Ingeborg Hallstein

Ingeborg Hallstein (born 23 May 1936) is a German coloratura soprano, known for the purity and range of her voice. She had an international career as a guest singer on the opera houses of Europe and was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1961 to 1973. Her signature roles were the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte and Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. She created roles including Scolatella in Henze's König Hirsch.

Early career

Born in Munich, Hallstein studied with her mother, Elisabeth Hallstein, and debuted at the opera house in Passau, Germany, in 1957 as Musetta in Puccini's La bohème.

After engagements at the Theater Basel and the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich she made her Salzburg Festival debut in 1960 as Rosina in Mozart's La finta semplice. The same year she joined the Bavarian State Opera, a full member there from 1961 to 1973. She created the role of Scolatella in the revised version of Henze's König Hirsch in Kassel in 1963, and Autonoe in his Die Bassariden at the 1966 Salzburg Festival.

International career

In the following years, Hallstein appeared as a guest to important opera houses in the world, including Deutsche Oper Berlin, Hamburg State Opera, La Fenice in Venice, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. She also sang at the Royal Opera House in London with Otto Klemperer and first sang one of her signature roles for the reopening of the Theater an der Wien, the Queen of the Night in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte, conducted by Herbert von Karajan.