Brown, Helena

Opera singer (soprano)

Born: 20.03.1903 in Düsseldorf

died: 02.09.1990 in Sonthofen

After training in Düsseldorf and Cologne, Braun made her debut at the Stadttheater Koblenz in 1928. Further stations were the Bielefeld (1930) and Wuppertal (1932) municipal theaters. In 1933, she joined the Staatstheater in Wiesbaden.

Under the careful guidance of conductor Karl Elmendorff, she began as an alto and then switched to the highly dramatic soprano repertoire. She remained in Wiesbaden until 1940, was then a member of the ensemble at the Munich and Vienna State Operas and made guest appearances at the Salzburg Festival, the New York Met and La Scala in Milan.

She sang the major roles in operas by Wagner, such as Brünhilde in "Die Walküre", Isolde, Venus in "Tannhäuser" and Senta in "The Flying Dutchman", but was also heard in the classical roles as Leonore in Beethoven's "Fidelio" and Donna Elvira in Mozart's "Don Giovanni". She sang Elektra and Ariadne in operas by Richard Strauss. In 1959, she took her leave of the stage in Munich as Ortrud in Wagner's "Lohengrin".

Braun was married to the baritone Ferdinand Franz (1906-1959).