Wenkel Ortrun
Wenkel Ortrun
Wenkel, Ortrun, German mezzo-soprano; b. Buttstadt, Oct. 25,1942. After training at the Franz Liszt Hochschule für Music in Weimar, she attended the master classes of Paul Lohmann at the Frankfurt am Main Hochschule für Musik; she also studied with Elsa Cavelti. While still a student, she made her concert debut in London in 1964. In 1971 she made her operatic debut as Gluck’s Orfeo in Heidelberg, and subsequently appeared in opera at Milan’s La Scala, London’s Covent Garden, Munich, Hamburg, Salzburg, Berlin, Vienna, and Zürich. She also pursued a highly active career as a concert artist, singing with major orchs. and as a recit-alist. Her expansive repertoire ranges from the Baroque era to the contemporary period.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire