Edith Mathis
Encyclopedia
Edith Mathis is a renowned Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Mozart. She studied in Lucerne and debuted there in 1956 in The Magic Flute
. Mozart would remain one of her specialties, with her roles including Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
, Zerlina in Don Giovanni
, Despina in Cosi fan tutte
and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Indeed, she recorded the latter role in 1980, opposite Karin Ott and Janet Perry
, under Herbert von Karajan
. Other roles she sang include Sophie and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
and Agathe and Aennchen in Der Freischütz
.
Mathis also sang in the premières of von Einem's Der Zerissene, Henze's Der junge Lord, Heinrich Sutermeister
's Le roi Berénger, and Menotti's Help, Help, the Globolinks!
. She was also a singer of oratorios and Lieder. Her Lieder recordings include Volume 21 of the complete songs of Franz Schubert
for Hyperion Records
.
Several of her most notable recorded roles in Mozartian opera include Susanna in Le Nozze Di Figaro for the Berlin Staatsoper with Karl Bohm conducting, as well Idamante in Idomeneo with the Staatskapelle Dresden. A re-released recording of Don Giovanni with the Vienna Philharmonic and Karl Bohm from the 1977 Salzburg Festival features her in one of her best-known roles, Zerlina.
Mathis' part of Susanna in Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto, a duet from The Marriage of Figaro, with the German soprano Gundula Janowitz
, features prominently in the film The Shawshank Redemption
.
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
. Mozart would remain one of her specialties, with her roles including Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro
Le nozze di Figaro, ossia la folle giornata , K. 492, is an opera buffa composed in 1786 in four acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journée, ou le Mariage de Figaro .Although the play by...
, Zerlina in Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
, Despina in Cosi fan tutte
Così fan tutte
Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti K. 588, is an opera buffa by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart first performed in 1790. The libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte....
and Pamina in The Magic Flute. Indeed, she recorded the latter role in 1980, opposite Karin Ott and Janet Perry
Janet Perry
Janet Perry is a celebrated operatic soprano. As a child of eleven, she was seen in a stage-version of The Wizard of Oz, at the St Paul Civic Opera...
, under Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
. Other roles she sang include Sophie and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
and Agathe and Aennchen in Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
.
Mathis also sang in the premières of von Einem's Der Zerissene, Henze's Der junge Lord, Heinrich Sutermeister
Heinrich Sutermeister
Heinrich Sutermeister was a Swiss opera composer.-Life and career:During the early 1930s he was a student at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich where Carl Orff was his teacher and Orff remained a powerful influence on his music. Returning to Switzerland in the mid 1930s, he devoted his life to...
's Le roi Berénger, and Menotti's Help, Help, the Globolinks!
Help, Help, the Globolinks!
Help, Help, the Globolinks! is an opera in four scenes by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer. It was commissioned by the Hamburg State Opera and first performed as Hilfe, Hilfe, die Globolinks! in a German translation by Kurt Honolka on December 21, 1968 in a...
. She was also a singer of oratorios and Lieder. Her Lieder recordings include Volume 21 of the complete songs of Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
for Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records
Hyperion Records is an independent British classical record label.-History:The company was named after Hyperion, one of the Titans of Greek mythology. It was founded by George Edward Perry, widely known as "Ted", in 1980. Early LP releases included rarely recorded 20th century British music by...
.
Several of her most notable recorded roles in Mozartian opera include Susanna in Le Nozze Di Figaro for the Berlin Staatsoper with Karl Bohm conducting, as well Idamante in Idomeneo with the Staatskapelle Dresden. A re-released recording of Don Giovanni with the Vienna Philharmonic and Karl Bohm from the 1977 Salzburg Festival features her in one of her best-known roles, Zerlina.
Mathis' part of Susanna in Sull'aria...che soave zeffiretto, a duet from The Marriage of Figaro, with the German soprano Gundula Janowitz
Gundula Janowitz
Gundula Janowitz is an Austrian lyric soprano singer of operas, oratorios 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:...
, features prominently in the film The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman....
.
Awards
- Hans Reinhart Ring (1978)
- Mozart-Medaille der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg (1976)
- Kunstpreis der Stadt Luzern
- Buxtehude-Preis des Lübecker Senats (1981)
- Prix Mondial du Disque (Montreux)
- 1980 Bayerische Kammersängerin
Records (Selection)
- Schumann & Brahms Lieder
- Lieder Mozart-Schumann
- Franz Schubert Lieder
- Mozart Exsultate, Jubilate
- Richard Strauss & Hugo Wolf Lieder
- Exsultate, Jubilate Geistliche Arien für Sopran
- Requiem, Mozart
- Johann Sebastian Bach: sopran soloist in Bach cantataBach cantataBach cantata became a term for a cantata of the German Baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach who was a prolific writer of the genre. Although many of his works are lost, around 200 cantatas survived....
s, "75 Kantaten, Münchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-ChorMünchener Bach-Chor is a mixed choir for concert and oratorio in Munich. Performances, international tours and recordings with Karl Richter and the Münchener Bach-Orchester made the choir internationally known.- Heinrich-Schütz-Kreis :...
, Münchener Bach-Orchester, conductor Karl Richter, Polydor 1959-1979 "
External links
- Short Biography English
- Short Biography German
- Biography