Irmgard Seefried 1919-1988

103 Comments / Sopranos de la fin du XXème siècle / By

Irmgard Seefried  était une soprano allemande qui brilla particulièrement dans les oeuvres de Mozart et Richard Strauss dans les années 40 à 70.

Elle est née le 9 octobre 1919 à Köngetried, près de Mindelheim en Bavière. Elle reçut ses premières leçons de son père qui était passionné de musique et qui pratiquait avec passion le piano, le violon et la direction de chœurs amateurs. A l’âge de 11 ans elle a chanté Gretel dans l’opéra d’Engelbert Humperdinck. Tout en apprenant le secrétariat, Irmgard étudia aux conservatoires d’Augsbourg et de Munich.

Irmgard Seefried – Portraits
Irmgard Seefried

En 1938, Herbert von Karajan, qui était alors le plus jeune directeur musical de toute l’Allemagne, l’engagea pour chanter à Aix-la-Chapelle la prêtresse d’Aida. Son entrée à l’Opéra de Vienne date du 5 mai 1943, dans Eva des Maîtres chanteurs  aux côtés de Max Lorenz et sous la direction de Karl Böhm. De 1944 à 1945, elle appartint à cette troupe, où elle fera l’essentiel de sa carrière. Richard Strauss reconnut en elle la parfaite incarnation d’Ariane dans son opéra Ariane à Naxos, rôle qu’elle interpréta devant lui pour son quatre-vingtième anniversaire, le 11 juin 1944, sous la direction de Karl Böhm. En mai 1945, elle fit la réouverture du Volksoper de Vienne dans Marcelline du Fidelio de Beethoven. Mais, à Vienne comme à Salzbourg dans cet immédiat après-guerre, c’est au répertoire mozartien qu’elle s’identifia totalement avec Suzanne, Zerline et, surtout, Pamina dont elle donnera, avec Karajan ou Furtwängler, une vision lumineuse difficilement égalable.

Irmgard Seefried et son mari, le célèbre violoniste, Wolfgang Schneiderhan

Elle épousa en 1948 le grand violoniste Wolfgang Schneiderhan, peu après avoir fait ses débuts à Paris dans Don Giovanni et Così fan tutte sous la direction de Josef Krips (1947). On l’applaudit aussi à Covent Garden dans Les Maîtres chanteurs et Les Noces de Figaro. et aussi à Milan (La Scala), Salzbourg, Édimbourg. C’est avec Bruno Walter qu’elle donna, en 1951, son premier concert américain dans la Quatrième Symphonie de Gustav Mahler avant de se produire au Metropolitan de New-York au dans Les Noces de Figaro en 1953.

Irmgard Seefried (à gauche) et Sena Jurinac dans Les Noces de Figaro en 1955
Seefried en séance d’enregistrement
Irmgard Seefried

À l’apogée de sa carrière, Irmgard Seefried ne craignit pas de reconstruire toute sa technique vocale avec le grand professeur Paula Novikova. Elle élargit alors considérablement son répertoire, qui couvrit désormais Haendel (Jules César), Purcell (Didon et Enée), Poulenc (Dialogues des carmélites, dont elle assura la création à Vienne) et même Alban Berg et Arnold Schönberg (Le Pierrot lunaire). Pour elle et son mari, Hans Werner Henze, Frank Martin, Paul Hindemith et Gottfried von Einem composèrent des oeuvres spécialement pour eux deux. En 1963, elle se produisit à Aix-en-Provence dans Ariane à Naxos. Mais, si la technique et la musicalité sont encore celles d’une grande dame, la voix s’altèra, annonçant une fin de carrière désormais toute proche. Jusqu’au début des années 1970, elle ne se produisit donc plus guère que dans des soirées de lieder, souvent en compagnie d’Erich Werba. Elle consacra alors toute son énergie à l’enseignement, notamment avec les stages de l’abbaye de Royaumont.

Irmgard Seefried mourut dans la nuit du 23 au 24 novembre 1988.

Seefried avait une voix expressive, belle, techniquement sûre et était une artiste extrêmement disciplinée qui a mis tout son amour et sa force dans ses rôles. La musique était un art sacré pour elle. On a dit à juste titre qu’elle pouvait chanter avec une demi-voix, mais jamais avec une demi-âme. Elle avait une voix très personnelle mais très naturelle. Son ton chaleureux et sa personnalité agréable ont fait d’elle de grandes Susanna, Fiordiligi, Eva et Cléopâtre. Pour Irmgard Seefried, le chant ne pouvait être qu’un profond engagement personnel. Intuitive, spontanée, elle régna sur la scène avec une invention et une vivacité qui n’appartenait qu’à elle. Un instinct ennemi de toute sophistication lui permit de trouver l’évidence du naturel, la pureté de la ligne, la finesse de l’émotion. Sous la splendeur du timbre et de la couleur vocale vibrait une grande musicienne miraculeusement accordée à Richard Strauss et à Mozart. Elle a joué un rôle déterminant dans la redécouverte, après la guerre, des Lieder de Mozart, qui étaient auparavant dénigrés. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, sa collègue de nombreuses représentations légendaires d’opéras de Mozart à Salzbourg dans les années 50, a suggéré que tout le monde, y compris elle-même, était un peu envieux de Seefried pour son naturel (c’est dire…). Le répertoire enregistré de lieder de Schubert par Irmgard Seefried est assez petit, mais totalement indispensable.

 

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