Martha Mödl

Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg – 17 December 2001, Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano. She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Astrid Varnay and Birgit Nilsson, one of the three major postwar Wagner sopranos. She was among the preeminent Wagner sopranos—and most compelling singing actresses—of the twentieth century. She was celebrated for her highly individualized interpretations, exceptional acting ability, intense stage presence, and "rich, sexy voice."

Her career peaked in the early and mid-1950s, which included her Brünnhilde in Wilhelm Furtwängler's famous 1954 recording of Die Walküre and his 1953 recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen (his only uncut recording of the cycle), along with the title role from Fidelio with the same conductor also in 1953, and Isolde in Herbert von Karajan's 1952 Tristan und Isolde, live from Bayreuth. There have been fully ten recordings of her Kundry released commercially, most associated with the Bayreuth Festival, all from 1949-59. Although she is most known for her portrayals of Wagner's major heroines from 1951-5, her continuous performing career (as mezzo-soprano after the 1950s) lasted in excess of half a century, well into the singer's eighties, through which her acting abilities remained intact.

Mödl spent much of her early life as a bookkeeper and secretary in Nuremberg. At the age of 28, she began vocal studies at the Conservatory of her home town. Having made her debut as Hänsel in Remscheid in 1942, she then added Cherubino, Mignon and Azucena to her roles. Moving to Düsseldorf, she began performing Dorabella, Venus, Octavian, Eboli, Carmen and Klytemnestra. She was then invited to perform in Carmen at Covent Garden in 1949 (returning for the Ring in 1959, Klytemnestra in 1966 and Die schweigsame Frau in 1972), and joined the Hamburg State Opera in the same year. In 1950, she made her La Scala debut as Kundry.

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