Gudrun Barrella
Gudrun Barrella (1925-) was an opera singer and teacher.
Contents
Biography
Gudrun Barrella was born in 1925 in Stralsund, Germany, where she made her stage debut at the age of five. After the war she commenced her vocal studies with Lena Wagner in Munich. She emigrated to Australia in 1952, taking up singing activities with the Melbourne opera group, first as chorister and then in smaller roles. After six years she left Australia with her husband who then worked in Uganda, from where they came to settle in South Africa in 1960.
Barrella furthered her vocal studies with Adelheid Armhold at the South African College of Music in Cape Town, obtaining her Performer’s and Teacher’s Licentiates while studying for a B.A. Mus. through UNISA.
From 1967 to 1968 she was a lecturer in singing at the University of Stellenbosch, whereupon she joined PACOFS from 1969 to 1972 as soloist. From 1973 to her retirement in 1990 she was a lecturer in singing at the University of the Orange Free State.
In 1991 she moved to Cape Town and became a part-time lecturer at the Bellville Academy of Music.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
Her repertoire includes roles such as Tosca, Cio-Cio-San, Mimì, Musetta, Micaëla, Suor Angelica and Desdemona. She also performed in oratorio and concerts, with a predilection for the French art song, working with accompanists such as Lamar Crowson.
Sources
Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow[1]. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.[2]
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