Renate Holm

Renate Holm (10 August 1931 – 21 April 2022) was a German-Austrian film actress and operatic soprano. She worked as a dentists' assistant and took private singing lessons, resulting in performances in musical films and schlager. She made her debut at the Vienna Volksoper in 1957, and moved on to the Vienna State Opera where she worked for decades. She appeared internationally and made many recordings, especially for the WDR in a series of operettas with conductor Franz Marszalek. She later worked as a voice teacher, juror at competitions, and festival manager. Her memoir was published in 2017.

Life and career Renate Franke was born in Berlin. She said that she decided to become an opera singer at age twelve, inspired by a film version of Puccini's Madama Butterfly with Maria Cebotari in the title role. Her mother had taken her to the cinema as a treat for an excellent school report. In 1943 her parents separated. She studied privately with the internationally known coloratura soprano Maria Ivogün in Berlin,

In 1953, her mother entered her in a local talent competition. She sang "Lied der Nachtigall" ("Song of the Nightingale") by Franz Grothe. By winning the contest, she caught the attention of the RIAS, an American-sponsored radio station set up in West Berlin to provide an alternative source of broadcast news and entertainment. She quickly established a singing career as a radio schlager singer, and then broadened her scope to include film music. During the mid-1950s, Holm appeared in musical films and heimatfilme, becoming popular with cinema audiences. Her profile was further enhanced by operetta recordings and radio broadcasts.

Opera in Vienna In 1957, Holm was engaged by Hubert Marischka to work at the Vienna Volksoper. She had just received an invitation to star as Eliza Doolittle in the German premiere of My Fair Lady at the Theater des Westens in Berlin, but was more interested in pursuing a career in opera. She received international recognition when she moved to the Vienna State Opera. Her first performance there was as Gretchen in Lortzing's Der Wildschütz in 1960.

Holm appeared at the Salzburg Festival as Blonde from 1961 to 1963, and as Papagena in 1974. She performed as Musetta at the Salzburg Easter Festival of 1975. She appeared at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires from 1961, as Blonde, Susanna, Zerlina in Mozart's Don Giovanni, Papagena, and Isotta in Die schweigsame Frau by R. Strauss. Her wide-ranging repertoire included classical opera, operettas and contemporary modern music theatre, lied and concert arias. She made Wienerlieder one of her specialties. She made numerous operatic recordings for labels such as EMI, Decca and Polydor, and also for the radio, in particular the WDR. She appeared there with the operetta specialist Franz Marszalek conducting, including rarities such as Wenn Liebe erwacht by Eduard Künneke.

She served as president of the Weinviertler Kultursommer, an annual festival, in 1986 and 1987, on the recommendation of its founder , and gave there master classes in singing between 1983 and 1990.

Holm continued to perform in concerts in the 21st century. She participated in festivals such as the in Germany, and in 2006 played Viktoria in the premiere of Mich hätten Sie sehen sollen at the Theater in der Josefstadt. She also still served as a voice teacher and a jury member in international competitions. Since 2009, she chaired the kuratorium of the Berlin-based Europäische Kulturwerkstatt.

Personal life and death Holm was a granddaughter of Karl von Bülow (1846–1921). She married Horst-Wolfgang Haase in 1965. The marriage lasted seven years. She lived in Vienna for most of her life.

Filmography Hit Parade (1953) The Big Star Parade (1954) Love, Girls and Soldiers (1958)

Awards Austrian Kammersängerin (1971) Austrian Decoration for Science and Art (2002)

Officer's cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2002)