| Birth: | Dec. 30, 1879
Wroclaw, Poland | | Death: | Apr. 13, 1952
Dresden
Saxony (Sachsen), Germany | 
Opera Singer. A noted soprano of the early 20th Century, she is remembered for creating principal characters in three of Richard Strauss' operas. Raised in what is now Poland, she originally studied piano and violin before receiving vocal training at the Dresden Conservatory. Margarethe made her operatic bow in 1902 at Prague as Margureite in Giacomo Meyerbeer's epic "Les Huguenots" and in 1908 joined the Dresden State Opera where she was to be designated Kammersangerin; there, she established herself in a wide variety of roles from light coloratura such as The Queen of the Night in Mozart's "The Magic Flute" and the title heroine of Donizetti's "Lucia di Lammermoor", to at least three of Giuseppe Verdi's dramatic ladies, the title lead of "Aida", Leonora in "Il Trovatore", and Amelia from "Un Ballo in Maschera". Indeed, she was even to take on Wagnerian fare such as both Venus and Elisabeth in "Tannhauser", Isolde from "Tristan und Isolde" and Sieglinde in "Die Walkure", as well was two roles written for mezzo-soprano, Bizet's "Carmen" and Adalgisa from Vincenzo Bellini's "Norma". A favorite of composer Richard Strauss, she was chosen by him for three world premieres; at Dresden, she was Chrysothemis in "Elektra" on January 25, 1909, and at the same venue she created The Marschallin in "Der Rosenkavalier" on January 26, 1911, while at Stuttgart she was the first Zerbinetta from "Ariadne auf Naxos" on October 25, 1912. In 1913 she was picked to carry The Marschallin to London, making her Covent Garden debut with the venerable house's initial performances of "Der Rosenkavalier"; Margarethe held a professorship at the Berlin Conservatory from 1920 until 1926, remained at Dresden thru 1922, and gave her final operatic performance as The Marschallin at Breslau in 1925, though she was to continue singing recitals for several more years. Following retirement she taught voice in Breslau and Dresden until 1940, and lived her final years in Dresden. A portion of her recorded legacy, including "creator discs" from "Der Rosenkavalier, has been preserved on CD. Some sources give her birthday as December 20, though "Grove's" confirms the date listed above. (bio by: Bob Hufford)
Search Amazon for Margarethe Siems | | | Burial:
Johannisfriedhof Tolkewitz Cemetery
Dresden
Dresden
Saxony (Sachsen), Germany |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Bob Hufford
Record added: Jan 24, 2011
Find A Grave Memorial# 64629005 |
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