Gwendolyn Killebrew was an American operatic contralto and mezzo-soprano who worked in Germany and internationally, including the Metropolitan Opera and the Bayreuth Festival.
22 Facts About Gwendolyn Killebrew
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Gwendolyn Killebrew performed in the 1971 world premiere of Ginastera's Beatrix Cenci for the opening of the new opera house of Kennedy Center in Washington, DC Gwendolyn Killebrew was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1976 to 2006, where she took part in the world premiere of Klebe's Gervaise Macquart, and performed in other contemporary operas.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew studied piano and horn at Temple University in Philadelphia, receiving a bachelor's degree in music education in 1963, and worked as a music teacher and music therapist.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew studied voice at the Juilliard School in New York with Hans Heinz and Christopher West.
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In 1965 Gwendolyn Killebrew participated in the Aspen Music Festival and School, appearing in the role of the Mother in Stravinsky's Mavra.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew won a competition in Belgium in 1966 and was a winner in the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions that year.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew was engaged at the Metropolitan Opera in 1967, and made her debut as Waltraute in Wagner's Die Walkure in a new production conducted and directed by Herbert von Karajan, with Birgit Nilsson in the title role, Thomas Stewart as Wotan, Jon Vickers as Siegmund, Gundula Janowitz as Sieglinde, Karl Ridderbusch as Hunding and Christa Ludwig as Fricka.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as a guest at the San Francisco Opera, with the Opera Company of Boston and at La Monnaie in Brussels.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as Amneris in Verdi's Aida at the Salzburg Easter Festival from 1972.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew participated in the world premiere of Orff's De temporum fine comoedia at the 1973 Salzburg Festival.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew was Carmen again at the Santa Fe Opera in 1975, and at the Met in 1979.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew was a member of the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1976 to 2006, and continued to perform there as a guest after that date.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew's voice covered a wide range from contralto to mezzo-soprano.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared there as Isabella in Rossini's L'italiana in Algeri, and as Verdi's Maddalena in Rigoletto and Azucena in Il trovatore.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew performed in Monteverdi operas, as Ericlea in Il ritorno d'Ulisse in patria in 2003, and as Nutrice in L'incoronazione di Poppea in 2004.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew was named Kammersangerin by the Deutsche Oper am Rhein in 1988.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew was named an honorary member of the house in 2011.
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From 1978, Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared at the Bayreuth Festival, performing roles in the Jahrhundertring, the centenary performance of Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen staged by Patrice Chereau.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as Schwertleite in Die Walkure and as Waltraute in Gotterdammerung, in the version filmed in 1980.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew appeared as Fricka in the Ring cycle at the Opera de Monte-Carlo in 1979.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew performed the role of Waldtaube in Schonberg's Gurre-Lieder at the Proms in 1981, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and choirs conducted by Michael Gielen, and alongside Philip Langridge, John Tomlinson, Gunther Reich, Jessye Norman, and Wolfgang Neumann.
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Gwendolyn Killebrew recorded in 1970 the title role of Handel's Tamerlano in Copenhagen, with conductor John Moriarty.