Margaret Ritchie
Encyclopedia
Margaret Ritchie was an English soprano
who sang opera, oratorio and song. She created a number of operatic roles. In 1946 she was the first Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin Britten
, and in 1947 she was the first Miss Wordsworth in the same composer's Albert Herring
.
She was one of four singers, together with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
, Oda Slobodskaya
and Tatiana Makushina, to record a selection of Nikolai Medtner
's songs accompanied by the composer: theirs was the premier recording of the Sonata-Vocalise op. 41 no. 1, which is introduced by a setting of the poem "Geweihter Platz" by Goethe.
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...
who sang opera, oratorio and song. She created a number of operatic roles. In 1946 she was the first Lucia in The Rape of Lucretia by Benjamin Britten
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He showed talent from an early age, and first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy Was Born in 1934. With the premiere of his opera Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to...
, and in 1947 she was the first Miss Wordsworth in the same composer's Albert Herring
Albert Herring
Albert Herring, Op. 39, is a chamber opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten.Composed in the winter of 1946 and the spring of 1947, this comic opera was a successor to his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia...
.
She was one of four singers, together with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, DBE was a German-born Austrian/British soprano opera singer and recitalist. She was among the most renowned opera singers of the 20th century, much admired for her performances of Mozart, Schubert, Strauss, and Wolf.-Early life:Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike...
, Oda Slobodskaya
Oda Slobodskaya
Oda Slobodskaya 1888 - 1970 was a Russian born soprano who later became a British citizen.Her biographer, Maurice Leonard quotes Slobodskaya as having been born on 28 November 1888 in Vilno near the Polish border...
and Tatiana Makushina, to record a selection of Nikolai Medtner
Nikolai Medtner
Nikolai Karlovich Medtner was a Russian composer and pianist.A younger contemporary of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin, he wrote a substantial number of compositions, all of which include the piano...
's songs accompanied by the composer: theirs was the premier recording of the Sonata-Vocalise op. 41 no. 1, which is introduced by a setting of the poem "Geweihter Platz" by Goethe.