Meinig, Irmgard

Opera singer (soprano)

born: 26.05.1920 in Borna

died: 29.03.1958 in Cologne

Meinig was one of the singers at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden who stood out not only for the dramatic intensity of her singing, but also for her vivacity, freshness, unpretentious nature and accessibility. According to all the experts, she was destined for a world career in high drama.

In 1946-48 she was engaged at the Volksoper Dresden, then for two years at the Landestheater Altenburg, and from 1950 she was a permanent member of the Wiesbaden company. Her first role was the Dyer in Richard Strauss' "Frau ohne Schatten", followed by Ortrud in Wagner's "Lohengrin", Leonore in Beethoven's "Fidelio" and Rezia in Weber's "Oberon", a role she would later also sing at the Cologne Opera House. The Wiesbadener Tagblatt wrote about her Brünnhilde in Wagner's "Ring" under the direction of Karl Elmendorff: "In view of the fatal lack of high drama, Meinig's Brünnhilde virtually qualified her as a vocal jewel of the Wiesbaden Opera". After the stormy success she achieved with the roles of Eboli, Senta, Elektra, Abigail, Kundry, Norma, Isolde and Lady Macbeth, she made the leap to the Cologne Opera in 1957.

She was to sing Rezia in Weber's "Oberon" for the opening of the newly built opera house. However, during the first rehearsals she showed signs of a serious cancer, which required an immediate operation. Leonie Rysanek sang in her place at the premiere on May 19, 1957, and it was not until September of that year that she appeared on stage as Rezia. Her last role was to be the title role in Puccini's "Turandot". She succumbed to her illness in 1958, far too early, as she was at the beginning of a career that would take her to the Metropolitan Opera in New York and to the Vienna State Opera as Wagner's Isolde under Herbert von Karajan's baton.