Ulrike Sonntag (born 1959) is 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 academic voice teacher at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart. She was previously a member of the

Staatstheater Stuttgart The Staatstheater Stuttgart (Stuttgart State Theatre) is a theatre with three locations, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Oper Stuttgart (Opera Stuttgart), Stuttgart Ballet, Stuttgarter Ballett (Stuttgart Ballet), and Schauspiel Stuttgart (Stuttgart Drama ...

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 ...

, and other ensembles, and has performed in operas and concerts, and taught masterclasses, in several countries. Among her recordings are rarely performed oratorios by Fanny Hensel and

Paul Hindemith Paul Hindemith ( ; ; 16 November 189528 December 1963) was a German and American composer, music theorist, teacher, violist and conductor. He founded the Amar Quartet in 1921, touring extensively in Europe. As a composer, he became a major advo ...

Life

Born in

Esslingen am Neckar Esslingen am Neckar (Swabian German, Swabian: ''Esslenga am Neckor''; until 16 October 1964 officially '' Eßlingen am Neckar'') is a town in the Stuttgart Region of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany, seat of the Esslingen (district), Distri ...

, she attended the Georgii-Gymnasium at her hometown, concluding with the

Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...

. She studied music pedagogy and German in Stuttgart, and then studied voice in Romania and at the Hochschule der Künste Berlin with Irmgard Hartmann-Dressler (1924–2013). She took master classes with

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music. One of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, he is best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's ...

and

Aribert Reimann Aribert Reimann (, 4 March 1936 – 13 March 2024) was a German composer, pianist, and accompanist, known especially for his literary operas. His version of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', the opera '' Lear'', was written at the suggestion of Dietr ...

. In 1985, Sonntag won the second prize at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb in Bonn.Alle Preisträger_innen des DMW seit 1975
(in German) Deutscher Musikwettbewerb Sonntag had already made her stage debut in 1983, while she was studying, at the

Hamburgische Staatsoper 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'' ...

as Oriane in

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...

's '' Amadis''. She became a member of the ensembles in Heidelberg and Mannheim. In 1988, she moved on to the

. She was a member of the

from 1991 to 1994, where she appeared as Susanna in Mozart's ''

Le nozze di Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna ...

'', Donna Elvira in ''

Don Giovanni ''Don Giovanni'' (; K. 527; full title: , literally ''The Rake Punished, or Don Giovanni'') is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. Its subject is a centuries-old Spanish legen ...

'', Pamina in ''

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 ...

'', Marzelline in Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...

'', Micaela in Bizet's ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'', Musetta in Puccini's ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', and in the Strauss roles Sophie in ''

Der Rosenkavalier (''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from Louvet de Couvrai's novel ''Les amours du cheva ...

'' and Zdenka in ''

Arabella ''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Performance history It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...

'', among others. She appeared as a guest at opera houses in Berlin (Frau Fluth in Nicolai's ''

Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor ''Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor'', or ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'', is an 1849 opera in three acts by Otto Nicolai to a German libretto by Salomon Hermann Mosenthal based on Shakespeare's play. Published as a comical-fantastical work in thre ...

''), Hamburg,

Cologne Opera The Cologne Opera (German language, German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers to both the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the ...

Oper Frankfurt The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Schreker's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, ''Fennimore and Gerda, Fennimore ...

, Karlsruhe, Monte Carlo, Cairo, Trieste and Tel Aviv, among others. Sonntag has held masterclasses in France, Israel, South America and Bulgaria, among others. She has been a professor of voice at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Stuttgart since 2005.

Recordings

Sonntag has recorded sacred music, including Bach's Mass in B minor in 1988 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 ...

conducting the

Gächinger Kantorei Gächinger Kantorei (Gächingen Chorale), which uses the old German spelling of its name, the Gaechinger Cantorey, is an internationally known German mixed choir, founded by Helmuth Rilling in 1954 in Gächingen (part of St. Johann close to Reutl ...

and the

Stuttgarter Kammerorchester The Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra (Stuttgarter Kammerorchester) is a German chamber orchestra based in Stuttgart. Its principal concert venue is the . History Karl Münchinger founded the orchestra in 1945, and served as its chief conductor until ...

. In 1996, she was a soloist in a recording of

's oratorio ''Das Unaufhörliche'' (''The Never-Ending''), based on texts by Gottfried Benn, with the

Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin The Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (''Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin'') is a German symphony orchestra based in Berlin. In Berlin, the orchestra gives concerts at the Konzerthaus Berlin and at the Berliner Philharmonie. The orchestra has al ...

conducted by Lothar Zagrosek. She recorded works by women composers, conducted by Helmut Wolf: Fanny Hensel's ''Oratorio'' based on Biblical texts and two psalm settings by

Lili Boulanger Marie-Juliette Boulanger (; 21 August 189315 March 1918), professionally known as Lili Boulanger (), was a French composer and musician who was the first female winner of the Grand Prix de Rome composition prize. Her older sister was the noted ...

. Other recordings include: * Bach: ''Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben'', BWV 147, Haydn: '' Nelson Mass'', with

Alison Browner Alison Margaret Browner (born 22 September 1957) is an Irish mezzo-soprano opera singer. Life Born in Dublin, Ireland, Browner graduated in Music at Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts while she also studied singing and violin at the Colle ...

Adalbert Kraus Adalbert Kraus (born 27 April 1937) is a German tenor in opera and concert, known for singing the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Career Kraus was born in Aschaffenburg. He first graduated in German studies, theology, and philosophy and in 196 ...

, Ernst Gerold Schramm, ,

Figuralchor des Hessischen Rundfunks Figuralchor Frankfurt is a mixed choir in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It was founded in 1966 as a youth choir for the broadcaster Hessischer Rundfunk by Alois Ickstadt, who conducted it for 45 years. From 1977 to the 1990s, the choir was known as F ...

Alois Ickstadt Alois Ickstadt (born 22 September 1930) is a German pianist, choral conductor, university professor and composer. He was professor at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt. He promoted choral singing from children's choir to adult groups for the state b ...

, Melisma 726Alison Browner
austria-forum.org * Bach: ''

Johannes-Passion The ''Passio secundum Joannem'' or ''St John Passion'' (), BWV 245, is a Passion or oratorio by Johann Sebastian Bach, the earliest of the surviving Passions by Bach. It was written during his first year as director of church music in Leipzig ...

'', with Alison Browner, Adalbert Kraus, Ernst Gerold Schramm, Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann, Figuralchor des Hessischen Rundfunks, Alois Ickstadt. Melisma 7058 * Bach: '' Messe h-Moll'', with Alison Browner, Adalbert Kraus, Ernst Gerold Schramm, Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann, Figuralchor Frankfurt, Alois Ickstadt, Melisma 7023-2

References

External links

*
Ulrike Sonntag (Soprano)
Bach Cantatas Website

troubadisc.de *

musicweb-international.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Sonntag, Ulrike German operatic sopranos 1959 births Living people People from Esslingen am Neckar 20th-century German women opera singers 21st-century German women opera singers