Mödl, Martha

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Mödl, Martha (b Nuremberg, 1912; d Stuttgart, 2001). Ger. soprano, originally mezzo-soprano. Opera début Remscheid 1942 (Hänsel). Düsseldorf Opera 1945–9 as mez., Hamburg Opera 1949–55, also Vienna State Opera. CG 1949–50 and 1953; NY Met début 1957 Sang as dramatic sop. from 1950; Bayreuth 1951 (Kundry in Parsifal), singing other roles incl. Brünnhilde and Isolde until 1967. Salzburg Fest. début 1964. Sang in premières of Reimann's Melusine (Schwetzingen 1971) and Die Gespenstersonate (Berlin 1984), Fortner's Elisabeth Tudor (Berlin 1972), Einem's Kabale und Liebe (Vienna 1976), and Cerha's Baal (Salzburg 1981). Sang the Countess in Queen of Spades in Vienna at the age of 80.