Gundula Janowitz

Janowitz’s tone of voice was thought to be perhaps one of the most beautiful of its period, with a full timbre that was perfect for the greater poetic and serene operatic assignments, like the Countess in Le nozze di Figaro, and especially Strauss heroines like the Countess in Capriccio, Ariadne, Arabella, as well as the Marschallin. She was also famous on her behalf Verdi, especially Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Amelia in Simon Boccanegra, and Aida. Some critics discovered her performances without flamboyance, contacting her tepid, but others discovered them elegantly underestated, counting on the music as well as the line instead of histrionics. She examined voice on the Graz Conservatory, earning a competition to create her opera debut in 1960 as Barbarina in Nozze on the Vienna Condition Opera and starting a lifelong association with this house. Later on that yr, she produced her Bayreuth Event debut like a flowermaiden in Parsifal. She started to sing qualified prospects in the VSO, including, at Herbert von Karajan’s urging, the Empress in Strauss’ Die Frau ohne Schatten, at age 27. (Karajan got a habit of urging performers into weighty repertoire, often with their detriment; nevertheless, her good technique and extreme caution kept her tone of voice from struggling.) Her Glyndebourne debut arrived in 1964, as Ilia in Mozart’s Idomeneo (with a fresh youthful Italian tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, performing Idamante). She produced her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1967 as Sieglinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre. Her Covent Backyard debut had not been until 1976, as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni. Throughout her profession, she was as involved with concerts and recitals much like operatic performances, getting especially acclaimed on her behalf renditions of Strauss’ Four Last Tracks. She retired through the stage in 1990, though she still offered the casual concert.