- Elisabeth Grümmer
Elisabeth Grümmer (
March 31 ,1911 –November 6 ,1986 ) was a Germanopera ticsoprano .She was born at
Niederjeutz , near Diedenhofen,Alsace-Lorraine (laterYutz-Basse ; nowThionville ,France ) to German parents. In 1918, her family were expelled from Lorraine, and they settled inMeiningen , where she studied theater and made her stage debut as Klärchen inGoethe 's "Egmont".She married the concertmaster of the theater orchestra, Detlev Grümmer, and became a mother. The family moved to
Aachen , where they metHerbert von Karajan . Elisabeth started to take singing lessons, von Karajan cast her as the first flower maiden in a performance of Wagner's "Parsifal ". She went on to perform inDuisburg andPrague .Her husband was killed in a bombing in the war. After the war, she settled in
Berlin , singing at the Städische Oper Berlin. She performed in all the major opera houses in Europe and the United States, restricting herself to a small number of roles, primarily sung in German. She was also active in song recitals and concert performances, particularly of Brahms'German Requiem .The "Kammersängerin" became a professor at the Berlin Musikhochschule.
She died in
Warendorf ,Westphalia .A recollection: http://oberon481.typepad.com/oberons_grove/2008/08/waiting-for-elisabeth-grummer.html
Discography
(The dates listed for the items are those of the CD releases, not of the original recordings)
Operas
* "Der Rosenkavalier" by
Richard Strauss , conductorWilhelm Schlüchter , EMI"CLASSICS" 8264302 CD-Album (2000)
* "Der Freischütz" byCarl Maria von Weber , conductorWilhelm Furtwängler , EMI"CLASSICS" 5674192 2CD-Album (2000)
* "Lohengrin" byRichard Wagner , conductorRudolf Kempe , EMI"CLASSICS" 567415 3CD-Album
* "Hänsel und Gretel" byEngelbert Humperdinck , conductorHerbert von Karajan , EMI"CLASSICS" 5670612 2CD-Album (1999)
* "Don Giovanni" byWolfgang Amadeus Mozart , conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, EMI"CLASSICS" 7638602 3CD-Album (1991)
* "Die Hochzeit des Figaro" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, RELIEF B0001M64VQ 2CD-Album (2004)Passions and Cantatas
* "Matthäus-Passion" BWV 244 by
Johann Sebastian Bach , conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, EMI"CLASSICS" 5655092 2CD-Album (1995)
* "Johannes-Passion" BWV 245 by Johann Sebastian Bach, conductorKarl Forster , EMI"CLASSICS" 7642342 2CD-Album (1992)
* "Kantaten - Cantatas" by Johann Sebastian Bach, conductor Kurt Thomas, BERLIN"CLASSICS" B000024WMM CD (1996)
* "Bach MADE IN GERMANY" Vol. II Kantaten, Motetten, Weihnachtsoratorium, conductor Kurt Thomas, BERLIN"CLASSICS" B000031W6B 8CD-Album (1999)Lieder
* "Elisabeth Grümmer, Lieder by Schubert, Brahms, Grieg und Verdi", conductor Hugo Diez and Richard Kraus, TESTAMENT B000003XJQ (1996)
* "Elisabeth Grümmer, Liederabend, Lieder by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Schoeck, Wolf", ORFEO 506001B CD (2000)
* "Recital 1970, Lieder by Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Reger, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Wolf", DirigentRichard Kraus , GALA B000028CLY 2CD-Album (2001)Video
* "Don Giovanni" by
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, Deutsche Grammophon 073 019-9 DVD-Video (2001)Bibliography
* "The Last Prima Donnas", by Lanfranco Rasponi, Alfred A Knopf, 1982. ISBN 0-394-52153-6
External links
* [http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Grummer-Elisabeth.htm Elisabeth Grümmer]
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