Waltraud Meier

Waltraud Meier (born January 9, 1956) is a Grammy-award winning German mezzo-soprano. She is particularly known for her Wagnerian roles as Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, Venus and Sieglinde, but has also had success in the French and Italian repertoire appearing as Eboli, Amneris, Carmen and Santuzza. She resides in Munich.

Meier has performed in the world’s famed opera houses (including La Scala, Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, and Colón Theater). She has performed under the batons of the world's great conductors, including Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Claudio Abbado, James Levine, Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, and Giuseppe Sinopoli. She has been named a "Kammersängerin" by both the Bavarian State Opera in Munich and the Vienna State Opera, and "Commandeur" of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government.

Education, vocal training and early career

Waltraud Meier was born in Würzburg, Germany. [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992).] She sang in numerous choral groups during her younger years. Upon finishing her secondary education, she began graduate studies in English and Romance Languages while also taking voice lessons. She studied singing with Professor Dietger Jacob. [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992).] In 1976, she decided to concentrate on a singing career and soon thereafter debuted at the Würzburg Opera as Lola in "Cavalleria Rusticana". Over the next several years she performed regularly at the opera house in Mannheim (1976-1978). [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992).]

1980s

She made her international debut in 1980 at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992).] appearing as Fricka in Die Walküre. She also continued to appear regularly in Germany at the opera houses in Dortmund (1980-1983), [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992).] Hanover (1983-1984) and Stuttgart (1985-1988).

Following a success as Kundry in Wagner's "Parsifal" at the 1983 Bayreuth Festival, Meier's international career gained momentum, and she had debuts at Covent Garden (1985) and the Metropolitan Opera (1987) [J. Warrack and E. West, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera (1992)] (as Fricka, with James Levine conducting his first "Das Rheingold" at the Met). [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE7DF1F39F933A25753C1A961948260 Donal Henahan, Opera; A New Rheingold at the Met] ,"The New York Times", March 14, 1992.]

She also had debuts at La Scala, the Opéra National in Paris, the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She continued to appear regularly at Bayreuth as Kundry between 1983 and 1993.

1990s

In addition to appearing as Kundry at Bayreuth, Meier continued to appear elsewhere in the role during the 1990s, including a 1991 production at La Scala under the baton of Riccardo Muti and at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, in a version staged by Klaus Michael Grüber and conducted by Semyon Bychkov. In 1992, she appeared for the first time as Kundry at the Metropolitan Opera, opposite Siegfried Jerusalem as Parsifal, with James Levine conducting. "The New York Times" reported: "Waltraud Meier, bringing her acclaimed performance as Kundry to the Met for the first time, was seductive and gentle in her first approach to Parsifal, holding in reserve a strength and determination that gave her singing an eerie calm." [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE0DC1F3EF937A25750C0A964958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fM%2fMetropolitan%20Opera%20 Edward Rothstein, Review/Opera; A 'Parsifal' at the Met With Meier and Jerusalem] , "The New York Times", March 14, 1992.] The following year, Meier returned to the Met as Santuzza in "Cavalleria Rusticana". Of that performance, "The New York Times" wrote:

As Santuzza in "Cavalleria," Waltraud Meier was superb at the first performance on Friday evening, singing clearly and evenly throughout her range, carrying lines smoothly and coloring her tone richly. She gradually worked an incisive, telling edge into her voice without sacrificing its basic beauty; even her shrieks were musical. And she projected a riveting dramatic presence, convincingly fragile as well as ferocious. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CE3DA1031F93BA25751C0A965958260&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fM%2fMetropolitan%20Opera%20 James R. Oestreich, Review/Opera; 'Cav' and 'Pag' Return to the Met] , "The New York Times", February 18, 1993.]

During the 1990s, Meier also moved into roles within the dramatic soprano repertoire. Between 1993 and 1999, she appeared at Bayreuth as Isolde in "Tristan und Isolde" staged by Heiner Müller and conducted by Daniel Barenboim. In 1998 she added additional dramatic soprano roles, debuting as Leonore in "Fidelio" at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, again under the direction of Barenboim, and also appearing as Ortrud in a new "Lohengrin" production at the Bavarian State Opera.

2000s

In 2000, Meier appeared again at Bayreuth, performing the role of Sieglinde in "Die Walküre" in the "Millennium Ring" at the 2000 festival staged by Jürgen Flimm and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli with Placido Domingo. She also appeared that year as Isolde at the Salzburg Festival, with Lorin Maazel conducting. In 2001 at the opening of the Munich Opera Festival, the singer made her debut in the role of Didon in Hector Berlioz's "Les Troyens" with Zubin Mehta conducting.

In 2003 Meier shared a Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording for her contributions as Venus in "Tannhäuser" under the direction of Daniel Barenboim. She devoted her 2003-2004 season exclusively to recitals and concerts. She performed in Bach's "St. Matthew Passion" and toured throughout Europe, Russia and the United States with a recital program featuring works by Brahms, Schubert and Hugo Wolf.

She returned to the opera stage in 2004-2005, including appearances as Carmen in a new production at the Semper Oper in Dresden directed by Katarina Lauterbach. In 2005, she appeared again as Isolde, this time in a new production at the Opéra Bastille in Paris, staged by Peter Sellars and conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She also returned to the Vienna State Opera as Kundry in "Parsifal".

She returned as Kundry in the Met's "Parsifal" in 2006, appearing opposite Ben Heppner. "The New York Times" wrote:

The role of Kundry is that of a lone woman surrounded by men, but Waltraud Meier made it the star turn of the evening. Known as volatile both onstage and off, Ms. Meier is suited to the part, propelling herself into it like a wide-bore, high-explosive cannon shell. This was singing of fierceness and fearlessness, all of it pertinent to the persona she represented. Ms. Meier gives all and takes risks, and her audience went crazy for her. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B05E2D6143EF936A25756C0A9609C8B63&n=Top%2fReference%2fTimes%20Topics%2fOrganizations%2fM%2fMetropolitan%20Opera%20 Bernard Holland, Review/Opera; The Pageantry of Wagner and a Young Knight Looking for Truth] , "The New York Times", May 15, 2006.]

Meier's 2007 performances include appearances as Isolde (Japan, Berlin, Munich, Milan), Leonore (Munich), Ortrud (Milan, Paris).

A CD featuring Meier and Breinl performing works by Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss, with her song accompanist Joseph Breinl was released in late 2007. [ [http://www.farao-classics.de/deutsch/katalog/w-meier_lieder.html Farao Classics] ] Meier and Breinl also Breinl are performing numerous recitals in 2007-08 in Japan, Germany, France, Austria, and Spain. [ [http://www.waltraud-meier.com/html/e/frame_e.html Waltraud-Meier.com] ]

In July 2008, Meier appeared as Venus in a production of "Tannhäuser" in Baden-Baden, directed by Nikolaus Lehnhoff, conducted by Philippe Jordan, and also starring Robert Gambill (Tannheuser), Stephen Milling (Herrmann), and Camilla Nylund (Elisabeth). The New York Times reported that "Ms. Meier, a musician with deep reserves of force and a gift for madness, was the perfect Venus." [ Michael Kimmelman, History vx. Modernity in German Opera Season, "The New York Times", July 30, 2008.]

References

External links

*
* [http://www.wagneropera.net/RW-Performers/Waltraud-Meier.htm Waltraud Meier: photos, CDs, DVDs]