Rita Gorr
Rita Gorr ( born February 18, 1926 in Zelzate; † January 22, 2012 in Benidorm, Spain) was a Belgian opera singer ( Dramatic Mezzo soprano and alto ).
Life
Gorr was as Marguerite Geirnaert in Zelzate, a small Belgian town of Ghent, born. She studied singing in Ghent and since 1943 at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels ( Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles) in Vina Bovy and Germaine Hoerner. In 1943, she won the singing competition of Verviers ( Concours de Chant de Verviers ). In 1952 she won first prize at the International Singing Competition in Lausanne.
In 1949 she was at the Vlaamse Opera ( De Vlaamse Opera) in Antwerp her stage debut as an opera singer with the role of Fricka in Die Walküre. From 1949 to 1952 Gorr was an ensemble member at the Opéra du Rhin in Strasbourg. They sang, among others, the title role in Carmen, Maddalena in Rigoletto (1949 ), Amneris in Aida and the trouser role of Orpheus in Orpheus and Eurydice. In 1951, she appeared there in the French premiere of the opera Mathis der Maler in the role of Ursula on. The Rheinoper remained for Gorr during the remainder of her career for her getting her ancestral home an artistic home, where she returned regularly for guest performances and new productions. In 1957 she guested as Ortrud in Lohengrin there next to Wolfgang wind lanes in the title role.
In 1952 she was first at the Grand Opéra Paris bound ( first role Magdalene in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg); 1953 her debut at the Opéra -Comique with the role of Charlotte in Werther. Gorr occurred in the following years regularly at the two major Paris opera houses. At the Opéra -Comique, she sang, among others, in Oberon, Les Indes Gallant of Jean -Philippe Rameau and Rigoletto. Your commitment to the Paris Opera was repeatedly interrupted by longer absences. Gorr was dissatisfied with the roles offered to her there, since these did not correspond to their personality, in their opinion. 1957, after several months of Away guest performances, however, they returned to the role of Venus in Richard Wagner's romantic opera Tannhäuser and the Singers' Contest at Wartburg at the Paris Opera back. In July 1963 she appeared in Paris at the Théâtre National de l' Opéra again in this role; their partners were Régine Crespin as Elisabeth and Hans Beirer as Tannhäuser. By 1972, Gorr continually singing at the Paris Opera.
In 1958 she sang for the first time at the Bayreuth Festival. She sang the roles of Fricka in Das Rheingold and Die Walküre, Grimgerde in Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung 1 Norn. In 1959 she took over in Bayreuth at the side of Sándor Kónya in the title role, the role of Ortrud in Lohengrin now legendary blue - staging of Wieland Wagner. Wolfgang Wind streets Gorr wanted to be his partner in Parsifal in Bayreuth; Gorr, however, declined to sing the role of Kundry at Bayreuth.
In 1958 she toured for the first time at La Scala as Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana; In 1960 she sang Kundry in Parsifal, conducted by André Cluytens; in the latter role she had previously given her role debut at the Opera House of Rome. From 1959 to 1971 Gorr appeared regularly at Covent Garden Opera in London; She made her debut as Amneris in Aida there. In 1961 she sang the Iphigenie in Iphigenie en Tauride. In 1963 she appeared there, Régine Crespin as Elsa addition, as Ortrud in Lohengrin.
In 1960, Gorrs debut at the Vienna State Opera. They sang the roles of Fricka ( Das Rheingold, Die Walküre ), Walt hash ( Twilight of the Gods ) and Brangäne ( Tristan and Isolde ). From 1962 to 1966 Gorr came at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. She sang there in four seasons in about 40 performances, including Amneris in Aida ( debut role ), Santuzza in Cavalleria rusticana, Azucena in Il Trovatore, Eboli in Don Carlos and Dalila in Samson and Delilah.
Gorr sang at the Edinburgh Festival (1961, as Iphigenie in Iphigenie en Tauride ) at the Opera House in Monte Carlo (1963, as Charlotte in Werther ), at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, at the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon, at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples ( 1960 as Fricka in the Ring of the Nibelung, Brangäne ) at the Maggio Musicale in Florence (1962, as Iphigenie in Iphigenie en Tauride ). at the Lyric Opera of Chicago (1962) and in the opera houses of Dallas and Philadelphia
In 1972, moved Gorr, back at the height of her career, from the opera stage. In the early 1980s she returned, after nearly ten year break and after a completed change of subject, on the opera stage back. Gorr now no longer sang the dramatic mezzo- soprano and Altrollen, but took over in these vocal registers important roles of the character compartment. With these games Gorr had a successful career age.
She sang roles such as the mother Louise by Gustave Charpentier (1981, Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie ), the sorceress Tavern in Mireille by Charles Gounod ( in the 1980s at the Paris Opéra -Comique ), the Kabanicha in Katja Kabanowa, Herodias in Salome (1990, Opéra de Lyon), Marthe Schwerdtlein in Faust (1994, Opéra de Nantes) and the nurse Filipjewna in Eugene Onegin (1995, Opéra Bastille in 1998 Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, Lisbon). An important age role Gorrs was also the old Prioress ( Madame de Croissy ) in the opera Dialogues of the Carmelites, which inter alia, in Lyon ( 1990), Seattle (1990 ), at the Deutsche Oper Berlin (1994) and at the Opera House Food (1998 ) sang.
For the gloss of their role Retiring but especially the Countess in The Queen of Spades was. Gorr guested with this role including in Amsterdam ( 1994), at the Vienna State Opera (May / June 1999), at the Vlaamse Opera in Ghent and Antwerp (1999, on the occasion of its 50th year anniversary at the Flemish Opera ) and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich ( 2001). In July 2006 they finally took on the role of the Countess farewell to the opera stage. Your last public appearance was in 2007 during a tribute at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels.
Gorr died on 22 January 2012 at the age of 85 in Benidorm, Spain, where she lived for several years. The cause of death heart problems were given.
Voice and sound files
Gorr had an " extensive, voluminous " voice whose "dramatic increase ability ", especially in the parts of the Wagner repertory but also in the dramatic mezzo- soprano roles of the Italian and French opera repertoire well came to bear. Her voice had a " rich, metallic " timbre, was in the amount and in the upper register, however, partially shrill. A role offering Georg Solti to sing the female title role in Tristan and Isolde, Gorr rejected due to the high tessitura of the game. This was also true for the Brünnhilde in Der Ring des Nibelungen, the streets wind had wanted from her.
In addition to her impressive vocal interpretation were in reviews again and again Gorrs acting potential, highlighted its descriptive power, and their stage presence, which were impressive especially in their age roles to advantage.
Gorrs voice is documented in numerous opera recordings and live recordings. Gorr was played by a focus on the French operatic repertoire. Although originally from Belgium, Gorr was always perceived as a French singer and was regarded as a specialist in the French opera repertoire. Often, they also sang roles in largely unknown or little staged French operas, such as the title role in the opera Padmâvatî by Albert Roussel.
In the French EMI Gorr took place under the direction of Georges Prêtre the now regarded as legendary total intake of Samson and Dalila in the studio on (1962, with Jon Vickers as Samson ). She also sang at the EMI Schwerdtlein Marthe in Faust (1958, under the direction of André Cluytens, with Victoria de los Angeles, Nicolai Gedda and Boris Christoff as partners).
In particular, Gorr took their roles of the French repertoire for the record on: Geneviève in Pelléas et Mélisande (1953, Philips, Conductor: Jean Fournet ), Marguerite in Le Roi d' Ys (1958, Columbia; Conductor: André Cluytens ), Charlotte in Werther (1964, Mondiophonie; conductor: Jésus Etcheverry ), Mère Marie in Dialogues des Carmelites (1958, EMI; conductor: Pierre Dervaux ), later the Prioress (1992, Virgin; conductor: Kent Nagano ).
More studio recordings for Decca and RCA Gorrs emerged. She sang Amneris in Aida, conducted by Georg Solti (Partner: Leontyne Price as Aida, Jon Vickers as Radames ) and Ortrud under the baton of Erich Leinsdorf (again with Sándor Kónya in the title role).
Live recordings from the Bayreuth Festival (1958, 1959) with Gorr as Fricka and Ortrud have now been released on various labels on CD. Similarly, the live recording of Parsifal from La Scala (1960 ) has now been released on CD.