Info about Walter Goehr
Mattiwilda Dobbs (b. July 11, 1925) is an African-American coloratura soprano and one of the first black singers to enjoy a major international career in opera. Possessing a small but buoyant voice, Dobbs was admired for her refined vocal technique and lively interpretations. Mattiwlda Dobbs was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of John and Irene Dobbs, who were leaders in the African-American community of Atlanta. She began piano lessons at the age of seven, and sang in community and church choirs. She attended Spelman College where she began to study voice. She then studied with German soprano Lotte Leonard in New York City and later won a John Hay Whitney Fellowship scholarship, which enabled her to pursue her studies in Europe, notably with Pierre Bernac. After winning the International Music Competition in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1951, she made her professional operatic debut at the Holland Festival, as the Nightingale in Stravinsky's Le Rossignol, in 1952. Dobbs quickly sang at the major festivals and opera houses throughout Europe. She made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival, as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos in 1953. Her La Scala debut the same year, as Elvira in L'italiana in Algeri, also marked the first time a black artist ever sang in that opera house. She made her debut at the Royal Opera House in London, as the Queen of Shemakha in Le Coq d'Or, in 1954. She also appeared at the Paris Opéra, the Vienna State Opera, and at the opera houses of Hamburg and Stockholm. Her American debut was a recital with the Little Orchestra Society, in New York City, in 1954. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut, as Gilda in Rigoletto, on November 9, 1956. Although Marian Anderson had preceded her on that stage, she was the first black singer to be offered a long-term contract by the Met. In eight seasons, she also sang Zerbinetta, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Olympia in Les contes d'Hoffmann, Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor, and Oscar in Un ballo in maschera. She also appeared regularly at the San Francisco Opera in the late 1950s. Following the example set by other African-American performers, she refused to perform for segregated audiences, thus was not able to perform in her native city until 1962. Dobbs retired from the stage in 1974, and began teaching at the University of Texas, where she was the first African-American on the faculty. She continued her teaching career as professor of voice at Howard University in Washington, D.C., before retiring to Arlington, Virginia, where she currently resides.
Agnes Giebel (born August 10, 1921) is a German soprano. She was born in Heerlen, in the Netherlands, where she lived the first years of her life. She studied at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen and made her first public appearance as a singer in 1947. Her career lasted until the 1990s during which she established a wide-ranging discography. Giebel's repertoire consisted predominantly of sacred works of music such as cantatas, oratorios, passions, and masses and was considered[who?] to be one of the greatest Bach singers of her generation. As an interpreter of lieder she often performed with the pianist Sebastian Peschko. She is also known for her performance in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony under the direction of Otto Klemperer. Today Agnes Giebel lives in Cologne. Her daughter, Kristina Kanders, and her granddaughter, Julia Giebel, are also musicians.
Julius Patzak (9 April 1898 – 26 January 1974) was an Austrian tenor distinguished in operatic and concert work. He was particularly noted in Mozart, Beethoven and in early 20th century German repertoire. He was born in Vienna and originally studied conducting. He was also taught composition, by Franz Schmidt and Eusebius Mandyczewski. It was in 1926 that he decided instead upon a career as a vocalist, and he made his debut as Radames in Aida at Reichenberg in that year. He sang regularly at the Munich State Opera from 1928 to 1945, and at Vienna from 1946 to 1960. He appeared in London at Covent Garden in 1938 as Tamino in The Magic Flute, and again several times after the war, notably as Florestan in Fidelio. This role, together with that of Palestrina in Hans Pfitzner's opera, was considered to be among his finest roles. In the latter he was pre-eminent among the followers of his Munich predecessor Karl Erb. Patzak appeared in a number of operatic premières, notably Richard Strauss's Friedenstag, Carl Orff's Der Mond and Gottfried von Einem's Dantons Tod. Although he did not possess the most powerful of voices, it had a distinctive and attractive timbre and was used with such style, intelligence, charm and musicianship, and with such dramatic conviction, as to warrant a very high place among the operatic singers of his time. He was the very effective partner of Kathleen Ferrier in the recording of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde under Bruno Walter issued by Decca Records in February 1953. He was awarded the Lilli Lehmann Medal in 1950. Patzak died on 26 January 1974, at Rottach-Egern in Bavaria.
Heinz Julius Rehfuss (25 May 1917 - 27 June 1988) was a Swiss operatic bass-baritone, who later became an American citizen. He was particularly associated with the title roles in Don Giovanni and Boris Godunov, and Golaud in Pelléas et Mélisande. Born in Frankfurt, Germany, he was the son of Carl Rehfuss (1885-1946), a baritone, concertist and teacher, and his wife, alto Florentine Rehfuss-Peichert. He spent his youth in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, where his father was teaching at the Conservatory, and was entirely trained by him. He made his debut in 1938 at the Städtebundtheater in Biel-Solothurn, as a choral singer and stage designer, and sang as a soloist in Luzern during the 1938-39 season. He appeared at the Zurich Opera from 1940 until 1952, where he undertook some 80 roles. From 1952, he made frequent guest appearances in opera houses all over Europe, including La Scala in Milan, the Opéra National de Paris, the Vienna State Opera, the Liceo in Barcelona, the Munich State Opera, the Monte Carlo Opera, the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, La Fenice in Venice, the Edinburgh Festival, etc. He went on concert tours in America, Asia and Africa. With his smooth and melifluous voice, he was an outstanding lieder and oratorio singer, particularly admired in works by Johann Sebastian Bach. He also appeared and created many contemporary works by composers such as Stravinsky, Milhaud, Britten, and took part in the premiere of Nono's opera Intolleranza 1960, in 1961. In later years, Rehfuss taught at the State University of New York in Buffalo, New York, and was a visiting teacher at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec à Montréal. He died in Buffalo, New York.
Биографии Урсулы Золенкопф в интернете, как я понял, попросту не существует...
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Exsultate jubilate, K 165
Mattiwilda Dobbs, soprano
Mass in C major, K 317 "Coronation"
Agnes Giebel, soprano
Ursula Zollenkopf, alto
Julius Patzak, tenor
Heinz Rehfuss, bass
Masonic Funeral Music in C minor, K 477
Ave verum corpus in D major, K 618
NDR Symphony Orchestra and Chorus
Walter Goehr
1950's
