Albums by Waltraud Meier
ALBUMStrauss & Schubert: Lieder RecitalJoseph Breinl & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMWagner: Die WalküreZubin Mehta, Bavarian State Orchestra & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMMahler: OrchesterliederBavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lorin Maazel & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMWaltraud Meier: LiederWaltraud Meier & Gerhard Oppitz
ALBUMBerg: Wozzeck, Op. 7Franz Grundheber, Daniel Barenboim, Staatskapelle Berlin & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMWagner: Tristan und IsoldeBerlin Philharmonic, Chor der Berliner Staatsoper, Daniel Barenboim, Falk Struckmann, Johan Botha, Marjana Lipovek, Matti Salminen, Peter Maus, Roman Trekel, Siegfried Jerusalem, Uwe Heilmann & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMMozart: Don GiovanniBerlin Philharmonic, Daniel Barenboim, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Joan Rodgers, Sir John Tomlinson, Lella Cuberli, Matti Salminen, Michele Pertusi, RIAS Kammerchor, Uwe Heilmann & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMStrauss: ElektraAlessandra Marc, Daniel Barenboim, Deborah Polaski, Johan Botha, Staatskapelle Berlin & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMWagner: Tannhäuser - ExcerptsDame Kiri Te Kanawa, Håkan Hagegård, Marek Janowski, Philharmonia Orchestra, René Kollo, The Ambrosian Singers & Waltraud Meier
ALBUMSaint-Saëns: Samson et Dalila, Op. 47Myung-Whun Chung, Waltraud Meier, Paris Opera Orchestra & Plácido Domingo
Waltraud Meier's Popular Music Videos
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": IVb. O Freunde, nicht diese Töne! . Freude, schöner Götterfunken (Live from Philharmonie Berlin / 2006)
Angela Denoke, Waltraud Meier, Burkhard Fritz, René Pape, Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 "Choral": IVd. Seid umschlungen, Millionen / Freude, schöner Götterfunken (Live from Philharmonie Berlin / 2006)
Angela Denoke, Waltraud Meier, Burkhard Fritz, René Pape, Chor der Deutschen Staatsoper Berlin, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
Tristan und Isolde, WWV 90, Act III: Mild und leise wie er lächelt (Live from Philharmonie Berlin / 2006)
Waltraud Meier, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra & Daniel Barenboim
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 1: "Mein Herr und Gott, nun ruf' ich dich" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier, Piotr Beczala, Tomasz Konieczny, Egils Silins, Georg Zeppenfeld, Festspiel-Chor Bayreuth, Eberhard Friedrich, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 1: "Durch Gottes Sieg ist jetzt dein Leben mein" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier, Piotr Beczala, Tomasz Konieczny, Georg Zeppenfeld, Festspiel-Chor Bayreuth, Eberhard Friedrich, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 3: "Fahr heim, du stolzer Helde!" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier, Piotr Beczala, Georg Zeppenfeld, Festspiel-Chor Bayreuth, Eberhard Friedrich, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 2: "Euch Lüften, die mein Klagen" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier, Tomasz Konieczny, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 2: "Du wilde Seherin" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Waltraud Meier, Tomasz Konieczny, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 2: "Elsa!" - "Wer ruft?" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Anja Harteros, Waltraud Meier, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Lohengrin, WWV 75, Act 2: "Erhebe dich, Genossin meiner Schmach!" (Live at Bayreuther Festspiele / 2018)
Waltraud Meier, Tomasz Konieczny, Festspiel-Orchester Bayreuth & Christian Thielemann
Artist Biography
Though she has achieved much acclaim for her Wagnerian roles -- and rightly so, mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier possesses a vast repertory -- not to mention a consummate skill -- in Italian, French, and even Russian opera, from Bizet's Carmen and Tchaikovsky's Jeanne d'Arc to Verdi's Azucena (Il Trovatore) and Saint-Saëns' Dalila (Samson and Dalila). She has also sung a fair number of soprano roles, including Wagner's Isolde and Mascagni's Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana). Among other Wagner roles she has interpreted with distinction are Kundry (Parsifal), Waltraute (Götterdämmerung), Sieglinde and Fricka (Die Walküre), Venus (Tannhäuser), and Otrud (Lohengrin). But Meier's repertory extends to concert work and the recital hall, as well, taking in lieder of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, and Richard Strauss; the Requiems of Verdi and Mozart; Beethoven's Missa Solemnis; Mahler's Symphonies No. 2 and No. 8 and Das Lied von der Erde; and much else. She has appeared on numerous CDs and DVDs, many of which are available on DG, EMI, Erato, Sony, Virgin Classics, Warner Classics, Teldec, OpusArte, and Unitel.
Waltraud Meier was born in Würzburg, Germany, on January 9, 1956. She sang in numerous choruses as a child and teen. Her initial studies were in English and Romance languages, but she also took voice lessons privately with Dietger Jacob in Cologne.
In 1976 she debuted at the Würzburg Opera singing Lola in Cavalleria. From 1976-1978 she was a member of the Mannheim Opera, where she sang many roles.
1980 was a pivotal year for Meier: she made her international debut as Fricka in Buenos Aires at the famed Teatro Colon, and she was also taken on as a member of the Dortmund Opera, serving until 1983.
Meier's 1983 Bayreuth debut as Kundry was a sensation, catapulting her to international renown. She sang at Hanover for a season (1983-1984) and at Stuttgart for three (1985-1988). Meanwhile, she made a string of important debuts: Covent Garden (1984) as Princess Eboli (Verdi's Don Carlos); the Met (1987), again as Fricka; and the Vienna State Opera (1988) as Venus.
From her highly acclaimed 1993 Bayreuth appearance as Isolde, Meier has regularly sung dramatic soprano roles. At the 2001 Munich Opera Festival she gave her debut performance of Didon in Berlioz's Les Troyens, again drawing rave notices. Meier reprised Isolde at La Scala in 2007, with Daniel Barenboim conducting. In 2009 a recording based on the La Scala Tristan und Isolde performances was issued on Virgin Classics.
Hometown
Würzburg, Germany
Genre
Classical