Claudia Hellmann

Claudia Hellmann (born 1932 (?) in Berlin) is a German contralto singer in opera and concert.

Biography

Claudia Hellmann studied voice in Berlin with Erika Garski.^[1] She made her operatic debut in 1958 at the Bayreuth Festival in the parts of Wellgunde in Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen, 4. Edelknabe in Lohengrin and 1. Knappe in Parsifal. She sang there annually until 1961, including the part of Waltraute in Götterdämmerung in 1960. She was a member of the State Theatre of Münster from 1958 to 1960, the Stuttgart Opera, from 1966 the Opera House of Nürnberg, and she returned to Stuttgart in 1975, singing there until 1983.^[1]

Claudia Hellmann frequently performed the contralto part in the recordings of Bach's cantatas, his Christmas Oratorio and his Easter Oratorio with the Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn, the Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra and Fritz Werner.^[2] She recorded Bach's Magnificat and his Missa in F major with Karl Ristenpart, the Chorale Philippe Caillard, the Saar Radio Chamber Orchestra, Edith Selig, Georg Jelden, Jakob Stämpfli and Maurice André (trumpet) in 1964.^[3]

In 1963 she recorded the part of Ismene in Orff's Antigonae with Inge Borkh as Antigonae, Keith Engen as Chorführer, Hetty Plümacher as Eurydice, Fritz Uhl as Haemon, and Ernst Haeflinger as Tiresias, Ferdinand Leitner conducting the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir.^[4]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Claudia Hellmann on Bach Cantatas, 2007
2. ^ Fritz Werner & Heinrich-Schütz-Chor Heilbronn & Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works
3. ^ Karl Ristenpart Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works
4. ^ Antigonae on the operone website (in German)

External links

• Claudia Hellmann on the website of the Bayreuth Festival, 1999 (in German)
• Entries for recordings by Claudia Hellmann on WorldCat

Persondata
Name	Hellmann, Claudia
Alternative names
Short description	German contralto
Date of birth
Place of birth	Berlin
Date of death
Place of death