Delores Ziegler

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Delores Ziegler
Born (1951-09-04) September 4, 1951 (age 72)
Atlanta, US
Education
Occupations
OrganizationsUniversity of Maryland

Delores Ziegler (born September 4, 1951) is an American mezzo-soprano who has had an active international performance career since the late 1970s. A former resident artist at the Cologne Opera, she has performed leading roles with many of the world's best opera houses, including La Scala, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Vienna State Opera. She is currently a professor of voice at the University of Maryland. While she has performed a broad repertoire, she is widely admired for her performances in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss; particularly Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, Idamante in Idomeneo, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier.

Life and career[edit]

Born in Atlanta, Ziegler earned a Bachelor of Music degree from Maryville College (1973) and a Master of Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Tennessee where she was a pupil of Edward Zambara.[1] After first performances in concert, she made her operatic debut as Flora in Verdi's La traviata in Oxfield, Tennessee in 1978.[2] In 1979 she was a finalist in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions.[3] That same year she performed the role of Maddalena in Verdi's Rigoletto at the Opera Theatre of Saint Louis.[1]

After an apprenticeship with the Santa Fe Opera, Ziegler went to Germany to pursue further studies in opera with bass-baritone Hans Hotter; making her European debut soon after at Theater Bonn in 1981 as Emilia in Verdi's Otello.[1][2] This performance was followed by return engagements at that opera house as Dorabella in Mozart's Così fan tutte and Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier.[1] In 1982 she became a resident artist at the Cologne Opera where she achieved critical success as Cherubino in Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in 1983, Prince Orlovsky in Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss in 1985, and as Octavian.[1] She married a fellow resident artist at the Cologne Opera, tenor Randall Outland.[1]

Ziegler first appeared at the New York City Opera (NYCO) in the role of the composer in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss in 1983.[4] She has since returned to the NYCO as Rosina in Rossini's Barber of Seville (1984).[5] Other engagements in the US and Canada soon followed, including performances at the San Diego Opera (1986) and the Canadian Opera Company (1987).[1] In 1989 she portrayed Charlotte in Massenet's Werther at both the Michigan Opera Theatre and the Seattle Opera; later returning to the latter company in 1991 as Giovanna Seymour in Donnizetti's Anna Bolena.[1][6]

In 1984 Ziegler made her debut at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera as Dorabella during the festival's 50th anniversary season;[7] performed the role of Idamantes in Mozart's Idomeneo at the Mostly Mozart Festival; and made her debut at La Scala as Dorabella.[7][8] She reprised the role of Idamante at several opera houses, including La Scala (1985), the Vienna State Opera (1987), and the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino (1989).[1] Other major European engagements during the 1980s included performances at the Bavarian State Opera (debut 1984), the Salzburg Festival (1985, Sesto in Mozart's La clemenza di Tito), the Norwegian National Opera (1986), the Hamburg State Opera (1988), La Fenice (1989, Octavian), and a return to La Scala as Romeo in Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi (1987).[1]

In 1990 Ziegler returned to the Canadian Opera Company as Octavian and made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera as Siebel in Charles Gounod's Faust.[1][9] She has since returned to the Met as Octavian (1991), as Dorabella (1991), as Cherubino (1995, 1999, 2002), as Rosina (1998), Flora in La traviata (1998), the Third Lady in The Magic Flute (1998), Hanna Glawari in The Merry Widow (2001), and Maria Bolkonskaya in the Met's first staging of Prokofiev's War and Peace (2002).[10][11][12][13] In 1991 she made her debut at the San Francisco Opera as Bellini's Romeo and portrayed Dulcinee in Massenet's Don Quichotte at the Teatro Comunale, Florence.[1]

In 1992 Ziegler was the mezzo soloist in Rossini's Stabat Mater with conductor Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra.[14] In 1993 she made her debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago as Dorabella to Carol Vaness' Fiordiligi.[15] In 1994 she portrayed Rosina in the United States premiere of Judith Weir's Blond Eckbert and Rosina in The Barber of Seville at the Santa Fe Opera.[16] In 1995 she appeared at the Schwetzingen Festival in Antonio Salieri's Falstaff.[1] In 1998 she was a featured soloist in a concert of music by composer Ned Rorem at both the New York Festival of Song and at the Library of Congress; performed as the mezzo soloist in Johann Sebastian Bach's Mass in B minor at Carnegie Hall with Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chamber Chorus; and portrayed Orfeo in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice at the Athens Concert Hall.[17][18][19]

Ziegler performed Dorabella in a film version of Mozart's Così fan tutte directed by Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, conducted by Nikolaus Harnoncourt.[20] She also recorded the part of Sara in Donizetti's Roberto Devereux, and Giovanna in his Anna Bolena alongside Edita Gruberová in the title role.[20] She recorded the role of the Second Lady in Mozart's The Magic Flute with Harnoncourt leading the Zürich Opera Orchestra and Chorus in 1988.[21]

Ziegler has been a professor of voice at School of Music at the University of Maryland.[20]

Selected recordings[edit]

Recordings of Delores Ziegler
Title Conductor / Choir / Orchestra Soloists Label Year
Requiem by Mozart (contralto soloist) Robert Shaw
Atlanta Symphony Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Telarc 1986 (1986)
Mass in B minor by Bach (as Soprano II soloist) Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Arnold Schoenberg Choir
Concentus Musicus Wien
Teldec 1986 (1986)
The Magic Flute by Mozart (as The Second Lady) Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Zürich Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Teldec 1987 (1987)
Symphony No. 9 by Beethoven (alto soloist) Riccardo Muti
Westminster Symphonic Choir
Philadelphia Orchestra
EMI 1988 (1988)
Mass in B minor by Bach (as Soprano II soloist) Robert Shaw
Atlanta Chamber Chorus
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra
Telarc 1990 (1990)
Così fan tutte by Mozart (as Dorabella) Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Vienna Philharmonic
DG [1]  ()
La clemenza di Tito by Mozart (as Annio) Nikolaus Harnoncourt
Zürich Opera Orchestra and Chorus
Teldec 1993 (1993)
Roberto Devereux by Donizetti (as Sara) Friedrich Haider
Choeurs de l'Opéra du Rhin
Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg
Nightingale Classics 1994 (1994) (Live recording)
Anna Bolena by Donizetti (as Giovanna Seymour) Elio Boncompagni
Chorus and orchestra of the Hungarian Radio and Television
Nightingale Classics 1994 (1994) (Live recording)


References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Ziegler, Delores (1951–), mezzo-soprano". Bayerisches Musiker-Lexikon Online [de]. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Delores Ziegler (b. 1951)". The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Music. Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press. 1996. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  3. ^ Ericson, Raymond (April 6, 1979). "Met Hears New Voices In Opera Auditions" (PDF). The New York Times. p. 54.
  4. ^ "Music and Dance; Opera; New York City Opera". New York. November 14, 1981. p. 141.
  5. ^ Henahan, Donal (August 10, 1984). "City Opera: Four New Voices in Barber Of Seville". The New York Times.
  6. ^ Bargreen, Melinda (January 14, 1990). "Seattle Opera Has Some New Sings To Show You". The Seattle Times.
  7. ^ a b Apple, R. W. Jr. (June 24, 1984). "Glyndebourne Celebrates Its 50 Years Of Opera". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Henahan, Donal (August 19, 1984). "Music: Strauss's Setting of Mozart's Idomeneo". The New York Times.
  9. ^ Henahan, Donal (February 3, 1990). "Review/Opera; The Long-Absent Faust Returns With Gothic Touches". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Oestreich, James R. (November 10, 1991). "Review/Opera; Mozart's View of Women's Fickleness". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Holland, Bernard (March 4, 1991). "Review/Met Opera; Czechoslovak Conducts Rosenkavalier". The New York Times.
  12. ^ Oestreich, James R. (January 17, 1995). "In Performance; Classical Music". The New York Times.
  13. ^ Holland, Bernard (November 25, 1998). "Opera Review; Violetta and Alfredo, with Decor Rampant". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Kozinn, Allan (May 6, 1992). "Review/Music; Muti Says Farewell to America as Head of the Philadelphia". The New York Times.
  15. ^ "1990/1991 – 1999/2000 Seasons". Lyric Opera of Chicago. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  16. ^ Bernard Holland (August 16, 1994). "Music Review; A Judith Weir Opera In Which Truth Is Harmful to Health". The New York Times.
  17. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (January 20, 1998). "A Lifetime of Living and Dying in Song; With an Eye on the Unseen, Ned Rorem Sums Up in a New Work". The New York Times. Retrieved April 7, 2024.
  18. ^ Oestreich, James R. (April 6, 1998). "Music Review; Affirmation, with Quiet and Sparks". The New York Times.
  19. ^ Bogdanos, Toula (April 26, 1998). "What's Doing In; Athens". The New York Times.
  20. ^ a b c "Delores Ziegler / Professor, Voice". University of Maryland. Archived from the original on December 5, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  21. ^ John Rockwell (April 1, 1990). "Recordings; Harncourt's Mozart Shows Steady Growth". The New York Times.

External links[edit]

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