Sabine Kalter

 

Sabine Kalter was born in Jaroslaw, Galicia on 28 March 1889. She studied singing at the Vienna Musical Academy and, aged 22, made her debut in that city's Volksoper. Her success was due in part to her mentor, Volksoper director Rainer Simons, whose confidence in the young singer was soon shared by the Hamburg State Opera, where she was engaged as principal contralto. She was signed as a replacement for the well known mezzo soprano Ottilie Metzger-Lattermann, making her first appearance for the German company in 1915. She remained with the Hamburg State Opera until the Nazi rise to power, leaving Germany, for England, in January 1935.

Kalter was  renowned for her performance as Lady Macbeth in the Verdi opera and was also celebrated for other roles such as (alphabetically) Amneris, Brangäne, Carmen, Dalila, Fidès, Fricka, Herodias, Ortrud and Waltraute. Her reputation was enhanced by taking part in several first performances, among them  

Königskinder (Englebert Humperdinck -1911),  I Gioelli di Madonna (Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari -1911),  Das Wunder der Heliane (Erich Korngold -1927), Oedipus Rex (Igor Stravinsky - 1928) and Neues vom Tage ( Paul Hindemith -1929). As well as her appearances in works like these, Kalter was a sought after concert singer, performing in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, and a return to Austria to star at the Vienna State Opera in 1924.

 

In 1919 she married Max Aufrichtig, with whom she had two children, Kurt H Aufrichtig and Renata Berta Aufrichtig, born while the family were living in Hamburg. Despite her huge success, the Jewish Sabine was deemed persona non grata and the family left Hamburg for London where, soon after, they changed their name from Aufrichtig to Andrews. Kalter received renewed success in her adopted city, appearing at Covent Garden, where co-performers included Kirsten Flagstad, Lauritz Melchior, Herbert Janssen and Emmanuel List. She retired from taking part in operas in 1939, becoming a singing teacher and devoting her personal appearances to concerts and recitals. In 1941 she took part in a special appearance at the National Gallery with selections by Franz Schubert, Hugo Wolf and Johannes Brahms. She returned to Hamburg in 1950 to perform her final concert. Sabine died, in London, on 1 September 1957.

 

 

Lebendige Vergangenheit

Preiser Records 89533  

Release date: 26 June 2001

 

 

1. La Juive: Il va venir (Jacques Halévy) - 2/9/1925 
2. Rienzi: Gerechter Gott! (Richard Wagner) - 2/9/1925 

3. Il Trovatore: Excerpt(s) (Giuseppe Verdi) - 5/5/1926 

4. ll Trovatore: Ai nostri monti (Giuseppe Verdi) - 30/4/1923
5. Aida: Duet(s) (Giuseppe Verdi) - 20/4/1923 

6. Le Prophète: Ah,mon fils! (Giacomo Meyerbeer) - 23/5/1923 

7. Le Prophète: O prêtres de Baal (Giacomo Meyerbeer) - 23/5/1923
8. L'Africaine: Aria(s) (Giacomo Meyerbeer) - 13/4/1923 

9. Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Printemps, qui commence (Camille Saint-Saëns) - 10/10/1924 

10. Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Amour, viens aider ma faiblesse (Camille Saint-Saëns) -

      2/9/1925

11. Samson et Dalila, Op. 47: Mon coeur s'ouvre à ta voix (Camille Saint-Saëns) -

       10/10/1924

12. Carmen: En vain pour éviter les réponses amères "Card Aria" (Georges Bizet) -

       13/3/1925

13. Hérodiade: Il est doux, il est bon (Jules Massenet) - 13/3/1925 
14. Wesendonck Lieder: no 4, Schmerzen (Richard Wagner) - 12/12/1924

15. Wesendonck Lieder: no 5, Träume (Richard Wagner) - 12/12/1924

16. Songs (5), Op. 105: no 2, Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer (Johannes Brahms) -

      23/6/1936 

17. Lieder (8), Op. 10: no 8, Allerseelen (Richard Strauss) - 23/6/1936

 

Tristan and Isolde

VAI Audio 1004-3

Kirsten F1agstad, Lauritz Melchior, Sabine Kalter , Herbert Janssen

 

Tristan and Isolde       

Naxos 8.110068/70

Kirsten F1agstad, Lauritz Melchior, Sabine Kalter , Herbert Janssen      

 

The Bartered Bride

Standing Room Only 830

Heinrich Tessmer, Mary Jarred, Sabine Kalter, Richard Tauber,

 

Der Junge Richard Tauber 

Preiser Records 89219

(Early solo recordings and operatic duets)

The above CD releases contain  live performances at Covent Garden recorded on 18 May and 2 June 1936. With the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Fritz Reiner

Recorded live at Covent Garden on 1  May 1939 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham

Features the duets from Aida: Ich Lieb' Ihn Ja Noch Immer and Was Hab' Ich Leiden Mussen 

 

 

Poster published in 1937 to advertise a Vocal Recital by 

Sabine Kalter being held at the YMCA Hall, Jerusalem 

on Wednesday 5th May 1937 at 8.30 p.m. Accompanying 

Miss Kalter was pianist Michael Taube. The event was 

billed as "Under the Management of the Palestine Orchestra". 

The programme included selections by Mendelssohn, Schibert, 

Schumann, Brahms, Saint-Saëns and Verdi.

 

 

 

   

 

Other Sabine Kalter Links

Family website devoted to the Kalter Family

www.kalter.org

The Sbito-Cantabile site for a biography, discography and pictures

http://www.cantabile-subito.de/Contraltos/Kalter__Sabine/hauptteil_kalter__sabine.html

 

 

Breslau-Hamburg Aufrichtigs Home Page

 

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