Ute Vinzing

Ute Vinzing (born 9 September, 1936 ) is a German dramatic soprano who received the title Kammersängerin. She is known for roles such as Wagner's Brünnhilde, Isolde, Ortrud and Kundry, and for Elektra and the Dyer's Wife by Richard Strauss, which she performed at international stages.

Career Training and artistic beginnings Born in Wuppertal, Vinzing first learned the profession of seamstress. She then took private singing lessons, first with Elisabeth Boeker in Lüdenscheid. Without the knowledge of her family she continued her studies with Francesco Carrino in Düsseldorf. with Josef Greindl and Elisabeth Grümmer as jury members. She then received an audition from Wieland Wagner, who recommended her to Bernhard Klee, then Generalmusikdirektor at the Theater Lübeck, who made her a member of the ensemble.

In 1967, she made her debut at the Theater Lübeck in the role of Marie in Smetana's Die verkaufte Braut. In March/April 1981, in April 1982 and again in March 1983 she appeared in Hanover at gala performances and in repertoire performances as Elektra (conductors Heinz Fricke, George Alexander Albrecht, Ralf Weikert and Ferdinand Leitner). Her Elektra in April 1981 "radiated intensity even in the last moments" and was praised as a "really great achievement" by the critics. In April 1981, she stepped in as the Dyer's Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten, reviewed as "outstanding in every respect" and "inspired audience and critics both in her performance and through the perfect leadership of her powerful voice". In June 1981 Vinzing sang Siegfried-Brünnhilde at the Staatstheater Hannover "with a luminous voice"; "she unfolded a tremendous power and also got a lot out of the part in acting".

From the end of the 1970s, she appeared regularly at the Deutsche Oper Berlin, several times as the Dyer's Wife. A review noted: "Vinzing fully met the high expectations placed in her both vocally and representatively; she revealed with convincing intensity the change of the dyer's wife from an unfulfilled quarrelsome woman to a loving wife". Her interpretation of the text was "both understandable and thoughtful", the presentation "gripping", without the "least vocal fatigue". In September 1988, Vinzing was Elektra when Ruth Hesse made her role debut as Klytämnestra. In February 1990 Vinzing again sang the title role. In September 1990 Vinzing performed again as Elektra at the DOB during a guest performance of the Semperoper at the Berliner Festspiele in Dresden. In the 1982/83 season at the Theater Augsburg she took over Brünnhilde in the Götterdämmerung in the revival of the last part of Wagner's Ring cycle. Vinzing sang with "sufficient volume and perseverance to endure the whole opera without signs of fatigue".

Between 1976 and 1991, Vinzing made guest appearances in over 30 performances at the Vienna State Opera, including Senta, Leonore in Fidelio, Elektra, Dyer's Wife, Kundry, Brünnhilde and Isolde. In February 1981 she sang Isolde in Vienna conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser; In May 1985, she sang in a Wagner concert in Vienna conducted by Leonard Bernstein, which included the third act of Siegfried alongside James King, and the final scene of Die Walküre, alongside Thomas Stewart.

International guest performances In 1977, Vinzing performed at the Paris Opera as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre. In February 1985 she appeared there as Isolde with René Kollo as Tristan, conducted by Marek Janowski.

In June 1983, she was one of the three soprano soloists in Mahler's Eight Symphony ("Symphony of a Thousand") at the Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Venice, conducted by Eliahu Inbal. In the 1983/84 season she appeared as Isolde at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna in a new production directed by Yuri Lyubimov. In the summer of 1984 she sang Brünnhilde in the production by George London in the Ring cycle of the Seattle Opera, U.S.. In April 1984 she appeared as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre with the ensemble of the Metropolitan Opera in two guest performances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.. She made her debut at the Met as Elektra. also there as Brünnhilde), at the Teatro Comunale di Firenze (October 1988, as Isolde) and at the Marseille Opera House (1989; as Elektra). In Marseille she sang in October 1992, "vocally fully satisfying the demands of her part", also for the last time the Dyer's Wife, whom she portrayed as an "energetic, strong-willed woman without hysteria".

Honour and stage farewell Vinzing was awarded the title of Kammersängerin. In October 1993 she retired from the stage with a gala concert in the Lübecker . in November 1986 again in Götterdämmerung; also in March 1989 and May 1990), Cologne (June/November 1988 and June 1989; in concert performances of the Ring under Marek Janowski), Vienna, Geneva, Seattle (June and August 1984), Barcelona (March 1985; as Siegfried-Brünnhilde), Buenos Aires, Paris (1977, February 1986), Munich (May/June 1987, January 1988 with "victorious top notes" ) and Orange (July 1988).

In July 1981, she was "very engaged", as the partner of Hans Beirer at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB) in the Götterdämmerung performance, in which Beirer performed once again as Siegfried in the Ring cycle on the occasion of his 70th birthday.

Recordings Vinzing's operatic work is inadequately documented on records, as Vinzing was not tied to any record company in the course of her career. There exist only two official audio documents: in 1984, a live recording of a concert performance of Elektra was released, first on LP and later also on CD. It was made in Paris with the Orchestre National de France, conducted by Christof Prick; her partners were Leonie Rysanek as Chrysothemis, Maureen Forrester as Klytämnestra and Bent Norup as Orest. In 1987, EMI released an unabridged studio recording of Die Frau ohne Schatten, with Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting.

A studio recording of Elektra, to be conducted by Klaus Tennstedt, already planned by EMI, did not come about. However, there are some radio recordings of Vinzing. The label Gala also released a CD box with live recordings from 1972 to 1985 in 2006.