Austrian lyric soprano
Gundula Janowitz
(born 2 August 1937)
[1]
is an Austrian
lyric soprano
singer of operas, oratorios, lieder, and concerts. She is one of the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century and was pre-eminent in the 1960s and 1970s.
Career
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]
Janowitz was born in Berlin, but grew up in
Graz
, Austria, where she became a
naturalised
Austrian.
[2]
She studied at the
Graz Conservatory
in Austria,
[3]
and had already begun to sing at the highest level by the end of the 1950s (Haydn's
The Creation
, with
Herbert von Karajan
in 1960). In 1959, Karajan engaged her as Barbarina in Mozart's
The Marriage of Figaro
at the
Vienna State Opera
, of which she became a permanent member in 1962.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Janowitz became one of the most popular singers in her field internationally and she developed a comprehensive discography of works ranging from
Bach
to
Richard Strauss
. Those eminent conductors with whom she performed included Karajan, but also
Otto Klemperer
,
Eugen Jochum
,
Leonard Bernstein
,
Rafael Kubelik
,
Karl Bohm
,
Georg Solti
, and
Carlos Kleiber
.
One of the emphases of Janowitz's work was the development of song recitals, which she gave several times at the
Salzburg Festival
. Following her vocal career, she was active as a vocal teacher. In 1990, she temporarily took over the position of Opera Director in Graz.
[3]
Janowitz appeared on many of the great stages of the world, including the
Glyndebourne Festival Opera
, the
Bayreuth Festival
, the
Salzburg Easter Festival
, the
Metropolitan Opera
, the
Paris Opera
,
La Scala
and the
Royal Opera House
. In 1980, she sang the part of the Countess in a now legendary new production of
The Marriage of Figaro
(with Georg Solti as conductor,
Giorgio Strehler
as director and
Ezio Frigerio
as set designer). Her recording of Schubert's
Lieder
for female voice has been twice awarded Germany's
Deutscher Schallplattenpreis
.
[4]
Janowitz's farewell to the operatic stage was on 18 May 1990, at the Vienna State Opera in the title role of
Ariadne auf Naxos
(with
Heinrich Hollreiser
as conductor, and
Filippo Sanjust
[
de
]
as director and designer). She kept singing
Lieder
recitals until 1997, when she completely retired from performing. As well as being an honorary member of the Vienna State Opera and of the Academy of Music in Graz, she was appointed an honorary member of the
Royal Academy of Music
in London in 2000.
Voice and repertory
[
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Janowitz's voice is recognizable by its pure,
[5]
[6]
"creamy"
[7]
tone, and rapid vibrato.
[8]
Like her predecessor
Maria Stader
, who had a similar
timbre
to hers, and like her contemporary,
Elizabeth Harwood
, Janowitz mastered first and foremost the high and middle register and lyrical-emotional expression. Despite her comparatively weak sound projection, she occasionally performed in dramatic roles (Sieglinde, Leonore, Elsa) or comic roles (Marzelline, Rosalinde), but she was most highly regarded as Fiordiligi, Countess Rosina Almaviva, Pamina, Agathe, Arabella, Ariadne, Countess Madeleine, and in sacred music (the Angel Gabriel,
The Creation
).
[1]
Of her interpretation of
Four Last Songs
by Richard Strauss,
David Bowie
wrote: "Although
Eleanor Steber
and
Lisa Della Casa
do fine interpretations of this monumental work, Janowitz’s performance [...] has been described, rightly, as transcendental. It aches with love for a life that is quietly fading. I know of no other piece of music, nor any performance, which moves me quite like this."
[9]
With a few exceptions, she avoided foreign-language roles (although recordings exist of her singing
Don Carlos
and Verdi's
Requiem
and all three Mozart/
DaPonte
operas in Italian). An excerpt of her portrayal of the
Figaro
Countess in the duettino "
Canzonetta sull'aria
" with Swiss soprano
Edith Mathis
features prominently in the 1994 film
The Shawshank Redemption
.
Selected discography
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]
- With
Otto Klemperer
:
The Magic Flute
- With
Herbert von Karajan
:
The Creation
,
The Seasons
,
Die Walkure
,
Gotterdammerung
,
St Matthew Passion
,
Mass in B minor
,
Fidelio
(as Marzelline),
Ninth Symphony
,
Missa solemnis
,
A German Requiem
,
Four Last Songs
- With
Bernard Haitink
,
Four Last Songs
- With
Leonard Bernstein
:
Fidelio
(as Leonore)
- With
Eugen Jochum
:
Carmina Burana
- With
Carlos Kleiber
:
Der Freischutz
- With
Karl Bohm
:
Cosi fan tutte
,
The Marriage of Figaro
,
Die Fledermaus
,
The Seasons
,
Capriccio
- With
Jeffrey Tate
:
Don Giovanni
(as Donna Elvira)
- With
Rafael Kubelik
:
Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg
,
Lohengrin
- With
Rudolf Kempe
:
Ariadne auf Naxos
- With
Karl Richter
:
Christmas Oratorio
,
Messiah
,
Orfeo ed Euridice
- With
Hans Knappertsbusch
:
Parsifal
(1962, as Flower Girl)
- With
Helmut Koch
:
Judas Maccabaeus
- With
Ferdinand Leitner
:
Armida
- With Wilfried Boettcher:
Mozart
:
Concert Arias
,
Georg Philipp Telemann
:
Ino
(Dramatic Cantata)
- Lieder
by
Franz Schubert
, with
Charles Spencer
(piano)
- Lieder
by
Franz Schubert
, with
Irwin Gage
(piano). Includes "
Gretchen am Spinnrade
", "
Die Manner sind mechant
", and "
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen
"
- Das Marienleben
, Op.27, by
Paul Hindemith
, with Irwin Gage (piano).
Filmography
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]
Concerts
- Gundula Janowitz: In Concert
(recorded live)
(1970, conductor
Berislav Klobu?ar
, Video Artists International Inc.)
- Beethoven Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op.125 "Choral"
(1968, conductor/director Herbert von Karajan, Unitel Classica)
- Bach Mass in B minor BWV 232
(1969, conductor Karl Richter; director Arne Arbom, Unitel Classica)
- Mozart Requiem K.626
(1971, conductor Karl Bohm; director
Hugo Kach
, Unitel Classica)
- Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, op.45
(1978, conductor/director Herbert von Karajan, Unitel Classica)
Operas
- Cosi fan tutte
(1969, conductor Karl Bohm; director
Vaclav Ka?lik
, Unitel Classica)
- Die Fledermaus
(1972, conductor Karl Bohm; director
Otto Schenk
, Unitel Classica)
- Arabella
(1977, conductor Sir
Georg Solti
; director Otto Schenk, Unitel Classica)
- Fidelio
(1977, conductor
Zubin Mehta
; director
Pierre Jourdan
, Gaumont Distribution)
- Ariadne auf Naxos
(1978, conductor, Karl Bohm; director John Vernon, Unitel Classica)
- Fidelio
(1978, conductor,
Leonard Bernstein
; director Otto Schenk, Deutsche Grammophon)
Decorations and awards
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References
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External links
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