Eva von der Osten
Encyclopedia
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
. She was born in Helgoland, the daughter of actor Emil von der Osten (1847-1905) and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt (1850-1911).
Von der Osten debuted in 1902 at the Dresdner Hofoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
and performed there regularly until the end of her career. She was a favorite of the Dresden opera-going public and sang many of the most important roles of the soprano repertory. Von der Osten also was active as an opera director and served in that capacity for the premiere performance of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
’s Arabella
Arabella
Arabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater....
. She created the role of Octavian in Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
.
Von der Osten’s career led to guest appearances in many of Europe’s leading opera houses. From 1923 to 1924, she found great success in the female roles of Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
—particularly that of Isolde in Tristan und Isolde—while touring with director Leo Blech
Leo Blech
Leo Blech was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus Leo Blech (21 April 1871 – 25 August 1958) was a German opera composer and conductor who is perhaps most famous for his work at the Königliches Schauspielhaus Leo...
’s “German Opera Company” in North America. When she retired in 1927 after a 25-year career, Von der Osten had made over 2500 operatic appearances.
She was married to the baritone
Baritone
Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
Friedrich Plaschke
Friedrich Plaschke
Friedrich Plaschke was a Czech operatic bass-baritone. From 1900 to 1937 he was a member of the Dresden Hofoper. He also appeared as a guest artist with companies in the United States, the Bayreuth Festival, and at the Royal Opera House in London....
(1874-1952) and thus used the name Eva Plaschke-von der Osten”.
Von der Osten died in 1936 at her estate at Talmühlenstraße 49 in Kurort Hartha (today: Tharandt
Tharandt
Tharandt is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, 9 miles southwest of Dresden, on the Dresden-Reichenbach railway.It has a Protestant Church, a hydropathic establishment, and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded by Heinrich Cotta in 1811 together with its...
). She is buried in the Johannisfriedhof cemetery in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
-Tolkewitz beside her sister, the singer Vali von der Osten
Vali von der Osten
Vali von der Osten was a German soprano. She was the daughter of actor Emil von der Osten and Rosa von der Osten-Hildebrandt ....
. Her nephew, Wolfgang Windgassen
Wolfgang Windgassen
Wolfgang Windgassen was a tenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas.-Life and career:...
, was a heldentenor held in similar stature.
Literature
- André Kaiser: Berühmte Persönlichkeiten aus der Ortschaft Kurort Hartha: Eva von der Osten (1884 – 1936) – eine Dresdner Opernsängerin von Weltruf, in Rund um den Tharandter Wald - Amtsblatt der Stadt Tharandt, März 2009, page 27f.
External links
- Photo of Eva von der Osten in Der Dämon by Anton Rubinstein.
- http://www.deutschefotothek.de/obj32025112.html#|homePhoto of Eva von der Osten als Sieglinde in Die WalküreDie WalküreDie Walküre , WWV 86B, is the second of the four operas that form the cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner...
by Richard Wagner.] - http://www.frauenwiki.de/index.php/Eva_von_der_Osten (‘’’in German’’’)