Ruth Siewert (also Rut, Sievert-Schnaudt, Sievert; 1915 – July 2002) was a German

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typically b ...

and voice teacher. She performed roles by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

at major opera houses in Europe and at the

Bayreuth Festival The Bayreuth Festival (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspiele) is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner are presented. Wagner himself conceived ...

, and was known as a singer of

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

and ''

Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...

''.

Career

Born Ruth Schnaudt in

Viersen Viersen (; li, Veeëse) is the capital of the district of Viersen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Geography Viersen is situated approximately 8 km north-west of Mönchengladbach, 15 km south-west of Krefeld and 20 km east o ...

, she studied voice at the Folkwangschule in Essen with her aunt, Anna Erler-Schnaudt. She made her stage debut in Bremen in 1938, but became known especially as a concert singer from 1946. She was a member of the ensemble of the Staatstheater Karlsruhe from 1955 to 1956, and of the Düsseldorf Opera from 1956 to 1959. She performed in Wagner operas at the

, first in 1951 the role of Erda in '' Der Ring des Nibelungen'', also the same year Schwertleite in '' Die Walküre'', the First Norne in '' Götterdämmerung'', later also Waltraute and Fricka in ''The Ring'' and the alto solo in '' Parsifal''. She sang Wagner roles also at major opera houses in Europe: at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) 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. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

in London Erda and Fricka, at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

in Milan Waltraute in ''Götterdämmerung'' and Erda, at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples Erda and Fricka, at the Teatro Nuovo di Torino and at the

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...

Erda, and at

La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (, "The Phoenix") is an opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especially in the 19th century, La Fenice beca ...

in Venice Erda and Waltraute. She appeared as Erda, Fricka and Waltraute at the Ring Cycle of the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. She performed Wagner roles also in Paris, Bordeaux, Nancy, Nizza and Toulouse, at La Monnaie in Brussels (Erda) and the Liceu in Barcelona. She was known as an oratorio singer, and performed ''

er'' by Yrjö Kilpinen, in collaboration with the composer. She took part in a 1961 recording of Beethoven's symphonies with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

, conducted by René Leibowitz, performing the alto solo in the

Ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

alongside

Inge Borkh Inge Borkh (born Ingeborg Simon, 26 May 1921 – 26 August 2018) was a German operatic dramatic soprano. She was first based in Switzerland, where she received international attention when she appeared in the first performance in German of Meno ...

, Richard Lewis and

Ludwig Weber Ludwig Weber (July 29, 1899December 9, 1974) was an Austrian bass. Ludwig Weber was born in Vienna in 1899. He initially planned to pursue a career as a teacher and artist when he discovered his vocal promise and decided to pursue an opera care ...

. Later, she worked as a voice teacher in her hometown Viersen. Siewert died in Königsfeld.

References

Bibliography

* * arkivmusic.com. *

. * BMLO. *

De Munt De Munt is Dutch for ''the Mint''. It can refer to: *De Munt or La Monnaie – opera house in Brussels *Muntplein The Muntplein (Mint Square) is a square in the centre of Amsterdam. The square is in fact a bridge — the widest bridge in Amst ...

External links

* * , from Wagner's '' Das Rheingold'', , Wilhelm Furtwängler conducting, 1953 {{DEFAULTSORT:Siewert, Ruth German contraltos 1915 births 2002 deaths People from Viersen Date of birth missing Date of death missing Folkwang University of the Arts alumni 20th-century German women opera singers