Helen Traubel
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Helen Traubel (June 16, 1899-July 28, 1972), was an American operatic soprano, best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially that of Brünnhilde.
Born in St. Louis, Missouri, she made her debut as a concert singer with the St. Louis Symphony in 1923. In 1926 she got a first offer to join the Metropolitan Opera company which she turned down to continue with her studies. She didn't appear on the opera stage untiil May 12 1937, when the composer Walter Damrosch asked her to sing the first performance of his opera The Man without a Country.
Since the Met already had a first-class Wagnerian soprano - Kirsten Flagstad - Traubel joined the Chicago Opera's company. In New York she served as Flagstad's understudy and sang secondary roles, until Flagstad left the US in 1941 to visit her homeland of Norway and couldn't return for political reasons.
At this moment Traubel rose to the occasion and took her position, first making her mark in Tannhäuser and Tristan und Isolde. She was renowned for her strong voice, which was often described as a "gleaming sword"; her endurance and purity of tone were unsurpassed, especially as Brünnhilde. Traubel's contract wasn't renewed in 1953 when the Metropolitan Opera's company management learned that she not only performed in Operettas and Musicals, but also in nightclubs. Traubel went on to appear at the Copacabana, as well as in many cameo television roles.
Traubel wrote a murder mystery, The Metropolitan Opera Murders (1951), which features a soprano detective, and also an autobiography, St. Louis Woman (1959).
For her contribution to the recording industry, Helen Traubel has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6422 Hollywood Blvd. In 1994 she was inducted into the St. Louis Walk of Fame.
Helen Traubel died in Santa Monica, California, in 1972 and was interred in the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles.
[edit] External links
- Traubel's Entry at the St. Louis Walk of Fame
