrian operatic tenor, who was particularly associated with the German repertory, both opera and operetta.
Born in Vienna, Kmentt studied at the Vienna Music Academy, fi ...
as Pamina and Tamino, and
Renate Holm and
Walter Berry as Papagena and Papageno, in the production staged by
Otto Schenk
Otto Schenk (12 June 1930 – 9 January 2025) was an Austrian actor, stage director for plays and opera, and theatre director. He worked internationally at major houses such as the Vienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera in New York Cit ...
and conducted by
Istvan Kertesz.
In 1965, Rütgers toured North America and performed works by
Handel
George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti.
Born in Halle, Germany, H ...
and
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 ...
.
She recorded the
first version of Bach's Magnificat with
Helmuth Rilling
Helmuth Rilling (born 29 May 1933) is a German choral conductor and an academic teacher. He is the founder of the Gächinger Kantorei (1954), the Bach-Collegium Stuttgart (1965), the Oregon Bach Festival (1970),
the Internationale Bachakade ...
in 1967.
In the 1970s, she no longer accepted long engagements but selected individual appearances. She performed in 1974 in
Anton Bruckner
Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...
's
Mass No. 3 and
Te Deum
The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...
with the choir Philharmonischer Chor
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd (, until 1934: Gmünd; Swabian: ''Gmẽẽd'' or ''Gmend'') is a city in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 60,000, the city is the second largest in the Ostalb district ...
, featuring
Günter Reich,
Kari Løvaas
Kari Løvaas (13 May 1939 – 24 April 2025) was a Norwegian operatic soprano who made an international career. She performed at international festivals such as the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival in both opera and concert. She partic ...
and
Kurt Huber
Kurt Huber (24 October 1893 – 13 July 1943) was a German university professor and resistance fighter with the anti-Nazi group White Rose. For his involvement he was imprisoned and guillotined.
Early life
Huber was born in Chur, Switzerland, ...
with the
Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra
The Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra (German: Nürnberger Symphoniker) is a German orchestra based in Nuremberg. Its principal concert venue is the Meistersingerhalle. The orchestra's current ''Intendant'' (managing and artistic director) is Lucius ...
.
References
External links
IMdBWorld Cat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rutgers, Hildegard
1930 births
Possibly living people
German contraltos