Life

Ute Walther came from a musical family. Her mother was a singer, and her father, a conductor , died shortly before the end of World War II . [ 2 ] She studied singing at the Berlin Academy of Music with Alois Orth and Adelheid Müller-Hess and began her stage career in 1968 at the Schwerin State Theatre , where she debuted as Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier . [ 2 ] In 1974, she moved to the Rostock People’s Theatre , where she remained until 1980. [ 2 ]

In 1980, she was engaged by the Dresden State Opera . [ 2 ] In June 1982, she sang the Composer in the B-premiere of the opera Ariadne auf Naxos . [ 3 ] During the 1982/83 season, she was cast as Ortrud in a new production of Lohengrin by Christine Mielitz at the Dresden State Opera . [ 4 ] In February 1985, she sang Octavian in Dresden for the reopening of the Semper Opera . [ 5 ] In December 1985, she sang Magdalene in a new production of Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg at the Dresden State Opera , conducted by Siegfried Kurz . [ 6 ] A few days after the Dresden premiere of Meistersinger , she left East Germany and continued her career in the West.

In April 1985, Walther had already made her debut at the Vienna State Opera , also as Octavian, where she continued to perform until 1990  , including roles such as the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos , Fricka in Die Walküre , and Prince Orlofsky in the operetta Die Fledermaus . [ 7 ] [ 8 ] In March 1986, she also participated in a Japan tour with the Vienna State Opera.

From 1986 until her retirement from the stage in 2006, Ute Walther was a member of the Deutsche Oper Berlin (DOB). [ 1 ] She performed in over 600 performances at the DOB, in operas ranging from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Aribert Reimann . [ 1 ] She made her house debut as the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos . [ 1 ] At the DOB, she sang roles including  Carmen, Cherubino, Dorabella, Princess Eboli, Octavian, as well as the Wagnerian roles of Fricka and Waltraute in the Ring Cycle, Brangäne, Ortrud, and Magdalene. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] She sang the role of Amneris in Aida at the Deutsche Oper Berlin in a total of 65 performances. [ 1 ] With the DOB ensemble, she toured Japan in 1987 as Fricka and Waltraute in the Ring Cycle. In September 1992, she sang the role of Olga in the world premiere of Aribert Reimann’s opera Das Schloss at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. [ 9 ] In 1997–98, she reprised the role of Fricka in the Ring Cycle at the Deutsche Oper Berlin. In 2000, she sang Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at the Deutsche Oper Berlin alongside René Kollo and Gabriele Schnaut . Later in her career, Walther transitioned to character roles, taking on parts such as the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel , Kabanicha in Katja Kabanova , and Herodias in Salome . [ 1 ] In 2001, she sang the Electress in Hans Werner Henze ‘s opera Der Prinz von Homburg at the Deutsche Oper Berlin . During the 2005/06 season, she sang the role of the elderly Madelon in a new production of Andrea Chénier at the Deutsche Oper Berlin . [ 10 ]

Ute Walther has appeared as a guest artist at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow , at the Edinburgh Festival (in 1982 as the Composer in Ariadne auf Naxos during a guest performance by the Dresden State Opera), and in Madrid and Lisbon. During the 1983/84 season, she made several guest appearances at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin . [ 11 ] In 1989, she appeared at the Warsaw Opera as Fricka and as Waltraute in the Ring Cycle. In 1990, she sang Brangäne in Tristan und Isolde at the Cologne Opera . In 1997, she appeared at the Komische Oper Berlin as the witch Ježibaba in Rusalka (directed by Christine Mielitz).

Ute Walther also distinguished herself as a concert singer. She was considered a “great” Bach interpreter. [ 2 ]

After her official retirement from performing, Ute Walther returned to the stage in the summer of 2016. At the Renaissance Theatre in Berlin, she performed alongside Karan Armstrong , René Kollo, and Victor von Halem in Quartetto , a play about four elderly opera singers by Ronald Harwood . [ 12 ]

Ute Walther’s voice is documented  on records from brands such as Denon ( Rosenkavalier recording 1985, 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven ), HMV-Electrola ( Die Walküre ), Wergo ( Das Schloss by Aribert Reimann) and Capriccio (9th Symphony by Beethoven under the musical direction of Herbert Kegel ).

Ute Walther died in June 2026 after a “long, serious illness” at the age of 80. [ 1 ]