(Photo credit: Andrzej Świetlik)

Contralto Jadwiga Rappé has passed away at the age of 73.

Rappé was born Feb. 24, 1952 in Toruń, Poland. She studied at the Warsaw school of music and the Wrocław Academy of Music. Aside from her signature role of Erda in Wagner’s “Der Ring des Nibelungen,” Rappé was known for her specialty in oratorio. She taught voice at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music.

In 1983, Rappé made her professional opera debut at the Grand Theatre, Warsaw, in Handel’s “Amadigi di Gaula.” She went on to perform leading roles with other opera houses in Karlsruhe, Paris, Cologne Opera, Bologna, Genève, Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Brussels, and more.

She premiered works by Krzysztof Penderecki, including the “Seven Gates of Jerusalem,” Wojciech Kilar’s “Missa pro pace” at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw, and in 2008 she sang in the first performance of Ladislav Kubik’s “Gong. Sinfonietta.” Composers such as Juliusz Łuciuk, Piotr Moss, Krzysztof Baculewski, and Paweł Mykiety wrote new works especially for her voice.

Rappé made around 60 recordings. Her recording of Szymanowski’s “3 Fragments of Poems by J. Kasprowicz” with pianist Maja Nosowska won the Polish Radio Award in 1982. Other accolades include winning first prize at the International Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1980, and the following year a gold medal at the Festival of Young Soloists in Bordeaux.

Rappé passed away on May 16, from a long illness.