| Helen Donath | |
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| Born | July 10, 1940 Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. |
| Occupation | Singer, Soprano |
| Years active | 1958–present |
Helen Donath (born July 10, 1940) (née Helen Erwin) is an American soprano with a long and illustrious career spanning almost fifty years.
She was born in Corpus Christi, Texas and studied at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi and with Paola Novikova in New York.
She debuted as a concert and Lieder singer in New York in 1958. In 1961, she became a member of the Opernstudio in Köln and the Hanover Opera House. In Hanover, she met her husband, the choir master and conductor Klaus Donath.
In 1967, she sang Pamina in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Salzburg Festival, which began a long association with the Festival. From 1970 to 1990, she was a regular member of the Vienna State Opera. She is a sensitive singer with fine diction, while her evenly-placed voice is clear and sweet. With these qualities, she became an ideal interpreter in the Austro-German lyric repertoire.
She has performed all over the world including at the Vienna State Opera, Metropolitan Opera, Salzburg Festival, Covent Garden, La Scala, Barcelona, Paris, Firenze, Tokyo, Berlin, Munich, etc.
In 2006, she had performances as Despina in Così fan tutte at the Vienna State Opera, Salzburg Festival and other places.
Donath excelled in Bach, Mozart, Haydn, Schumann, Richard Strauss, and work and recorded under Karl Richter, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Rafael Kubelík, Antal Doráti, Leonard Bernstein, Georg Solti, Giuseppe Patané, Daniel Barenboim, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Neville Marriner, Helmuth Rilling, Colin Davis, Eugen Jochum, Riccardo Muti, Zubin Mehta and Herbert von Karajan.
She was awarded in 2005 the Verdienstkreuz I. Klasse des Niedersächsischen Verdienstordens, in 1990 the Niedersächsischer Staatspreis and made "Kammersänger" of Bayern.
Donath has made many opera and operetta recordings with various companies. However, her finest moments on disc are her Eva (Wagner's "Die Meistersinger") and Sophie (from Strauss's "Der Rosenkavalier"), both are considered superb by critics. Here is a selection of her recordings.
1. Beethoven: "Fidelio" (as Marzelline), with Helga Dernesch, Jon Vickers, Zoltán Kelemen, Karl Ridderbusch, José van Dam, Chorus of the Deutsche Oper, Berlin and Berliner Philharmoniker, (con.) Herbert von Karajan (EMI)
2. Gluck: "Orfeo ed Euridice" (as Amor), with Marilyn Horne, Pilar Lorengar, and Royal Opera House Orchestra, (con.) Sir Georg Solti (Decca)
3. Puccini: "Gianni Schicchi" (as Lauretta), with Rolando Panerai, Vera Baniewicz, Peter Seiffert, Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Bavarian Radio Chorus, (con.) Giuseppe Patané (RCA)
4. Lehár: "Das Land des Lächelns" (as Hanna), with Brigitte Lindner, Siegfried Jerusalem, Martin Finke, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks and Münchner Rundfunkorchester, (con.) Willi Boskovsky (EMI)
5. Lehár: "Das Land des Lächelns" (as Lisa), with Martin Finke, Klaus Hirte, Siegfried Jerusalem, Brigitte Lindner, Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and Münchner Rundfunkorchester, (con.) Willi Boskovsky (EMI)
6. Strauss, R: "Arabella" (as Zdenka), with Julia Varady, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Walter Berry, Helga Schmidt, Elfriede Hobarth, Adolf Dallapozza, and Bavarian State Orchestra & Opera Chorus, (con.) Wolfgang Sawallisch (Orfeo)
7. Strauss, R: "Der Rosenkavalier" (as Sophie), with Régine Crespin, Yvonne Minton, Manfred Jungwirth, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and Sir Georg Solti (Decca)
8. Verdi: "Un Ballo in Maschera" (as Oscar), with Luciano Pavarotti, Sherrill Milnes, Renata Tebaldi, Regina Resnik, and Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, (con.) Bruno Bartoletti (Decca)
9. Mozart: "The Magic Flute" (as Pamina), with Günther Leib, Peter Schreier, Leipzig Radio Chorus Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden Orchestra (RCA)
10. Monteverdi: "L'incoronazione di Poppea" (as Poppea), with Elizabeth Soderstrom, Cathy Berberian, Paul Esswood, and Concentus musicus Wien, (con.) Nikolaus Harnoncourt (Teldec)
11. Wagner: "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg" (as Eva), with Rene Kollo, Theo Adam, Peter Schreier, Geraint Evans, Karl Ridderbusch, Chor der Staatsoper Dresden, Chor des Leipziger Rundfunks & Staatskapelle Dresden, (con.) Herbert von Karajan (EMI)
12. Haydn: "L'anima del filosofo", with Robert Swensen, Sylvia Greenberg, Thomas Quasthoff, Paul Hansen, Azuko Suzuki, Bavarian Radio Chorus & Munich Radio Orchestra, (con.) Leopold Hager (Orfeo)
13. Humperdinck: "Hänsel und Gretel", with Anna Moffo, Christa Ludwig, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Charlotte Berthold, Arleen Auger, Lucia Popp, the Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Boys Choir of Tölz, and Kurt Eichhorn as conductor. RCA 1999
Other recordings:
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