Born in
Braunschweig, Wulkopf trained after school to be a nurse for children, from 1968 to 1971. She studied voice at the
Hochschule für Musik Detmold with
Helmut Kretschmar,
Günther Weißenborn and Rainer Weber. In 1976, she was awarded first prize in the competition for German music colleges (
Wettbewerb der deutschen Musikhochschulen) and won first prizes at the
Bundeswettbewerb Gesang in Berlin, in the categories of Opera and Concert. She made her stage debut in 1977 at the
Bayreuth Festival as Floßhilde and Siegrune in the
Jahrhundertring, the centenary production of Wagner's
Der Ring des Nibelungen, conducted by
Pierre Boulez and staged by
Patrice Chéreau. From the 1977/78 season, she was a member of the
Bavarian State Opera in Munich, where she performed first as Erda in the
Ring, then as Schwertleite and Waltraute, as Magdalene in Wagner's
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Brangäne in his
Tristan und Isolde. Leading roles included Orpheus in Gluck's
Orpheus und Euridice, Ulrica" in Verdi's
Ein Maskenball, Azucena in his
Der Troubadour, and the Witch in Humperdinck's
Hänsel und Gretel. In 1988, she was named a Bavarian
Kammersängerin. From 1990, she has worked freelance. She performed as a guest at the house in roles such as the mother in Berg's
Lulu in the 2015/16 season, conducted by
Kirill Petrenko, alongside
Marlis Petersen in the title role. Beginning in 1980, she appeared as a guest at major opera houses in Germany, such as the
Hamburg State Opera, the
Staatsoper Hannover where she also appeared as the Nurse in
Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss, in Karlsruhe and Berlin. In Europe, she sang at the
Vienna State Opera, at
La Scala, the
Liceu in Barcelona and the
Zürich Opera House, among others. She appeared at more international festivals, including the
Bregenzer Festspiele,
Bergen International Festival,
Festival de Radio France et Montpellier and
Ravello Festival. In 2005, she appeared as Baronin Grünwiesel in Henze's
Der junge Lord in a production of the Theater Klagenfurt. She sang the role of Filipjewna in Tschaikovky's
Eugen Onegin at the
Staatsoper Stuttgart in 2008, conducted by
Marc Soustrot. She appeared as the Old Baroness in Barber's
Vanessa at the Theater Gießen in 2009, and as Aunti in Britten's
Peter Grimes at the Teatro Regio Turino in 2010, alongside
Neil Shicoff in the title role. In concert, she performed the
Salzburg Festival in 1981, singing the alto part of
Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln by Franz Schmidt. She has collaborated with conductors
Karl Richter,
Wolfgang Sawallisch,
Seiji Ozawa,
Václav Neumann,
Eugen Jochum,
Leif Segerstam,
Marek Janowski,
Carlos Kleiber,
Marc Albrecht,
Christian Thielemann, in Germany and abroad. She gave recitals with pianists Sawallisch,
Helmut Deutsch, Rainer Weber and
Klaus Schilde. She has appeared on radio and television. == Recordings ==