WALTRAUD MEIER Farewell to Singing – What's next?

Waltraud Meier, born in 1956 in Würzburg, made musical history. Celebrated worldwide for her unmistakable timbre and unique expressive power, she set new standards above all as an interpreter of Wagner and is considered the "most famous Isolde of our time." She also impressed in the Italian and French operatic repertoire.
After 47 years on the opera stage, she has decided to end her singing career.
In the documentary, the classical music legend speaks about her many years on the road and her time on the Green Hill of Bayreuth. She also recounts her collaboration with Vicco von Bülow (Loriot), who in 1986 directed the Flotow opera "Martha" at the Staatstheater Stuttgart.
Excerpts from past performances show Waltraud Meier as Amneris, Kundry, Isolde, Ortrud, and as Sieglinde in the "Millennium Ring" directed by Jürgen Flimm and conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.
The singer-actress is also seen as an outstanding Marie in Alban Berg’s opera "Wozzeck", in the production by Patrice Chéreau, who became her favourite director. Together with him, she also developed the role of the mother Klytämnestra in Richard Strauss's opera "Elektra." With this role, she bid farewell to singing.
The film looks back on the extraordinary career of Waltraud Meier and shows her during revival rehearsals and in performance at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden on October 20, 2023 — the night the final opera curtain fell for her.
When asked whether she will continue to give concerts or recitals in the future, the exceptional artist replies: “When it’s over, it’s over. There will be other tasks ahead…"