Copper has an exchange program with selected magazines, where we share articles, including this one, between publications. This one's from Switzerland's AAA Magazine.
Together with the tenor Ernst Haefliger, Maria Stader (1911 – 1999) belonged to the Swiss faction of those hand-picked singers such as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Irmgard Seefried and Rita Streich who wrote recording history for Deutsche Grammophon in the 1950s and 1960s. With her sovereign and stylistically confident soprano voice, wonderfully soft and luminous in the high register, she ensured that the sun always shone in the recordings with her in the upper spheres. But she not only had a uniquely beguiling voice: Like her Greek namesake Maria Callas – but in a very different way – she knew how to penetrate the innermost depths of music and touch her listeners deeply. Here is a portrait of this gifted singer, who worked with the most important conductors of her time during her career and once moved even the great Bruno Walter to tears with her singing at a concert.
Maria Stader was born in Budapest in 1911. Her father, a laborer, was struggling to feed his family of seven after the First World War, so little Maria came to Switzerland in 1919 as a half-starved Red Cross child to recuperate. What was intended to be a temporary solution turned into a permanent one, as various good spirits worked to ensure that the child could come to Switzerland a second time after her first stay and ultimately stay there. From then on, Maria grew up with the Staders in Romanshorn; they later adopted her. At 17, she was given singing lessons because singing was like food and drink for her, and “Miggi” sang so beautifully that her foster parents encouraged her talent.
Stader's Vocal Training
Stader received rigorous and solid vocal training from Mathilde Bärlocher in St. Gallen and later from her father, the Württemberg Kammersänger Hans Keller in Constance. These two, with whom the young girl also lived for a time and who taught her daily, gave her the foundations for her later career: a sparkling technique, an enchantingly beautiful vocal sound, and an extraordinary intelligibility of the texts she sung. As Stader reports in her autobiography, the two of them attached great importance not only to the beauty of the sound she produced but also to the naturalness of her voice. Their credo was that singing must always sound natural and that the technique is there to achieve this goal: Vowels must be made into gems, while consonants can be rested on. These skills later became important trademarks of her art.
Maria Stader later learned to deepen her musical expression with Ilona Durigo in Zurich. It was here that she acquired the stylistic confidence, soulfulness and depth of expression that so characterized her singing. Maria Stader also received important input from Giannina Arangi Lombardi in Milan, who introduced her to the art of Italian bel canto singing. It was with her that Stader developed her wonderful legato and the ability to carry her voice with the greatest of ease right up to the highest registers.
In the summer of 1933, Maria Stader obtained her stage certificate in Karlsruhe. It was marked: “Enchanting voice, impeccable performance, pretty appearance; unfortunately a little small for the stage.” Maria Stader, who actually aspired to a career in opera, began to suspect that such a career would be difficult to realize with her height of 4 foot 7 inches.
After she was rejected a year later in Augsburg after a glittering audition because of her height, she began to prepare for a career as a concert singer. This meant saying goodbye to opera and concentrating on the repertoire of sacred music and lieder. A difficult time lay ahead of her, but fate was kind: Maria Stader was allowed to audition with the well-known concert agent Walter Schulthess in Zurich, the husband of the legendary violinist Stefi Geyer, and she impressed them both so much that they immediately took her under their wing.
The Move to Zurich
This enabled Maria Stader to move to Zurich, develop a new repertoire and gradually build a concert career. With Stefi Geyer, Maria Stader also perfected her art of phrasing, the purity of her intonation, and the ability to sing vocal lines as if they were being played on an instrument.
The first recordings at Radio Beromünster followed. Then, in 1939, Maria Stader won first prize in the Geneva International Soloist Competition. In the piano category of the same competition, a young Italian pianist named Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli caused a sensation. Suddenly the whole world was open to Maria Stader. But then came the Second World War, and so the young singer initially had to concentrate on concerts in Switzerland.
This period saw two of Stader's few appearances on the opera stage: in 1940, she sang the role of Olympia in Hoffmann's Tales by Jacques Offenbach, at the Zurich Opera House. In 1941 at the same opera house, she sang the role of the boy Yniold in Claude Debussy's Pelléas et Mélisande. Ernest Ansermet was on the podium. She must have done a wonderful job, because when he came on stage during the final applause, the usually reserved Ansermet spontaneously kissed Yniold, alias Maria Stader, on the forehead, to the delight of the audience, who noticed this as the curtain was raised again at that very moment. At the revival of Pelléas in 1945, Maria Stader also received praise from the highest level: Maggie Teyte, Debussy's favorite singer, who had sung Mélisande in the premiere of this opera, said: “The best Yniold I ever experienced.”
The World Is Open
Things moved quickly after the Second World War. In 1946, she sang the soprano solo in Mahler's Fourth Symphony under Bruno Walter, who was like a father figure to her. This was followed by engagements all over the world. Everyone was enthusiastic about Maria Stader's singing. Many of the musicians she looked up to in awe as a young girl at concerts in Romanshorn had now become her colleagues or friends: Rudolf Serkin, Pablo Casals, Adolf Busch and others. And new ones were constantly being added.
The Art of Being a Good Singer
What was the secret of her success? In her autobiography and in the book How Masters Practice, she described what makes a good singer. Firstly, they must know what they are singing and what they want to express. This requires not only a careful study of the score, but also knowledge of the musical-historical context of the composition, as well as a high sense of style. Secondly, she must have perfect command of her voice and be able to express all the nuances of the music and its emotional content. A high intelligibility of the text is also crucial here. If singing is to be another way of speaking, the listener must also understand the text that is being sung. And thirdly, the singer must also be able to reach her listeners with her message. This requires the performer's personal commitment, their dedication to the music, and emphasis: if something is to go to the heart, it must come from the heart.
Maria Stader possessed all of these skills to a high degree. She was an absolute perfectionist. Although she was very small, she was able to let her voice shine through the loudest orchestral and choral passages without forcing it, for example in her fabulous recording of the Verdi Requiem under Ferenc Fricsay (DGG LPM 18 155/56) or Beethoven's Missa Solemnis with Karl Böhm (DG 2700 106). Her delicate pianissimi are also legendary, sometimes sounding like something from another world. Maria Stader also had great flexibility in her voice leading, which allowed her to realize the conductor's wishes or suggestions with great ease. Ferenc Fricsay, with whom Stader often worked and with whom she was a close friend, once said of her: “I only have to touch Maria and she does it the way I dream it.”
Stader acquired this mastery not only with talent but, as she writes, with a lot of work and self-discipline. And she was also lucky enough to always have the right teachers.
Discography: Bach
Stader relates the following anecdote about Otto Klemperer in her autobiography: Before the first rehearsal with him began, Klemperer critically scrutinized her and remarked somewhat grumpily: “They say you're good.” Then the rehearsal began. After a while, he looked her over again from head to toe and remarked: “You are.”
Innumerable recordings are a testament to how good she was. On her first LP, she sang the soprano part in Bach's Magnificat under Walter Reinhart and the Winterthur City Orchestra (MMS 31). She later recorded this work with Karl Richter (Archiv 73197) and Jean-Marie Auberson (Concert Hall M-2399). The most interesting of the three recordings is the one under Walter Reinhart. Here, alongside Maria Stader, the young Ernst Haefliger sings his tenor aria very vividly and more dramatically than later under Karl Richter. The sections with the Swiss mezzo-soprano Elsa Cavelti, of whom there are unfortunately very few recordings, are also worth listening to. She harmonizes perfectly with Haefliger in the duet. Maria Stader captivates the listener with her healthy, luminous voice and makes her short aria in dialog with the oboe a real gem. Everything sounds much more brilliant under Karl Richter. The choir sings more fluently. On the other hand, the arias are sometimes interpreted in a more sustained manner. A solid interpretation. Auberson's recording emphasizes the sensuality of the music more. The choir of the Vienna State Opera develops quite a captivating sound. Maria Stader does everything right, but her aria does not unfold with the same magic as under Reinhart.
On the reverse side of this LP, Heinz Rehfuss sings the part of Jesus in the Bach cantata no. 57, “Selig ist der Mann” (Blessed is the Man) in a dialog with the soul (Maria Stader). Nowadays, in the age of historical performance practice, such old recordings of baroque music often have a difficult time. However, the singers in particular often express a personality and musicality that makes it worthwhile to listen to such recordings from time to time. This is also the case here: Stader and Rehfuss complement each other perfectly and impress with their natural, impeccable voices and exemplary text interpretation. The lilting soprano aria before the concluding chorale, in which the soul looks forward to death, is probably one of the most joyful death songs in music history.
The recording of the Bach cantatas BWV 199 and BWV 209 under Helmut Müller-Brühl and the Cologne Chamber Orchestra (Pelca PSR 40004) is a lucky find. It captivates with a very present sound and Maria Stader in top form. Her voice sounds like pure gold in the Italian cantata BWV 209. In addition, she expresses an irresistible joy in singing, making this recording a pleasure to listen to.
It is also worth revisiting Stader's recording of the Bach cantatas BWV 51, “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen” and the Wedding Cantata BWV 202 under Karl Richter (Archiv 198 027). In the former, Stader shows what an outstanding coloratura singer she also was. Volkmar Andreae, chief conductor of the Tonhalle Orchestra for many years and director of the Zurich Conservatory, once commented on her coloratura when she sang Mozart's Queen of the Night arias for him: “It goes as fast as the wind.” In “Jauchzet Gott in allen Landen,” Stader also sings her way through the virtuoso passages with jubilation, while she makes the lyrical passages an experience with a wonderful soulfulness. The way she spans the musical arcs in the wedding cantata with unparalleled ease and vocal melodiousness is also high art.
Maria Stader also demonstrates the same qualities in Karl Richter's legendary recording of Bach's Mass in B minor (Archiv 198 190/92). What we experience here in her duets with Ernst Häfliger and Hertha Töpper is duet singing at its finest. The phrasing is finely tuned and the voices harmonize perfectly with each other, are like instruments and give each other wonderful space. Richter's reading of this Mount Everest of choral literature may sound somewhat old-fashioned today in its austerity and slow tempi. But it has greatness. Richter carefully works out the architecture of this work with terraced, graduated dynamics. It never loses its intensity, even in the meditative sections. The contrapuntal weave is easy to hear through, and the climaxes supported by tympani and trumpets develop a radiance and energy that is impossible to resist. It’s a recording that does great justice to the inner richness of this music.
Mozart: Musical Wonders
Maria Stader established her international reputation primarily as a Mozart singer. The fact that she became a noted singer of Mozart was largely thanks to Bernhard Paumgartner, the long-time director of the Salzburg Mozarteum and conductor of the Mozarteum Orchestra, from whom she learned a great deal about Mozart. Paumgartner had also made her aware of Mozart's concert arias, which nobody knew at the time, at the beginning of the Second World War. Stader and her husband Hans Erismann were the first to publish these arias as piano reductions with Universal Edition. Some of these arias were also the first works that Stader recorded on her very first records with His Masters Voice, at that time still on shellac discs. She later recorded them together with arias from Il re pastore and Idomeneo for Deutsche Grammophon under Paumgartner (DG 136 369). These are very lively recordings, bursting with energy and musical joy, full of stylistic feeling and virtuoso singing.
One of Maria Stader's showpieces was the motet “Exsultate, jubilate,” which she recorded with Ferenc Fricsay and the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra (DG 2535 148). Here Maria Stader captivates with her perfect intonation, her forward drive and her lively articulation. This work is rarely sung in such a lively and cheerful manner. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that, as Maria Stader writes in her biography, she often thought of a baroque angel performing all kinds of capers in the sky.
Maria Stader was a singer with whom musical miracles could happen under favorable conditions, and who could surpass herself in performances. This is also documented several times on LP. One of these great discographic moments is her recording of Mozart's Mass in C minor KV 427 with Ferenc Fricsay. She had a kindred spirit with this conductor, who, like her, was born in Budapest. The intimacy and depth of feeling with which she sings “Incarnatus est,” for example, simply melts the heart. This recording is one of the most moving and beautiful that exists. The way Fricsay gives the singers space, and the way he brings the grandeur and architecture of this music to life is simply magnificent. The feeling of happiness which Mozart's music can generate, can be experienced here in the most touching way.
The same applies to Stader's first recording of the Coronation Mass K. 317 with Igor Markevitch and the Berlin Philharmonic (DG 16096). What fulfilling music-making! How wonderfully all the parts interlock here. With flawlessness, Stader draws her vocal lines in the upper registers. How well her soprano harmonizes with Helmut Krebs' soft tenor! This is a recording that is of one piece and thrills from A to Z.
Stader recorded the same work a second time with Markevitch in Paris, this time with the Orchestre Lamoureux Paris and in stereo (DG 2435 148). It is also a good recording, but it does not come close to the mono recording. Everything sounds more vivid, more luminous and more dramatic. But the recording is not as gripping and sometimes seems a little garish.
There is also another recording of the Mass in C minor K. 427 with Maria Stader, namely one with Jean-Marie Auberson and the Vienna Festival Orchestra (Concert Hall M 2376). Stader also sings phenomenally well in this recording, but it lacks the spiritual dimension of the recording with Fricsay.
While we are on the subject of musical wonders, the recording of Brahms' German Requiem, in which Stader took part, must also be mentioned. Here conductor Fritz Lehmann, who often is somewhat underrated, conducts the Berliner Philharmoniker (DG 18 258/59). There is hardly a recording of the soprano aria that expresses the comforting nature of this music more movingly than this one. Stader's voice comes across here like the song of an angel offering consolation. The wonderful legato, the purity and intimacy of expression and the naturalness with which her soprano unfolds here are magical.
More Recordings With Ferenc Fricsay
Maria Stader's encounter with Ferenc Fricsay was decisive for her career. After he had heard radio recordings of her, he was keen to work with her. No wonder that he, who loved beautiful voices so much, wanted to make music with her. Her first project was Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, in which Stader sang the leading role for the radio and later in concert. Fricsay then wanted to perform Puccini's Madame Butterfly with Maria Stader at the Hamburg State Opera. However, Maria Stader identified so strongly with the role of Cho-Cho-San that she regularly broke down weeping during the rehearsals of the tragic final scene. So nothing came of this project, as no one wanted to risk this happening to her in public.
Instead, the opera recordings with Fricsay were realized for Deutsche Grammophon: Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (DG 18 267/69), Entführung aus dem Serail (DG 18 184/85), Don Giovanni (DG 18 580/82) and Le Nozze di Figaro (DG 138 697/99), not forgetting the very fine recording of Gluck's “Orpheus and Eurydice” (DG 18334/44). In this way, little Maria Stader became an opera prima donna after all. Not on stage, but on record. In all her recordings she succeeds in creating valid, present and vocally/musically outstanding role portraits. Her Pamina in The Magic Flute cannot be surpassed in vocal euphony and soulfulness of expression. The way Fricsay fills Mozart's music with life from the overture to the final scene and makes it sparkle is also magnificent. It’s one of his most beautiful Mozart recordings.
Fricsay originally wanted to engage Maria Stader as Donna Anna for the recording of Don Giovanni. However, she could not really embrace this role, as she found that Donna Anna is too strongly driven by revenge. So she sang a very convincing, somewhat crazy Elvira, who was unwavering in her love. In Le Nozze di Figaro, she combines nobility of expression with comedic flair as a youthful-sounding Contessa. Her performances with the shrewd Susanna, sung with great delicacy by Irmgard Seefried, are magnificent.
Further Excellent Recordings
Finally, without claiming to be exhaustive, other top-class recordings should be mentioned briefly: firstly, the recording of Rossini's Stabat Mater under Fricsay (Heliodor 25032). Her duets with Ernst Haefliger in “Tui nati vulnerate” and the contralto Marianna Radev in “Quis est homo” are unsurpassed. In the live recording of Haydn's Jahreszeiten under Fricsay (DG 2721 170) she proves how well she is suited to the lively, idyllic. The recording of Dvorak's Requiem under Karel Ancerl and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra (DG 18 547148) is also an absolute reference recording. Ancerl's interpretation of this work is very concentrated and emphasizes its reflective aspects. Stader enchants with dematerialized sounds that seem to come from the beyond or float away into it.
Bruckner's ecstatic, hymnic music is also in excellent hands with Stader, be it in the F minor Mass under Eugen Jochum (Ex Libris XL 173 514), or in the Te Deum, of which there are two recordings with Stader, one with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra (Columbia M2S 768) and one with Jochum with the Berlin Philharmonic (DG 139 399). In Jochum's recording, Stader's voice is more present. Overall, however, Ormandy's recording is more gripping, more immediate.
Stader's lively and elegant recordings of two arias from Gounod's Margarethe (sung in French) prove that she could also hold her own with French music alongside the best. It is a pity that she did not record more of this repertoire.
Unfortunately, only two LPs with Lieder recitals, one with Karl Engel at the piano (DG 19 136) and one with Jörg Demus (Westminster XWN 19029), show what an outstanding Lieder singer she was and how she knew how to turn small forms into precious musical gems.
Maria Stader really was one of the greats. It would be an enrichment to her body of recorded works if Radio Swiss were to make its recordings with this singer available.
Header image courtesy of © Otti Zacharias/Deutsche Grammophon.
