Ruth Hesse was first invited to the Bayreuth Festival in 1960, where she performed until 1979.
14 Facts About Ruth Hesse
1.
2.
Ruth Hesse performed there regularly to 1988, and was appointed an Austrian Kammersangerin in 1982.
3.
Ruth Hesse's voice was described as of a wide range, dark timbre and capable of dramatic expression.
4.
Ruth Hesse made her debut in 1958 at the Theater Lubeck as Orpheus in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice, and remained there until 1960.
5.
From 1962 to 1995, Ruth Hesse was engaged by the Deutsche Oper Berlin, where she learned a broad repertoire.
6.
Ruth Hesse took part in the world premiere of Henze's Der junge Lord on 7 April 1965, singing the role of Frau von Hufnagel.
7.
Ruth Hesse made her Royal Opera House debut in 1969 as the Nurse in Richard Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten.
8.
Ruth Hesse performed at the Festival the following year as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal, alternating with Regine Crespin.
9.
Ruth Hesse gave guest performances at the Grand Theatre de Bordeaux, Opera de Marseille, Theatre du Capitole in Toulouse, Choregies d'Orange and Grand Theatre de Geneve, Theatre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels, De Nationale Opera in Amsterdam, Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow.
10.
Ruth Hesse performed in several Italian opera houses, including the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Regio di Torino and La Fenice in Venice.
11.
Ruth Hesse was a regular guest at the Vienna State Opera from 1965 to 1988, where she appeared as Herodias, the Nurse, Ortrud, Brangane, Magdalene, Fricka and Waltraute, Eboli, as well as Amneris in Verdi's Aida, Azucena in his Il trovatore, Maddalena in his Rigoletto and Preziosilla in his La forza del destino, Giulietta in Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann and Burija in Janacek's Jenufa.
12.
Ruth Hesse performed in concert, including a performance of Salome at Carnegie Hall in New York in 1975.
13.
In 1970, Ruth Hesse portrayed Gertrud in a TV film of Hansel und Gretel.
14.
Ruth Hesse died there on 13 July 2024, at the age of 87.