Above: Sigrid Kehl as Ariadne
Every once in a while, I discover a voice I’d never heard before; even rarer is to come upon a singer I’d never heard of. It happened recently with Sigrid Kehl.
Born in Berlin in 1929, Ms. Kehl made her operatic debut in her native city in 1956. In 1957, she joined the opera company at Leipzig where she sang for many years. She sang mezzo roles like Amneris, Eboli, Venus, Brangaene, Octavian, Gluck’s Orfeo, and the Nurse in Strauss’s FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN. In 1970, she started taking on such soprano roles as Leonore in FIDELIO, Ariadne, Isolde, and Kundry.
As the years passed, Ms. Kehl moved between mezzo – adding Venus and Ortrud – and soprano parts, including an Elektra when she stepped in at short notice for an ailing colleague. She worked with such conductors as Otmar Suitner, Vaclav Neumann, Zubin Mehta, and Kurt Masur.
After retiring from the stage, she taught at the Leipzing Conservatory for many years. She passed away in 2024 at the age of 95.
I first heard the Kehl voice singing Brunnhilde’s “Ewig war ich” from SIEGFRIED, conducted by Wolf-Dieter Hauschild. Listen here.
Oberon's Glade 