Gabriele May (Mezzo-soprano)

Born: Saarbrücken, Germany

The German mezzo-soprano, Gabriele May, first studied church music and then singing at the Musikhochschule in Saarbrücken with Professor Rosemarie Bühler-Frey. She developed her Lieder repertoire with Barbara Schlick and Irwin Gage.

Already during her studies, Gabriele May was engaged by Siegfried Matthus in the Kammeroper Rheinsberg, where she sang in 1997 in E.T.A. Hofmann's Undine die Fischersfrau. This was followed by the voice Cornet in the award-winning production of Matthus' Cornet the 3^rd Lady in Zauberflöte, conducted by George Tabori in Berlin. After graduating in 1999, she was engaged for a season at the Opera Studio in Strasbourg. As a guest, she sang the Marzelline in Le Nozze di Figaro at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken in 2001 and Kaiserslautern, the Witch and Mother in Engelbert Humperdinck's Hänsel und Gretel, and Berta in Rossini's Barber of Seville in Kaiserslautern (2002).

Gabriele May made her debut at the Oper Frankfurt in May 2001 with the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel, where she has also has sung Moglie in Luciano Berio's Un re in ascolto (2002) and Mrs. Sedley in Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes (2002 and 2003). She sang her first Brangäne in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde in 2003 in Meiningen. In 2004-2005 she performed this role in Mannheim. In October 2003 she was a finalist at the International Wagner Singing Competition in Bayreuth, where she impressed with Kundry and Fricka. In 2005 season of 2005, she appeared as Erda, 1^st Norne and Sigrune at the Nürnberger Staatstheater.

The collaboration with the "Ensemble Modern" and "Zeitgenössischen Oper" documents her musical spectrum. Various concerts and recitals complete the picture.

Source: Konzertdirektion Fritz Dietrich Website, English translation by Aryeh Oron (March 2009)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (March 2009)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Helmut Haag

Alto

BWV 21, BWV 93

Links to other Sites

Gabriele May - Mezzosopran (Konzertdirektion Fritz Dietrich) [German]