Hildegard Behrens | |
|---|---|
 Behrens asTosca at theMetropolitan Opera, 1985 | |
| Born | (1937-02-09)9 February 1937 Varel, Germany |
| Died | 18 August 2009(2009-08-18) (aged 72) Tokyo, Japan |
| Education | University of Freiburg |
| Occupation | Operaticsoprano |
| Organizations | |
| Title | Kammersängerin |
| Awards | |
Hildegard Behrens (9 February 1937 – 18 August 2009) was a German operaticsoprano with a wide repertoire includingWagner,Weber,Mozart,Richard Strauss, andAlban Berg roles. She performed at major opera houses around the world, and received severalGrammy Awards for performances with theMetropolitan Opera.
Behrens was born inVarel in 1937.[1] She graduated from theUniversity of Freiburg as a junior barrister before becoming serious about her talents as a singer, studying at first with Ines Leuwen at theFreiburg Academy Of Music.[1] Her stage debut was as the Countess in Mozart'sLe nozze di Figaro in Freiburg in 1971.[2] In 1973, she joined theDeutsche Oper am Rhein in Düsseldorf.[1] In the 1975–76 season, while rehearsing for Alban Berg'sWozzeck, she was "discovered" byHerbert von Karajan, who was then looking for a newSalome. She was summoned to Berlin to audition for the role. Karajan liked what he heard and invited her to portray the role at the 1977Salzburg Festival.
In 1990, she sang the role ofBrünnhilde in thePBS broadcast of theMetropolitan Opera's performances ofDer Ring des Nibelungen.[3]
Hildegard Behrens died of a suddenaortic aneurysm, aged 72, in hospital in Tokyo, Japan, where she had been attending theKusatsu International Summer Music Festival.[4][5]
Behrens was the recipient of many awards, including theOrder of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and theBavarian Order of Merit. The title ofKammersängerin was bestowed by both theBavarian State Opera and theVienna State Opera. In 1998, she received Denmark's prestigiousLeonie Sonning Music Prize,[6] and in 1999 the Vienna State Opera honoured her with the Lotte Lehmann Ring, bequeathed to her byLeonie Rysanek.
She received severalGrammy Awards, including:
Available on DVD:
