I knew of Margarete Klose from a famous recording of Tristan und Isolde from the late 1930s. Klose was a very famous mezzo during the 30s and 40s. When I listened to her again, I was struck by how good a musician she was. Her voice is well produced and very expressive. I seem to write that all the time, but if I didn’t think that were the case, then I wouldn’t post anything about her!
What really stands out to me is her legato, that is, the connecting of sound to sound so that vocal movements sound even and smooth. Good legato is very hard to do, and Klose had very good legato. I hope that you enjoy this.
There is something strange about this version of “Ombra mai fu”. Klose sings an extra stanza. I can find no version of the aria with this extra stanza, and so I think that she used an arrangement where the extra stanza existed.
Händel, Xerxes, “Ombra mai fù”
Frondi tenere e belle
del mio platano amato
per voi risplenda il fato.
Tuoni, lampi, e procelle
non v’oltraggino mai la cara pace,
nè giunga a profanarvi austro rapace.
Ombra mai fù
Di vegetabile,
Cara ed amabile
Soave più
Handel, Xerxes, “Never was a shade” (also known as Handel’s Largo)
Tender and beautiful fronds
of my beloved plane tree,
let Fate smile upon you.
May thunder, lightning, and storms
never disturb your dear peace,
nor may you by blowing winds be profaned.
Never was a shade
of any plant
dearer and more lovely,
or more sweet.
As is usually the case when I try to do these triple translations, something gets lost. The original lyrics are in Italian (Che farò senza Euridice). This aria is frequently sung in French also. The French is close to the Italian. However, the German doesn’t exactly match the Italian, so I am giving up and giving just the English translation.
Ach, ich habe sie verloren,
all mein Glück ist nun dahin!
Wär, o wär ich nie geboren,
weh, dass ich auf Erden bin!
Euridike, gib Antwort
o vernimm mich!
O hör’ meine Stimme,
die dich ruft zurück!
Ach, vergebens!
Ruh und Hoffnung,
Trost des Lebens
ist nun nirgends
mehr für mich.
What shall I do without Euridice,
Where shall I go without my beloved,
Where shall I do, What shall I do,
What shall I do without my beloved?
Where shall I go without my belove?
Euridice!
Euridice!
Oh, God, answer . . . answer
I am surely ever faithful to you!
I am surely ever faithful to you!
Ever faithful to you!
Oh, I cannot go on,
No longer help, no longer hope,
Neither from the world nor from the heavens.
I have the same translation problem with this next aria. It is from Alceste by Gluck. This opera was originally written in Italian and then translated into French. It is usually the French version that is done today, but Klose sings it in German. I have given the original French and an English translation. In this case, I have not been able to find a translation into German.
Gluck, Alceste “Divinités du styx”
Divinités du Styx,
Ministres de la mort,
Je n’évoquerai point
Votre pitié cruelle.
J’enlève un tendre époux
À son funeste sort,
Mais je vous abandonne
Une épouse fidèle.
Divinités du Styx,
Ministres de la mort,
Mourir pour ce qu’on aime,
Est un trop doux effort,
Une vertu si naturelle,
Je vais où mon amour m’appelle,
Mon coeur est animé
Du plus noble transport.
Divinités du styx
Ministres de la mort,
Je n’évoquerai point
Votre pitié cruelle.
Gluck, Alceste, “Gods if the river styx”
Gods of the River Styx,
Ministers of death,
I shall not invoke,
Your cruel mercy.
I rescue a dear husband,
From his funeral pyre,
But I forsake to you,
That same faithful husband.
Gods of the river styx,
Ministers of death,
Dying for what we love,
Is no real sacrifice,
But it is a naturel virtue –
My heart is awakening,
For its noble journey.
Gods of the river styx,
Ministers of death,
I shall not invoke,
Your cruel mercy.
Margarete Klose
August 6, 1902 – December 14, 1968
Klose, a native of Berlin, lost her father early in life and had to earn her living as a secretary, until a colleague recommended her to the Klindworth-Scharwenka conservatory, where she got a thorough musical education.
Klose made her début in 1926 at Ulm theatre in a supporting role of Emmerich Kalman’s operetta Countess Maritza. Her next role was Azucena in Giuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore. For the next three years Klose sang in Ulm and Kassel, before joining the Nationaltheater Mannheim in 1929.
In 1932 Klose went back to Berlin where she was engaged alternately at Berlin State Opera (1932 to 1949 and 1955 to 1961) and Deutsche Oper Berlin (1949 to 1958).
In addition, she was a celebrated guest e. g. at Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala in Milan, Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden, Nationaltheater München, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, La Monnaie in Brussels, in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
From 1936 to 1942 Klose regularly sang at the Bayreuth Festival every summer, where she became popular especially in the role of Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde. She also sang at the Richard Wagner-Festival in Sopot (1935) and the Salzburg Festival (1949 and 1955).
When in 1946 the great Wagner soprano Frida Leider gave her farewell concert in Berlin, Klose was her partner on stage.
In 1961 Margarete Klose retired from the stage and concentrated fully on her teaching activities. In the summer she regularly gave master classes at the Salzburg Mozarteum.
In 1968 she died suddenly at the age of 66.