Sopranos

Margarete Bäumer

Margarete BäumerOne of Germany`s most successful and constant Wagnerian heroines and for a long time Leipzig`s leading dramatic soprano was Margarete Bäumer. Born on May 25th 1898 in Düsseldorf, she began to show her interest in music and theater at a very early age. After having studied in Düsseldorf and Cologne she made her first operatic appearance at the age of 22 at the Opera House of Barmen-Elberfeld. The singer accepted an offer from Düsseldorf`s Opera House in 1923 but went to Zurich only one year later. From 1925 to 1928 the soprano appeared in Stuttgart until Bruno Walter and Heinz Tietjen invited her to Berlin`s Städtische Oper where she shared the dramatic soprano repertoire with Helene Wildbrunn. Guest performances in Barcelona, Prague, Geneva, Paris, Copenhagen, Riga and Amsterdam were to follow.

In 1930 the artist became a member of the German Grand Opera Society in New York and consequently was heard on all major North American stages. Returning to Germany in 1931 Bäumer accepted an offer from the Opera House of Nürnberg and sang during the following season in Mannheim.

At the festival in Leipzig on the occasion of Richard Wagner`s 50th day of death the singer was heard as Kundry. As a result of this highly convincing performance Bäumer was to remain Leipzig`s leading dramatic soprano for over two decades until 1953. Even after that she made guest appearances on various stages and at the age of 65 Bäumer still could be heard as Brünnhilde in “Götterdämmerung”. Apart from that she had been teaching at Leipzig`s Music Academy from 1953 on. In 1959 she was appointed Honorary Member of Leipzig`s Opera House. In 1969 Margarete Bäumer retired to her house at Ammersee where she died shortly after in December 1969.