Description

GRETE STÜCKGOLD (LONDON, 6 JULY, 1895 – FALLS VILLAGE, CONNECTICUT, 15 SEPTEMBER, 1977)

 

 

 

 

Her father, Ludwig Schneidt, was German and served as director of the cable works in Nordenham, while her mother was English. She spent her school years in Nordenham and London, and in 1913 moved to Germany, where she studied singing in Munich with Jacques Stückgold (1877–1953). She later married her teacher, from whom she separated in 1929 (they had one daughter). Her second husband was the baritone Gustav Schützendorf (1883–1937).

She began her career as a concert and oratorio singer and, in 1917, made her operatic debut at the Nuremberg City Theatre. In 1922, she joined the Berlin Municipal Opera. From 1926 to 1929, she appeared regularly as a guest at the Dresden State Opera and also performed with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra under Arthur Nikisch. In 1926, she undertook a major and highly successful recital tour of England. In 1927, she sang as a guest at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in London (as Aida) and at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona. On 8 June 1929, she appeared at the Kroll Opera in Berlin in the world premiere of Hindemith’s Neues vom Tage.

She was engaged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she made her debut in 1927 as Eva in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. She remained with the company from 1927 to 1931, again from 1932 to 1934, and from 1937 to 1939, appearing over eight seasons in a total of 57 performances. At the Met, she sang roles including Agathe in Der Freischütz, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, Sieglinde in Die Walküre, the Marschallin and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier, and Aida. She also appeared as a guest in San Francisco, Philadelphia, and Chicago.

Her repertoire further included Constance in Cherubini’s Les deux journées (The Water Carrier), Marguerite in Gounod’s Faust, Fiordiligi in Così fan tutte, the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, Bertha in Meyerbeer’s Le Prophète, Gutrune in Götterdämmerung, Heliane in Korngold’s Das Wunder der Heliane, and Theophanu in Handel’s Ottone. She later settled in New York and for a period taught at Bennington College in Vermont. She possessed a beautiful and expressive soprano voice and, in addition to her stage career, was highly regarded as an oratorio and lieder interpreter.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Ave Maria (Gounod) 02184 2224½A Vox, Berlin

Ballo in maschera (Verdi) Der Tod sei mir willkommen 65600, 19235 554as Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Bohème (Puccini) Man nennt mich jetzt nur Mimi 02131 1527A Vox, Berlin 1923

Freischütz (Weber) Wie nahte mir der Schlummer, pt 1 02170 1271A Vox, Berlin 1923

Freischütz (Weber) Wie nahte mir der Schlummer, pt 2 02170 1272A Vox, Berlin 1923

Ich liebe dich (Grieg) 02166 1842½A Vox, Berlin 1924

Lohengrin (Wagner) Elsas Traum 02116 1215A Vox, Berlin 1923

Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Eines Tages sehen wir 02131 1528A Vox, Berlin 1923

Martha (Flotow) Letzte Rose 02117 1218A Vox, Berlin 1923

Mignon (Thomas) Kennst du das Land 02117 1216A Vox, Berlin 1923

Otello (Verdi) Gebet der Desdemona 65617 (B24041), 367as Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Otello (Verdi) Sie sass mit Leide 65617 (B24042), 366½as Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Pastorale (Bizet) 19237 (B64067) Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Peer Gynt (Grieg) Solveygs Lied 02166 1841½A Vox, Berlin 1924

Schlafendes Jesuskind (Wolf) 19237 (B64066) 352 as Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Tannhäuser (Wagner) Gebet der Elisabeth 02116 1217A Vox, Berlin 1923

Trovatore (Verdi) In deines Kerkers tiefe Nacht 65600, 19235 308as Grammophon, Berlin 1921

Xerxes (Händel) Largo 02184 2225A Vox, Berlin