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New York Times
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
A New Conductor Isn't Daunted by the Size of the Met
The size of the Metropolitan Opera can daunt even experienced artists. From the podium to the stage feels like a mile, and the proscenium is of yawning width and height. No opera benefits from chaos, but some pieces need especially precise discipline to make their impact — so they need conductors who can corral big forces across those sprawling distances. It's impressive when a veteran baton makes it all work. More so when it's a newcomer like Joana Mallwitz, who made her Met debut this month leading Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro,' the kind of farcical comedy that quickly goes off the rails without a firm hand on the reins. On Friday, midway through this season's long run — lasting, with cast changes, through May 17 — Mallwitz was in calm, stylish command from the brisk overture on. Throughout the evening, she kept the orchestra sounding light and silky, allowing it to blend (instead of compete) with the charming singers. The yearning winds that play during Cherubino's aria 'Non so più' are the echo of the character's teenage longing, and Mallwitz guided those winds to soar more than usual, bringing out true sweetness and a hint of ache. Cherubino's second big number, 'Voi che sapete,' was accompanied with elegant clarity, each plucked pizzicato note in the strings present and unified without being overemphasized. There was spirit and forward motion in this 'Figaro.' But Mallwitz didn't fall into the classic young conductor trap of shoving the performance toward extremes of tempo and dynamics (loud and fast, mostly) to convey intensity. In the long, zany, ebbing-and-flowing finale of the second act, she patiently paced the action, releasing tension then building it again, for an overall effect far zestier than if she'd merely kept her foot on the gas. 'Figaro' is sharing this stretch of standard-repertory revivals at the Met with Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' — essentially a 'Figaro' prequel, also adapted from a Beaumarchais play featuring some of the same characters — and, through Saturday, another Mozart classic, 'The Magic Flute.' This run of 'Flute,' like 'Figaro,' is benefiting from having a conductor who doesn't try too hard to attract musical attention. On Wednesday, Evan Rogister led a performance that breathed naturally, exuding a sense of cheerful ease. While it gets laughs, Simon McBurney's staging feels less winning and more worn than it did when it was new to the Met two years ago. The concept is a blend of metatheatrical, fourth-wall-breaking fantasy and scruffy contemporary dress, with slight hints of a war going on. (Papageno's weathered blue-and-yellow vest echoes the Ukrainian flag.) But with live-drawn projections being created on one side of the stage, a foley artist making sound effects on the other, jokey interactions with the audience, a troupe of actors running around and the orchestra raised to full view — what am I leaving out? — the production ends up seeming scattered rather than suggestive. A great 'Flute' is one that balances silliness and solemnity, even sublimity. If that sober side was lacking on Wednesday, it may have been because the bass Stephen Milling, returning from the 2023 cast, was a Sarastro without the rich low register that are among this score's glories. Thomas Oliemans, also returning as Papageno, had the right affable scrappiness for the show but not enough tonal robustness to fill the Met. But the two leads, Ben Bliss and Golda Schultz, sang with melting poise, and Kathryn Lewek, one of the world's leading Queens of the Night, managed to dash off her stratospheric arias without stinting nuance. Now a decade old, Richard Eyre's 'Figaro' production has comfortably settled in with the company: handsome enough, amusing enough, clear enough. The staging resets the opera to 1930s Spain and a mansion of cylindrical rooms full of heavy Moorish woodwork, with upstairs-downstairs costumes inspired by the chic photographs of Jacques-Henri Lartigue. This was an easygoing rather than urgent performance, with a youthful, well-matched cast. Federica Lombardi floated through the Countess's arias, and gave the character the right mixture of reserve and vibrancy. Michael Sumuel was a friendly Figaro, and Olga Kulchynska a likable Susanna. Sun-Ly Pierce sang Cherubino's arias gracefully; Joshua Hopkins was a Count Almaviva more genially confused by the changes in the world around him than enraged by them. No individual element was spectacular. If it all ended up being more than the sum of its parts — a cohesive, enjoyable evening — that may have been because of Mallwitz, who brought everything together with confident control.
Korea Herald
24-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Complex twists in simple lines: Vincent Huguet, Pierre Yovanovitch reimagine 'The Marriage of Figaro'
French creators bring to stage their inspirations including Bong Jun-ho's 'Parasite,' hanbok and 1920s French architeture The Korea National Opera opened its 2025 season last week with Mozart's comedic masterpiece, "The Marriage of Figaro," directed by Vincent Huguet with set and costume design by Pierre Yovanovitch. Hailing from France, the two brought a distinctly French sensibility to Seoul. Though the location didn't specifically shape their vision, he welcomed the opportunity to step outside his comfort zone, Huguet told The Korea Herald last week, adding that it was "exciting" to bring a bit of France to Korea through his interpretation. Set to music by Mozart, "The Marriage of Figaro" was written by Italian writer Lorenzo Da Ponte, adapted from the French play by Pierre Beaumarchais. The opera unfolds over the course of 24 hours, centering around Figaro, valet to Count Almaviva, and his fiancee Susanna as they prepare for their wedding. For the opera known for intricate plot twists, mistaken identities, clever disguises, overlapping romantic intrigues and layered social commentary, Huguet and Yovanovitch created a stage that reflects structural simplicity and timeless elegance, blending clean lines with geometric touches. "Because of my background in studying history, I have a tremendous respect for the operas that I'm staging. My role is to honor the original while offering an interpretation that resonates with the present," Huguet said, adding that he is not that much interested in taking bold creative liberties with the interpretation of the work. 'It's about returning to the essence of the work — what moves us — and building something meaningful from that foundation,' he added. Huguet made his opera directorial debut in 2012 with Delibes' "Lakme" at the Opera National de Montpellier. Between 2021 and 2022, he directed Mozart's entire "Da Ponte trilogy" — "Cosi fan tutte," "The Marriage of Figaro," and "Don Giovanni"— at the Berlin State Opera. Still, Huguet emphasized the need for fresh aesthetics to help connect opera with younger audiences, especially as the traditional opera-going demographic continues to age. To bring a new aesthetic, Huguet and Yovanovitch collaborated for a second time. Yovanovitch, an internationally renowned designer, fulfilled a personal dream by venturing into opera stage design. For 'The Marriage of Figaro,' which is Yovanovitch's first time creating costumes, the designer drew inspiration from both France and Korea. For the latest production, the two artists drew inspiration from Ziggurat, an ancient Mesopotamian temple tower, and Villa Noailles, a 1920s iconic early modernist house in southeastern France. This design choice underscores the timeless elegance and clarity of modernist aesthetics, providing a clean, structured visual frame for the complex narrative, according to Yovanovitch. Huguet added that the set design was also inspired by Bong Joon-ho's Oscar-winning film "Parasite," in which stairs symbolically represent the division and movement between social classes. The stage light reflected the events of the single day, with lighting used to mimic the changing position of the sun. Against a backdrop of gentle curves and empty walls, the lighting captured the passage of time with poetic subtlety. Huguet noted that the garden scene at the opera's end is both the most beautiful and the most important space in the entire production. The opera unfolded dynamically through a rotating stage at the center, which changed along with the distinct scenes of the opera. The custom designs also reflected the essence of the story. 'Depending on the light and depending on the angle, the costume design could be absolutely French or absolutely Korean but it's never one or the other. Just as 'The Marriage of Figaro' is on the edge, and never black or white,' said Huguet. gypark@
Korea Herald
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Korea's opera scene to fill with fresh energy this spring
This spring, South Korea's opera scene will be brimming with fresh energy, featuring the world premiere of 'The Rising World: Spirit of Water,' the Korean premiere of metaopera 'Amopera,' a sleek modern take on 'The Marriage of Figaro' and a fusion of opera and theater with 'Faust.' SAC's 'The Rising World: Spirit of Water' The Seoul Arts Center will present the world premiere of its new opera, 'The Rising World: Spirit of Water,' this May. The production blends traditional Korean themes with a contemporary sensibility in an English-language work. This is the first time the SAC has produced an original opera, from the libretto to the score. The production brings together internationally acclaimed talents. Mary Finsterer, one of Australia's foremost opera composers, composed the score, while playwright Tom Wright wrote the libretto. Steven Osgood, celebrated for his work at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where he conducted "Dead Man Walking" and "Grounded," will lead the Korean National Symphony Orchestra. The opera tells the story of a princess entranced by a water spirit and a female water clock artisan determined to change the kingdom's fate, presenting a universal narrative that bridges East and West. By highlighting the compelling journey and sacrifices of a princess and an artisan, the production breaks away from the trope of women as victims. The production features an impressive lineup of internationally renowned opera singers, including Soprano Hwang Su-mi, who stars as the Princess, a future ruler transformed through the chaos of the story; and mezzo-soprano Kim Jung-mi, who takes on the role of the Artisan, crafting the water clock to save the kingdom. Tenor Robin Tritschler, a seasoned performer at Covent Garden's Royal Opera House and the Salzburg Festival, plays the Apprentice while bass-baritone Ashley Riches, a globally celebrated recitalist, portrays the King. Countertenor Jung Min-ho, an early music specialist active in both Korea and Europe, plays the Spirit of Water, infusing the production with an air of mystique. 'The Rising World: The Spirit of Water' will have its world premiere at the SAC's Opera House on May 25, followed by performances on May 29 and 30. National Opera Company's star-studded "The Marriage of Figaro' The National Opera Company of Korea opens the 2025 season with Mozart's masterpiece 'The Marriage of Figaro.' This opera buffa, filled with satire and criticism of the aristocracy, has entertained audiences for centuries. Now, under the creative vision of French director Vincent Boussard -- acclaimed for his reinterpretation of Mozart's Da Ponte trilogy at the Berlin State Opera (2021-2022) -- and designer Pierre Yovanovitch, celebrated for his luxurious French aesthetic, the latest production offers a fresh, contemporary interpretation with visual sophistication. Notably, this production marks Yovanovitch's debut as a costume designer. He will merge traditional Korean elements, such as knots and hanbok influences, with 1920s-30s fashion, crafting 53 unique costumes that blend history and modernity. 'The Marriage of Figaro' presents an exceptional ensemble, featuring Yang Jun-mo and Lee Dong-hwan as Count Almaviva and Hong Joo-young, and Choi Ji-eun as Countess Almaviva. Lee Hye-jung and Son Na-rae will take on Suzanna. The role of Figaro will be shared by Kim Byung-gil and Park Jae-sung. David Reiland, artistic director of the Korean National Symphony Orchestra, will lead the National Opera Company of Korea. Seoul Metropolitan Opera's 'Faust' Seoul Metropolitan Opera's 'Faust' blends opera with theater, elevating the dramatic intensity of the play by Goethe and the opera by Gounod. The production builds on the success of 'Faust: The Devil's Whisper,' which premiered as part of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts' 2022 Sync Next Season, a festival that pushed the boundaries of genres. Following its acclaimed debut, the "O'Play" concept now expands to a larger stage, featuring a star-studded cast. Veteran actor Jung Dong-hwan, with 55 years of stage experience, takes on the role of the elderly Faust in Act I, adding depth and dramatic intensity to the production. For the role of Mephistopheles, bass-baritone Samuel Youn and bass Jeon Tae-hyun will take the stage, while tenors Kim Hyo-jong and Park Seung-joo portray Faust. Sopranos Son Ji-hye and Hwang Su-mi will bring Marguerite to life, with baritones Lee Seung-wang and Kim Ki-hoon playing Valentin. 'Faust" will be performed four times at the Sejong Center Grand Theater from April 10 to April 13. 'Amopera' by Daegu Opera House 'Amopera,' a metaopera that reconfigures and reinterprets fragments from 16 operatic works spanning the past century, is set to make its Korean premiere at the Daegu Opera House next week. The opera, which premiered in November 2022 in Austria, is a collaboration between the Austrian contemporary music ensemble Klangforum Wien and the internationally acclaimed Belgian arts collective Needcompany. By intertwining musical, visual and literary components, 'Amopera' presents audiences with captivating and unfamiliar experiences, according to the opera house in Daegu, a city that has promoted itself as a hub for musical productions and operas by introducing new works. The title "Amopera" carries dual meanings. The first interpretation, "amor opera" ("love opera"), suggests a thematic focus on love, while the second meaning, "I am opera," expands on the idea that every performer on stage -- whether singer, musician or dancer -- embodies the essence of opera itself, reinforcing the production's metatheatrical concept. The upcoming production of "Amopera" will feature soprano Sarah Maria Sun and baritone Holger Falk under the artistic direction of Jan Lauwers and the baton of Tim Anderson. They will be joined by Grace Chang, Martin Seghers and Paul Blackman from Needcompany, along with the ensemble Klangforum Wien.
Telegraph
01-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
The world's greatest holidays for music lovers
The death of the music industry may have been exaggerated. Figures released in January indicate that Britons spent more on recorded music in 2024 (£2.4 billion) than in any year since 2001. And while streaming services account for 85 per cent of this expenditure, the resurgence of vinyl – 6.7 million LPs were sold in the UK last year, with major releases by Taylor Swift and Charli XCX proving popular – has helped keep the numbers healthy. Of course, music is a many-faceted and wildly diverse thing, and there is much more to its magic than the passive experience of listening at home. Indeed, it can be an excellent reason for travel. And whether your personal taste extends to the 3am dancefloor rush in a busy Mediterranean club or the rather more cerebral sounds of an 18th-century composer, the following 10 holidays promise to carry you closer to the sounds that move you… In search of Amadeus The debate as to the greatest musician of all time is always subjective, and often deeply reductive, but the idea of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a genius to eclipse all others has taken root with good reason. What this child prodigy achieved in just 35 years is almost beyond comparison – more than 800 classical compositions, including operatic wonders The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as his dying-breath masterpiece the Requiem. The majority of his most celebrated works were crafted in Vienna, but in many ways his story is forever tied to the Austrian city where he was born in 1756 – Salzburg. How to do it: Salzburg hosts an annual Mozart Week ( which sees its Mozarteum Orchestra delve into his catalogue; the 2026 festival is already scheduled for January 22-February 1. Martin Randall Travel (020 8742 3355; offers the event via a 'Mozart in Salzburg' tour – from £4,750 a head, flights extra (2025 price). Keeping an ear on Ludwig At roughly the same time – his date of birth is lost to history, but his baptism was on December 17, 1770 – another Germanic composer was turning inspiration into music some 450 miles to the north-west. Like Mozart, Ludwig Van Beethoven produced his best work in Vienna, moving to the city in 1792, and carving cultural touchstones such as his only opera, Fidelio (1805), and his glorious Ninth Symphony (1824) – both created despite an advancing deafness – while living among its palaces and perfume. But like Mozart, he is most easily traced in his birthplace; in his case, the Rhineside city of Bonn. How to do it: The house where Beethoven was born is now preserved as a museum ( It forms a key part of the five-day 'Music Tour Beethoven' itinerary sold by German travel company Augustus Tours (0049 351 563 480; This can be arranged as a break for up to 10 people (price on request). A night at the opera Two centuries on, Vienna is as much a magnet for opera lovers as it was for Mozart and Beethoven – and amid the ongoing impossibility of visiting the temples to the genre in St Petersburg and Moscow, it is one of the best options for enjoying music's most hallowed art form. The key venue is the Staatsoper ( – the State Opera House, which became the first building on the Austrian capital's circular Ringstrasse when it was constructed between 1861 and 1869. Though bombed during the war (and subsequently restored), its Neo Renaissance architecture is as spectacular as the performances within it. How to do it: Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2288; offers a regular 'Wine & Opera in Vienna' break – a four-night group tour whose next edition (May 29) will include a trip to the Staatsoper for Bizet's Carmen. From £3,289 a head, with flights. Deep sounds in the American South So rich is the musical heritage of the Deep South that you can immerse yourself in three different genres in the space of a few hundred miles. Indeed, a journey which takes in the Tennessee cities of Nashville and Memphis, and their Louisiana cousin New Orleans, will offer the twang of guitars, the tinkle of pianos and almost 200 years of back-story. Nashville, of course, is the epicentre of country music, and celebrates it in detail at the enormous Country Music Hall of Fame ( Memphis is one of the great cradles of both blues and rock, and keeps their dreams alive in the bars of Beale Street (not least BB King's Blues Club; and Elvis Presley's Graceland home ( New Orleans, meanwhile, was the birthplace of jazz. It still nods to its key changes in the holy space of Preservation Hall ( How to do it: Journeyscape (020 3883 7174; offers all three cities and styles in its 11-day 'Music of the Deep South' trip; from £2,110 a head, flights extra. Et tout ce jazz… Although jazz came to life in the bars and brothels of the Big Easy's red-light district in the 1900s, it has since 'gone legit' across the planet. One of its most joyful incarnations on European soil is Jazz à Vienne – a 15-day extravaganza which takes over the French town of the same name every summer (June 26-July 11 in 2025; To be precise, it takes over the enormous Roman theatre in what is a glorious dot on the map of Isère, sparkling on the east bank of the Rhône. And while the festival attracts major stars – Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald both took to its stage – it is often most alluring down the bill; younger artists showing their virtuosity, with concerts running late into the night. How to do it: A four-night stay at the Grand Hôtel de la Poste, flying from Luton to Lyon on July 8, costs from £360 per person, via Expedia (020 3024 8211; Three-night festival tickets are €111 (seven nights start at €185; full-festival passes €355). It's up to you, New York… Rock has taken on many forms since its blossoming from its blues roots, and any number of cities – swinging London, Beatles-centric Liverpool, ever-inventive Manchester, ever-resilient Detroit, hair-metal Los Angeles – can offer sites from its past and present. Nonetheless, New York might easily seize the crown as its own, having witnessed, in the space of two decades alone, Bob Dylan's emergence in the Greenwich Village folk scene, the Bowery punk explosion which produced the Ramones and Blondie (among others), as well as the side-step into disco which coalesced under the lights at Studio 54. How to do it: Walk On The Wild Side ( offers a range of walking tours (from $45/£36) which deal in punk nostalgia, plus specific routes which seek out Big Apple luminaries Lou Reed, Sonic Youth, Patti Smith and the Beastie Boys. Bowery Boys Walks ( covers Dylan's Greenwich ($40/£32). A five-night dash to the four-star Sanctuary Hotel in Manhattan, flying from Heathrow on May 13, starts at £1,211 a head via Virgin Holidays (0344 472 9646; A rap and a hard place As with rock, a whole swathe of cities can stake a claim to being the metropolitan fuel to rap's lyrical blaze, New York included. But two other celebrated entries in the American atlas have clear connections to hip-hop's fire, fury and sometime finesse. Los Angeles is one of them; the California cauldron in which (in particular) NWA stirred a potent gangsta-rap brew in the late Eighties. Atlanta provided a less angry, more tuneful (but no less successful) take on the genre, via the likes of Outkast, in the Nineties and Noughties. How to do it: LA Hood Life Tourz ( takes hip-hop fans into rap hotbeds such as Compton, Watts and Crenshaw from $75 (£59); Hip Hop Tours Of Atlanta ( provides a similar service in the Georgia capital (from $113/£89 a head). Seven-night getaways to the Hollywood Roosevelt or the Grand Hyatt Atlanta – flying from Heathrow on May 3 in both cases – cost from £1,524 and £1,758 per person respectively, via British Airways Holidays (0344 493 0787; Swede dreams are made of this If you prefer a rather more sugary form of music, pop has rarely been sweeter than in the honeyed hits of Swedish titans ABBA. You can, of course, watch holographic replicas of the four stars gyrating through the songbook at the Abba Voyage ( show in London, but for the most authentic take on their tale, you need to go directly to the source. ABBA The Museum ( is a Stockholm treasure trove whose exhibits cover the divorces as well as the gold discs. Most importantly, it lets guests do karaoke takes on their favourite ABBA tracks with another virtual version of the band. How to do it: Museum tickets start at 269 Krona (£20) a head. A three-night stay at the five-star Radisson Collection Strand Hotel, flying from Manchester to Stockholm on May 1, costs from £480 per person, with Last Minute (020 3386 8411; Over the wall, under the ground It is a journey of around 350 miles from Bonn to Berlin, but the gulf between Beethoven and the music that soundtracked the German capital in the late Eighties and early Nineties feels interplanetary. True, at least two American hubs (Detroit and Chicago) were crucial in the development of techno as a nightclub floor-filler, but this most beat-heavy of genres really found favour in Berlin after the fall of its infamous wall in 1989 – disused buildings, warehouses and underground spaces being appropriated for massive dance parties which helped to reunite the youthful population(s) of a no-longer-divided city. Many of the clubs which thrived in those heady days are long gone, not least Bunker and E-Werk (Tresor exists, but in a different location; yet the music still has a potency in Berlin which can make for late nights (and sore ears the following day). How to do it: Get Your Guide ( sells a 'Premium Underground Party Tour' which offers a glimpse of Berlin's 21st-century techno scene (from £124 a head). A three-night stay at the Titanic Comfort Berlin Mitte, flying from Birmingham on April 4, costs from £560 per person, with easyJet Holidays (0330 493 0787; Balearic beats and Spanish heat Dance music has fractured into numerous sub-genres since its ascent from the club to the mainstream began in the Eighties, but some of the places most closely associated with its party-til-dawn ethos have stayed reliably on-brand, whatever the exact sounds pounding from their speakers. Ibiza is a case in point, and if the house music which once dominated its mega-venues has been outpaced by modern EDM (Electronic Dance Music), the Balearic archipelago's most fashionable island still understands how to do wild abandon.
New York Times
15-02-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Edith Mathis, Radiant Swiss Soprano, Is Dead at 86
Edith Mathis, a light-voiced Swiss soprano who sparkled in Bach, Mozart and Weber and was the agile-voiced favorite of several of the conducting giants who dominated mid-20th-century concert halls, died on Sunday at her home in Salzburg, Austria. She was 86. Her death was announced by the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where she sang throughout the 1970s and '80s. But she was also a star in all the world's other major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, illuminating roles like Cherubino and Susanna in Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro,' Ännchen in Weber's 'Der Freischütz' and Marzelline in Beethoven's 'Fidelio,' which she sang five times at the Met in 1971 under Karl Böhm. She was a favorite of his, as she was of his rival for conducting pre-eminence in the last century, Herbert von Karajan. The dozens of opera, oratorio, cantata and song recordings Ms. Mathis left behind illustrate why: a clear, bright voice, perfect intonation even on the highest notes, an unaffected manner and absolute service to the text — 'the voice so reliably radiant and clear, the musicianship so reliably impeccable,' the British critic Hugo Shirley wrote in Gramophone magazine in 2018, reviewing a CD collection released by Deutsche Grammophon in observance of her 80th birthday. She was, the dramaturg Malte Krasting wrote in a tribute for the Bavarian State Opera, 'the epitome of an ideal Mozart singer.' She was also ideal in the German lieder repertoire — Schubert, Schumann and Hugo Wolf — many of whose songs she recorded with all-star partners like Christoph Eschenbach and Graham Johnson. When, for instance, she sang the Schubert song 'Schlaflied' in a 1994 recording with Mr. Johnson, she gave a slight, barely perceptible push to the German word 'jedem' ('all' or 'every'), in the line 'And is healed of all pain.' The extra measure of reassurance for the poem's subject, a young boy, adds a dramatic point to the whole song. And it illustrates what critics found most admirable about her singing, which they sometimes contrasted with the more exaggerated manner of, say, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, with whom she sometimes sang — they recorded Bach's 'St. Matthew Passion' and Haydn's 'The Creation' together, among other works. She was faithful to her material, yet she didn't shy away from giving it an interpretive nudge. Mr. Fischer-Dieskau's more emphatic style, by contrast, ensures that a listener never misses the point. 'Her manner is unfailingly direct, and she exudes a yearning, almost girlish, enthusiasm,' Tim Page of The New York Times wrote of a song recital in 1985. 'This was an afternoon sullied by neither pretension nor profundity. Miss Mathis came, she sang and — too gracious to conquer — she captured our affection instead.' In her numerous Schumann song recordings, Mr. Shirley wrote in Gramophone, 'words sit clearly on a steady vocal line without ever disturbing it.' She made her debut at the Met as Pamina in Mozart's 'The Magic Flute' under the conductor Stanislaw Skrowaczewski in January 1970 and went on to sing there 25 times between 1970 and 1974. The critics never seemed to find anything to reproach her for. As Marzelline in Beethoven's 'Fidelio,' the New York Times critic Donal Henahan wrote in 1971, 'Edith Mathis acted sensibly, and her pinpoint intonation made her silvery tone seem surprisingly robust.' Three years later, Harold Schonberg praised her performance in Strauss's 'Der Rosenkavalier': 'A big controlled voice comes from that little body. She is one of the distinguished Sophies in Metropolitan Opera history.' Ms. Mathis entered popular culture, briefly, when a duet from Mozart's 'The Marriage of Figaro" that she sang with the soprano Gundula Janowitz figured in the soundtrack to the hit 1994 film 'The Shawshank Redemption.' The music 'soars over a prison yard, signifying joy and hope in a world of despair,' Zachary Woolfe of The Times wrote in 2014. She gave few interviews over her career and was described by those who knew her as modest to the point of shyness. In a rare 1992 interview with the music journalist Bruce Duffie, she reflected on what some critics deemed a cautious, protective attitude toward her own voice — for instance, she would never accept a full-throated Wagnerian role like Brünnhilde. 'When I try a role, if I feel it's too heavy for me then I will never do it,' she told Mr. Duffie. 'I might just wait perhaps until later, but I wouldn't do something which hurts the voice, and where I have to force against the orchestra. That's impossible.' Edith Mathis was born in Lucerne, Switzerland, on Feb. 11, 1938. She once recalled in an interview with the Neue Zurcher Zeitung, Switzerland's leading newspaper, that her parents, and particularly her mother, cultivated her ambition to sing. In her teenage years, she said, she typed invoices in an office in the morning, to placate parents worried about the uncertainties of a career in music, and in the afternoons went to the local conservatory. She also studied at the conservatory in Zurich. She made her operatic debut in 1957 at the City Theater in Lucerne as the Second Boy in 'The Magic Flute.' From 1959 to 1963 she was part of the ensemble at the Cologne Opera House, and in 1963 she joined the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. She first sang at the Salzburg Festival in 1960, in a concert, and at the Glyndebourne Festival in England, as Cherubino, in 1962. She won a number of awards for her recordings, including the Prix Mondial du Disque de Montreux, in Switzerland, and taught song and oratorio at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna from 1992 to 2006. She made her last appearance as a singer in 2001. Ms. Mathis is survived by her husband, Heinz Slunecko, an art collector, and two children, Bettina Mathis and Tom Mathis. An earlier marriage, to the conductor Bernhard Klee, ended in divorce. In her interview with Mr. Duffie, Ms. Mathis spoke of the singer's isolation: 'We have no excuse,' she said. 'A conductor can say, 'They didn't play well for me,' and a pianist can say, 'The piano was very bad, and was not in tune, or was a very old instrument,' but we singers are our instruments, and we have to do the whole business ourselves.'
