| Biography | Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg, Germany 17 December 2001, Stuttgart, Germany) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano.
Mödl specialised in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Astrid Varnay and Birgit Nilsson, one of the three major postwar Wagner sopranos. She was among the preeminent Wagner sopranosand most compelling singing actressesof the twentieth century. Mödl was celebrated for her highly individualized interpretations, exceptional acting ability and an intense stage presence. Her career peaked in the early and mid 1950s, which included her Brünnhilde in Wilhelm Furtwängler's 1953 recording of Der Ring des Nibelungen, along with the title role from Fidelio of the same conductor and year, and Isolde in Herbert von Karajan's 1952 Tristan und Isolde, live from Bayreuth. There have been fully ten recordings of her Kundry released commercially, most associated with the Bayreuth Festival, all from 1949-59. Although she is most known for her portrayals of Wagner's major heroines from 1951-5, her continuous performing career (as mezzo-soprano after the 1950s) lasted in excess of half a century, well into the singer's eighties, through which her acting abilities remained intact. |