Sigrid Onégin (Contralto)

Born: June 1, 1889 - Stockholm, Sweden
Died: June 16, 1943 - Magliaso, Switzerland

The noted German contralto, Sigrid (Elisabeth EIfriede Emilie) Onégin (née Hoffmann), was born in Stockholm to a German father and a French mother. She studied in Frankfurt am Main with Resz, in Munich with E.R. Weiss, and with di Ranieri in Milan.

Sigrid Onégin e made her first public appearance, under the name Lilly Hoffmann, in Wiesbaden, in September 1911, in a recital, accompanied by the Russian pianist and composer Eugene Onégin. She married him in May 1913. After his death, she married a German doctor, Fritz Penzoldt in November 1920. She made her fIrst operatic appearance as Carmen in Stuttgart in October 1912. She made her first appearance in London in 1913, and was a member of the Bavarian State Opera in Munich from 1919 to 1922. In November 1922, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in New York as Amneris, continuing on its roster until 1924. She subsequently sang in Berlin (1926-31), at London's Covent Garden (1927), the Salzburg Festivals (1931-1932), in Zürich (1931-1935), and at the Bayreuth Festivals (1933-1934). She made her last appearances in the USA as a recitalist in 1938.

Among her most distinguished roles were Gluck's Orfeo, Eboli, Fidès, Erda, Lady Macbeth, Fricka, Waltraute, and Brangäne.

Source: Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20^th Century Classical Musicians (1997)
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (April 2002)

Recordings of Bach Cantatas & Other Vocal Works

Conductor

As

Works

Under her name

Alto

Aria from BWV 244

Links to other Sites

Onégin, Sifrid (Cantabile-Subito)