Judith Hellwig (19 August 1906 – 25 January 1993) was an Austrian 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 ...

Career

Born in Neusohl, (today

Banská Bystrica Banská Bystrica (, also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is a city in central Slovakia, located on the Hron River in a long and wide valley encircled by the mountain chains of the Low Tatras, the Greater Fatra, Veľká Fatra, and t ...

in Slovakia), Hellwig made her debut at the opera house in

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

. In 1938, she created the role of Ursula in Hindemith's ''

Mathis der Maler ''Mathis der Maler'' (''Matthias the Painter'' is an opera by Paul Hindemith. The work's protagonist, Matthias Grünewald, was a historical figure who flourished during the Reformation, and whose art, in particular the Isenheim Altarpiece, inspi ...

'' at the

Zürich Opera Zurich Opera (Opernhaus Zürich) is a Swiss opera company based in Zurich. The company gives performances in the Zurich Opera House. History The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's ...

which brought her international fame. Hellwig was of Jewish faith and had to go into exile in the United States as the Second World War approached, before moving to Buenos Aires. After the war, she returned to Europe and was hired by the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...

, where she remained until 1972. Among her other outstanding roles was the voice of the falcon in Strauss' ''

Die Frau ohne Schatten ' (''The Woman without a Shadow''), Op. 65, is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It was written between 1911 and either 1915 or 1917. When it premiered at the V ...

'',Judith Hellwig
on Capriccio Kultur Forum conducted by

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz, St ...

in 1955. She also portrayed Judith very expressively, despite the Hungarian diction efforts she had to make for the role in Bartók's ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' (, literally ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act Symbolism (movement), Symbolist opera by composer Béla Bartók to a Hungarian libretto by his friend and poet Béla Balázs. Based on the French folk legen ...

''. Hellwig died on 25 January 1993 in Vienna at age 86.

Sources

* Booklet of CD ARL81-82, ''The Finest Records of

Walter Susskind Jan Walter Susskind (1 May 1913 – 25 March 1980) was a Czech-born British conductor, teacher and pianist. He began his career in his native Prague and travelled to London in March 1939 when Germany invaded Czechoslovakia. He worked for substa ...

'', vol. 1, ''Bluebeard's Castle'', ''

The Wooden Prince ''The Wooden Prince'' (), Op. 13, Sz. 60, is a one-act pantomime ballet composed by Béla Bartók in 1914–1916 (orchestrated 1916–1917) to a scenario by Béla Balázs. It was first performed at the Budapest Opera on 12 May 1917 under the co ...

'', ''

Cantata Profana ''Cantata Profana'' (subtitled ''A kilenc csodaszarvas'' 'The Nine Enchanted Stags'' Sz. 94) is a work for tenor, baritone, double mixed chorus and orchestra by the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Completed on 8 September 1930, it was premier ...

'', New Symphony Orchestra and Chorus of London, Arlecchino.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hellwig, Judith 1906 births 1993 deaths Musicians from Banská Bystrica Austrian operatic sopranos 20th-century Austrian women singers Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to Argentina