Ortrun Wenkel [SEP] voice type
Ortrun Wenkel
Ortrun Wenkel (born 25 October 1942) is a German operatic contralto. She notably portrayed the role of Erda in the Bayreuth "Jahrhundertring" ("Centenary Ring") in 1976 and was awarded a Grammy Award as a Principal Soloist in 1983.
Career.
Wenkel was born in Buttstädt, Thuringia. She started her studies at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. Following her emigration from East Germany to West Germany, she continued at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Paul
Frank Martin's "Weise von Liebe und Tod des Cornets Christoph Rilke", and sang several songs by Othmar Schoeck for the first time. Cavelti was an influential academic voice teacher. From 1970, she taught at the Musikhochschule Frankfurt and later in Basel. Among her students are Claudia Eder, Eva Lind, Gabriele Schnaut, Ortrun Wenkel and Ruth Ziesak. She died in Basel.
External links.
- Cavelti, Elsa / mezzosoprano Operissimo