Sucher, Josef
Sucher Rosa, nee Hasselbeck, *23 February 1849 Velburg (Bavaria), †16 April 1927 Eschweiler (near Aachen), German singer (soprano). She made her debut in 1871 at the Hofoper in Munich as Waltraut in Wagner’s Die Walküre, then sang in Trier and Königsberg. In 1875, she appeared as Agatha in Weber’s Der Freischütz at the Kroll Oper in Berlin; in 1876, she performed in Gdańsk. After marrying the Austrian conductor Josef Sucher in 1877, she participated in his numerous undertakings, including performing the part of Sieglinde in Der Ring des Nibelungen (Leipzig 1878) and the title role in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde at the opera in Hamburg (1882), where they were both employed in 1878–88. In 1882, she stayed in London, where she made her debut as Elsa in Lohengrin, on 30 May, she took part in the London premiere of Die Meistersinger Nuremberg as Ewa, where she also sang the parts of Senta (The Flying Dutchman), Elizabeth (Tannhäuser) and Isolde. In this role, she achieved great success in 1886 in Bayreuth, where she later also appeared in other Wagner roles: as Kundry (Parsifal, 1886), Eve (1888), Venus (Tannhäuser, 1891) and Sieglinda (1896). In 1886, she participated in performances of Weber’s Der Freischütz, Oberon and Euryanthe during the celebrations in Vienna for the 100th anniversary of the composer’s birth. In 1888–98, she was associated with the Hofoper stage in Berlin; she then enriched her repertoire with the roles of Leonore in Beethoven’s Fidelio and Brünnhilde in Wagner’s Twilight of the Gods. In 1892, she sang the parts of Brünnhilde (Siegfried) and Isolde in Covent Garden. In the latter role, she made her debut in 1895 at the Metropolitan Opera House with the Damrosch Opera Company. She made her last appearance in 1903 in Berlin as Zyglinda. In 1908, after her husband’s death, she moved to Vienna, where she gave singing lessons. She was considered one of the most outstanding performers of Wagner roles. Her performances, especially in the roles of Elsa, Sieglinde and Isolde, were supported by perfectly mastered acting skills and were characterised by great power of expression.
Literature: R. Sucher Aus meinem Leben, Leipzig 1914.