Around the Music Festival

German mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender has received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the German “Faust” theatre awards. She is being honored for having performed all the major roles for her voice type during her singing career, her work as a stage director since retiring from the stage, her long tenure as artistic director of the Tyrolean State Theatre—where she served as a role model for women in the field—and her contributions to nurturing young talent through masterclasses.

Fassbaender was born in Berlin and is now 87 years old. She grew up in a family where her father was the baritone and court singer Willi Domgraf-Fassbaender and her mother was the actress Sabine Peters; after studying at the Nuremberg Conservatory, she made her debut in 1961 at the Bavarian State Opera, singing the role of Nicklausse in Offenbach’s 《The Tales of Hoffmann》. She subsequently enjoyed an international career as one of the leading opera singers of the post-war era.

PHOTO：Karlsruhe University of Music