Martha Mödl

Martha Mödl (March 22, 1912, in Nuremberg – 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. Mödl was celebrated for her highly individualized interpretations, exceptional acting ability, and intense stage presence.

Career

Mödl worked for many years 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 Hansel 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.

Her Venus in Hamburg was noticed by Wieland Wagner, and she was invited to play the role of Kundry at Bayreuth in 1951, becoming part of a group of singers called the "New Bayreuth," often sharing roles with Astrid Varnay. She went on to perform Isolde in 1952 and joined the Stuttgart Opera. Martha would reprise the role of Isolde on TV when Leonard Bernstein did his "What Makes Opera Grand?" segment on Omnibus. She also performed as Kundry and Brunnhilde at the Metropolitan between 1956 and 1960.

During the 1960s she had difficulties with her voice from singing such heavy parts for a decade, and returned to singing mezzo-soprano repertoire, such as Klytemnestra in Elektra, the Nurse (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Waltraute. In 1970 she appeared in The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny in Cologne.

From the 1970s Martha Mödl appeared in character parts: Grandmother Buryjovka, the Countess in The Queen of Spades in Nice (1989) which she was still performing in Mannheim at the age of 87.

In 1997 Mödl was one of singers reminiscing about their careers in the film Love's Debris. A book of conversations with the singer was published in 1998 entitled So war mein Weg. A little while before her death the Kammersängerin's performances were spoken more and more; however, they maintained their dramatic intensity.

Mödl appeared in several premieres: Elisabeth Tudor (Fortner, 1972), Kabale und Liebe (Von Einem, 1976), and Baal (Cerha, 1999).

Selected discography

• Parsifal, 1951 (conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch)
• Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex, 1951 (conducted by the composer)
• Tristan und Isolde, 1952 (Herbert von Karajan)
• Parsifal, 1953 (Clemens Krauss)
• Fidelio, 1953 (Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Der Ring des Nibelungen, 1953 (Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Die Walküre, 1954 (Wilhelm Furtwängler)
• Elektra, 1964 (Herbert von Karajan)
• Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades - VHS, 1992 (Seiji Ozawa) with Freni, Kasarova, Atlantov & Chernov

Bibliography

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