This was a great voice. Wilma Lipp started out as a coloratura soprano, and, as she got older, she added heavier roles. She was an Austrian operatic soprano and voice teacher known for her brilliant coloratura voice and her celebrated performances as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Her pitches were extremely accurate, which is not easy in a lot of coloratura.
Later in life, Lipp became an influential professor of voice at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She is remembered for her Mozart interpretations, her disciplined artistry, and her lasting influence on twentieth-century operatic singing.
In 1943 she made her operatic debut in Vienna as Rosina, and then was a member of the Vienna State Opera from 1945. In 1953 she sang the Queen of the Night at her debut at the Paris Opéra. She appeared at the Glyndebourne Festival for the first time in 1957 as Constanze. Her USA debut followed in 1962 as Nannetta in Falstaff at the San Francisco Opera.
In 1982 Wilma Lipp became professor of voice at the Salzburg Mozarteum. She was honoured as an Austrian Kammersängerin. Lipp was equally adept inn coloratura and lyric roles, ranging from the operas of W.A. Mozart to Richard Strauss.
Brahms, “”Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit”, Ein deutsches Requiem, Op. 45
Ihr habt nun Traurigkeit;
aber ich will euch wiedersehen
und euer Herz soll sich freuen
und eure Freude soll niemand von euch nehmen.
Ich will euch trösten,
wie Einen seine Mutter tröstet.
Sehet mich an:
Ich habe eine kleine Zeit
Mühe und Arbeit gehabt
und habe großen Trost funden.
Brahms, “And ye now therefore have sorrow”, A German Requiem, Op. 45
And ye now therefore have sorrow;
but I will see you again,
and your heart shall rejoice,
and your joy no man taketh from you.
As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will I comfort you.
Ye see
how for a little while I labor and toil,
yet have I found much rest.
Mozart, Vesperae solennes de Confessore, K 339
Laudate Dominum omnes gentes
Laudate eum, omnes populi
Quoniam confirmata est
Super nos misericordia eius
Et veritas, veritas Domini manet, manet in aeternum
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Mozart, Solemn Vespers of the Confessor, K. 339
Praise the Lord, all you nations
Praise him, all you peoples
For his mercy has been confirmed upon us
And the truth, the truth of the Lord endures, endures forever
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen
Mozart, “Et incarnatus est”, Great Mass in C minor, K. 427
Et incarnatus est de Spiritu Sancto,
ex Maria Virgine:
et homo factus est.
Mozart, “And was incarnate”, Great Mass in C Minor, K 427
And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost
of the Virgin Mary,
and was made man.
Mozart, “Martern aller Arten”, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, K. 384
KONSTANZE
Martern aller Arten
Mögen meiner warten,
Ich verlache Qual und Pein.
Nichts soll mich erschüttern,
Nur dann würd’ ich zittern,
Wenn ich untreu könnte seyn.
Lass dich bewegen,
Verschone mich!
Des Himmels Segen
Belohne dich!
Doch du bist entschlossen.
Willig, unverdrossen
Wähl’ ich jede Pein und Noth.
Ordne nur, gebiethe,
Lärme, tobe, wüthe,
Zuletzt befreyt mich doch der Tod.
geht ab
Mozart, “Tortures of every kind”, The Abduction from the Seraglio, K384
CONSTANZA
Tortures of every kind
May await me,
I scorn agony and pain.
Nothing will shake me,
Only one thing might make me tremble:
If I were to be unfaithful.
I implore you,
Spare me!
The blessings of heaven
Shall be your reward.
But you are determined.
Willingly, unflinchingly
I choose every pain and grief.
Well then, command, coerce me,
Roar, fulminate, rage,
Death will liberate me in the end.
exit
Wilma Lipp
April 26, 1925 – January 26, 2019
Wilma Lipp was a soprano, particularly associated with Mozart roles, especially Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio) and Der Königin der Nacht (the Queen of the Night) in Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute).
She had a pure, supple high-soprano voice with an accurate coloratura technique. Her career, which began in soubrette and high coloratura roles, later progressed to more lyrical ones such as Ilia, Countess Almaviva, Pamina, Eva, Musetta, Martha, Violetta, etc.
She studied in Vienna with Anne Bahr-Mildenburg and Alfred Jerger, and also with Toti dal Monte in Milan. She made her debut in Vienna as Rosina in 1943 and joined the Vienna State Opera in 1945. She won considerable fame as the Queen of the Night, which she sang at La Scala in Milan, as well as in Paris, Hamburg, the Salzburg Festival, Brussels and at the Paris Opéra. This role was followed by those of Mozart’s Konstanze, Zerbinetta, Adele, Martha, Olympia, Oscar and Lucia, which she also sang with great success in Naples.
From the middle of the 1950s she changed her repertoire more to lyrical roles such as Eva, Countess Almaviva, Elvira, Ilia, Marguerite, Nedda, Rosalinde and many more. She made her United States debut as Nanetta at the San Francisco Opera, in 1962. The same year she performed as Pamina with Herbert von Karajan at the re-opening at Theater an der Wien as a festival theatre. Wilma Lipp said that her years at this theater were the “most happy” years of her life, because the acoustic was perfect for her as a young singer.
She performed for nearly 40 years on stage, at the Vienna State Opera (including the years 1945-55 at Theater an der Wien), around 1,500 evenings. Her most sung role was Der Königin der Nacht (the Queen of the Night), with about 400 performances. She performed in most international opera houses, concert halls and festivals. In June 1981 she gave her farewell as Marianne Leitmetzerin in Vienna and Salzburg with Herbert von Karajan.
From the mid-1970s she taught at the Mozarteum in Vienna. She retired later and lived with her husband in Bavaria.