Born in
Saarbrücken on 7 November 1934, Schmidt studied voice and made her debut at the Saarbrücken Opera as Hänsel in Humperdinck's
Hänsel und Gretel. She became a member of the
Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden and in 1969 of the
Deutsche Oper am Rhein. The same year, she performed at the
Staatstheater Nürnberg in the premiere of
Isang Yun's opera
Träume (Dreams). She toured Japan with the
Bayerische Staatsoper in 1974. Schmidt performed at the
Bayreuth Festival from 1975, as Wellgunde in
Das Rheingold and
Götterdämmerung, later also as Grimgerde in
Die Walküre and in smaller roles in
Parsifal. She appeared at the
Salzburg Festival from 1974 to 1995, in roles such as the
Zweite Dame in Mozart's
Die Zauberflöte, the composer in
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss (1979–82), Clairon in his
Capriccio (1985–87), Cherubino in Mozart's
Le nozze di Figaro (1980), Idamante in his
Idomeneo (1983–84), Meg Page in Verdi's
Falstaff (1991) and Marcellina in
Le nozze di Figaro (1995). Schmidt's stage presence was praised, in roles such as the
Kostelnička in Janáček
Jenůfa and Carlotta in Schreker's
Die Gezeichneten. She performed the role of the Marchesa in the premiere of
Manfred Trojahn's
Enrico at the
Schwetzingen Festival in 1991. In concert, Schmidt appeared in 1985 as a soloist in a mass at
St. Peter's Basilica held by Pope
John Paul II, singing the alto part in Mozart's
Coronation Mass, conducted by
Herbert von Karajan. She performed in Beethoven's
Missa solemnis with the
Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Karajan, alongside
Lella Cuberli,
Vinson Cole and
José van Dam. Schmidt died in Saarbrücken. == Bibliography ==