Martha Mödl

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Martha Mödl (born March 22, 1912, in Nuremberg - died December 17, 2001, in Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles, most notably Wagnerian roles such as Isolde, Kundry, and Brünnhilde.

She began studying voice when she was 28 at the Conservatory of her hometown. She was noticed by Wieland Wagner, and was part of the group of singers in the "New Bayreuth". During the 1960s she had difficulties with her voice, and switched to singing mezzo-soprano repertoire, such as Clytemnestra in Elektra. A little while before her death her performances were spoken more and more; however, they maintained their dramatic intensity.

[edit] Selected discography

• Tristan and Isolde, 1952 (dir. Herbert von Karajan)
• Parsifal, 1951 (dir. Hans Knappertsbusch)
• Parsifal, 1953 (dir. Clemens Krauss)
• Fidelio, 1953 (Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Der Ring des Nibelungen, 1953 (dir. Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Die Walküre, 1954 (dir. Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Elektra, 1964 (dir. Herbert von Karajan)
• Tchaikovsky's Pique Dame (The Queen of Spade) - VHS, 1992 (dir. Seiji Ozawa) with Freni, Kasarova, Atlantov & Chernov

[edit] Bibliography

• The Last Prima Donnas, by Lanfranco Rasponi, Alfred A Knopf, 1982. ISBN 0-394-52153-6

Persondata
NAME	Mödl, Martha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION	German opera singer
DATE OF BIRTH	March 22, 1912
PLACE OF BIRTH	Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH	December 17, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH	Stuttgart