Brigitte Fassbender: All my life I suffered from stage fright
OperaThe magnificent German mezzo, later an imposing theatre and festival director, gives a rare interview to Zsolt Bognar. Now 85, Brigitte involves her successor as director, Josef Köpplinger, as an intermediary in the conversation.
Brigitte attributes her early retirement from singing to an increase in performance anxiety. ‘I was like a lamb to slaughter,’ she says.
She amplifies: ‘The more you work and the further you come, the more your own responsibility grows. Sometimes you want to stay back and say, I can’t any more. The regeneration of emotional feelings is running out. This is a reason I stopped rather early.’
I was overwhelmed by Brigitte’s candour when we met for a BBC Lebrecht Interview in 2008. Sadly, it is not presently online.
Watch Zsolt’s latest:
An immense artist — a legendary singer who, like all great singers, is not merely a singer, but a great thinker as well. Her Frauenliebe und Leben is simply a masterpiece of depth, understanding, and musical integrity.
Her surname is actually Fassbaender.
Was her father Willi Domgraf-F.? A fabulous baritone! Listen to his ‘Nemico …’ from Chénier [‘Als Feind des Vaterlandes’] Thrilling. In any case, I’m grateful to Mr. Lebrecht’s venue to express my gratitude to Ms. F. for sharing her great artistry with all of us for so many years. She’s still my all-time favorite Octavian.