Mathis, Edith
Mathis, Edith
Mathis, Edith, admired Swiss soprano; b. Lucerne, Feb. 11, 1938. She received her training at the Lucerne Cons, and from Elisabeth Bosshart in Zürich. In 1956 she made her operatic debut as the 2nd boy in Die Zauberflöte in Lucerne. From 1959 to 1962 she sang at the Cologne Opera. In 1960 she appeared at the Salzburg Festival, which led to engagements in Vienna and Munich. From 1960 to 1975 she appeared with the Hamburg State Opera, and in 1962 made her debut at Glyndebourne as Cherubino. From 1963 she also sang at the Berlin Deutsche Oper. On Jan. 19, 1970, she made her Metropolitan Opera debut in N.Y. as Pamina, remaining on its roster until 1974. She sang for the first time at London’s Covent Garden in 1970 as Mozart’s Susanna, returning there until 1972. Her frequent Munich engagements led to her being made a Kammersängerin in 1980. She appeared as the Marschallin in Bern in 1990. In addition to her operatic appearances, she won notable distinction as a concert and lieder artist. She married Bernhard Klee, with whom she often appeared. Her other memorable operatic roles were Zerlina, Zdenka, Nannetta, Mélisande, the Marschallin, Sophie, and Arabella.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire