Brigitte Fassbaender

Brigitte Fassbaender (born 3 July, 1939 in Berlin), is mezzo-soprano opera singer, and in recent years, an artistic director. She has received the Bavarian State Opera's honorific title of 'Kammersänger' or 'Court Singer.'

Biography
Fassbaender is the daughter of screen actress Sabine Peters and the celebrated German baritone, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender. The family settled in Nuremberg after World War II. She spent her early career in Munich. Fassbaender spoke about her relationships with both sexes in an interview with the BBC in August 2008, including her 27 year relationship with her female partner. She has a large lesbian following.

Career
Brigitte Fassbaender studied singing with her father, Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender, at the Nuremberg Conservatory. She joined Munich's Bavarian State Opera in 1961, where her first leading role was Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann. Fassbaender sang Octavian (Der Rosenkavalier) in Munich, in 1967, the role that launched her international career. In 1971, she sang at Covent Garden and made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1974.

In addition to her operatic triumphs, Fassbaender has achieved success in the concert hall as a Lieder singer and in movies, singing the role of Prince Orlofsky in the 1984 film production of Strauss' Die Fledermaus. She has made dozens of recordings—operas, Lieder (including Schubert's 'Winterreise' and 'Schwanengesang'), oratorios (Bach's Christmas Oratorio, Handel's Messiah, etc.) and appeared in numerous televised opera productions now available on DVD. These include signature roles such as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier and Orlofsky in Die Fledermaus, both conducted by frequent collaborator Carlos Kleiber (whose birthday, in a different year, she shared). Fassbaender has also taught master classes.

In recent years, Fassbaender has held director positions. She accepted the Opera Directorship at Staatstheater Braunschweig (Brunswick state theatre, Lower Saxony, Germany) where her creative vision was well-received for two years. In 1999, she became Intendantin (Artistic Director) of Tiroler Landestheater (Tyrol state theatre, Innsbruck, Austria), producing operatic, stage and orchestral productions each year.
[edit] References