Gabriele Sima, Austrian opera singer, Died at 61

  Music

Gabriele Sima was born on February 25, 1955, in Innsbruck, and died on April 27, 2016 in Vienna.

She was an Austrian opera singer.

She has had an active international performance career since 1979.

Sima was popularly known for her appearances at the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna State Opera, and the Zurich Opera, she has performed in roles associated with both the soprano and mezzo-soprano repertoires.

Gabriele received her trained at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg and the Academy of Music in Vienna.

Sima made her professional opera debut with Spectaculum, in 1979, a Vienna based opera company dedicated to performing baroque operas.

Sima was a member of the young artist program at the Vienna State Opera (VSO), from 1979-1982.

Then, Gabriele was promoted to the role of a resident artist with the VSO, a position she maintained until 1988 when she became a principal artist at the Zurich Opera.

During 1980, Sima made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in Ernst Krenek’s Karl V, and continued to perform there regularly over the next decade.

Her parts at Salzburg included Johanna in the world premiere of Friedrich Cerha’s Baal (July 8, 1981) and the Nurse in the world premiere of Luciano Berio’s Un re in ascolto (July 7, 1984).

Also, she to part at Salzburg in performances of Othmar Schoeck’s Penthesilea (1982), Gottfried von Einem’s Dantons Tod (1983), a concert of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1987, and ‘Richard Strauss Elektra (1989).

During 1991, Sima made her debut at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro, a role which she also sang for her debut at the Teatro Comunale in Ferrara in 1994.

Following her return to the VSO several times during the 1990s, including appearances as Annio in La clemenza di Tito (1991), Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier (1991), and Nicklausse in The Tales of Hoffmann (1995).

She has taken part in production such as the Hamburg State Opera during the period of her career.

Sima performed the role of Juno in the first modern revival of Giovanni Legrenzi’s La divisione del mondo at the Schwetzingen Festival in 2000.

Her other many roles on stage include Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, Berta in The Barber of Seville, Esmeralda in The Bartered Bride, The Fortuneteller in Arabella, Flora in La traviata, Giannetta in The Elixir of Love, Papagena in The Magic Flute, the Shepherd Boy in Tannhäuser, Siebel in Faust, and Xenia in Boris Godunov among others.

Gabriele Sima passed away at 61 yrs old.