Soprano Beate Ritter Dies at 41

The native of Upper Austria passed away on Sunday after a short illness, as her former home, the Vienna Volksoper, announced. The artist, born on December 19, 1983, was a member of the ensemble at the house on the Gürtel for many years, from 2010 to 2018, and remained a regular guest there until the end.

Beate Ritter has died

Most recently, she was seen in Vienna as Irene in the Strauss operetta "The Queen's Lace Handkerchief," with which the newly renovated Theater an der Wien was reopened in January. The lighter muse than the opera genre was also at the beginning of Beate Ritter's career, as the later coloratura soprano initially decided to pursue a musical theater education at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. This step was followed by the study of classical solo singing at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität before Ritter started her actual career.

She celebrated her personal opera debut in 2009 at the Theater an der Wien as Yniold in Debussy's "Pelléas et Mélisande," followed by her house debut at the Volksoper in 2010 - the house that would become her long-time artistic home. From 2010 to 2018, she was part of the ensemble here and sang in 295 performances. Her signature role as the Queen of the Night in "The Magic Flute" stands out, which she performed 84 times at the Gürtel.

Planned as Queen of the Night at the Volksoper

After her time at the Volksoper, the singer went abroad and became a member of the ensemble at the Stuttgart State Opera until 2024, before becoming a freelance artist. In the fall, she was supposed to return to her old house to sing the Queen of the Night again in the new production of "The Magic Flute" by house director Lotte de Beer, which premieres on September 14. "That this is no longer possible fills us with deep sorrow," said the Volksoper on Monday.

(APA/Red)

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