Opera Scotland

Hilde Gueden Suggest updates

Hilde Güden.

Born Hulde Geiringer.

Born Vienna, 15 September 1917.

Died Klosterneuburg,  17 September 1988.

Austrian soprano.

Hilde Gueden (the form used through most of her career outside the German-speaking world) had a very successful career in operetta (Benatzky, Johann Strauss, Lehár) and as a lyric soprano in opera (particularly Mozart and Strauss).

She studied in Vienna with Wetzelsberger, making her debut at the Volksoper in 1937 under the name Hulde Gerin.  Her operatic debut followed in 1939 at Zürich (Cherubino).  From 1941-2 she was based at Munich singing Mozart (Zerlina, Despina) and Strauss (Sophie).  She was a mamber of the Vienna State Opera 1946-73, appearing with that company on its Covent Garden visit in 1947. Her Salzburg Festival debut in 1946 was as Zerlina.

Appearances in Britain included Covent Garden and the Edinburgh Festival (with the Glyndebourne company).

Debut at New York Met 1951 (Gilda), returning 1953 (Ann Trulove), with other appearances through to 1960.

 

Her recordings include several recitals of opera and operetta. Her complete opera recordings, mostly made in Vienna in the 1950s, were among the best made in that period, and still seem remarkably good today.  These include:

Mozart (Susanna Le nozze di Figaro conducted by Erich Kleiber; Zerlina Don Giovanni conducted by Josef Krips; Pamina Die Zauberflöte conducted by Karl Böhm).

Donizetti (Adina L'elisir d'amore, conducted by Francesco Molinari-Pradelli).

Verdi (Gilda Rigoletto, conducted by Alberto Erede).

Wagner (Eva Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch).

J Strauss (Rosalinde Die Fledermaus twice, firstly conducted by Klemens Krauss, secondly by Herbert von Karajan; Saffi Der Zigeunerbaron, conducted by Heinrich Hollreiser).

Puccini (Musetta La bohème, conducted by Alberto Erede).

R Strauss (Sophie Der Rosenkavalier, conducted by Erich Kleiber; Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos, conducted by Karl Böhm; Zdenka Arabella conducted by Georg Solti; Title role Daphne, conducted by Karl Böhm; Aminta Die schweigsame Frau, conducted by Karl Böhm).