On Dec. 21, 2025, contralto Ortrun Wenkel died at the age of 83 after a short illness.

Wenkel was born in Buttstädt, Thuringia on Oct. 25, 1942 and studied  at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. After immigrating from East Germany to West Germany, she continued at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

The contralto began her career in 1964 as concert and oratorio soloist and dedicated herself to Baroque music. She went on to appear at the English Bach Festival, Festival du Marais, Flandern Festival, Holland Festival, Salle Pleyel, the Royal Festival Hall, Tonhalle, and the Wiener Musikvereinssaal.

In 1971, Wenkel made her stage debut at the municipal theatre of Heidelberg in the title role of Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice” and in 1975 became a member of the Bayerische Staatsoper.

At the Munich house, she caught the attention of Wolfgang Wagner, and was immediately engaged in the role of Erda in “The Ring Cycle.” That would become her signature role and one that she would sing all around the world especially at the Bayreuth Festival, where she participated in the acclaimed 1976 Centenary Ring conducted by Pierre Boulez and staged by Patrice Chéreau. That production went on to be filmed in and she won the Grammy Award.

Outside of Munich, Wenkel went on to make an international career singing at many of the leading opera houses including the Teatro alla Scala, Royal Opera House, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Staatsoper Stuttgart, Opernhaus Zurich, Teatro Colón Buenos Aires, Kennedy Center Washington and Carnegie Hall.

Wenkel left many recordings including the aforementioned Ring Cycle, Handel’s “Serse,” Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, Strauss’ “Daphne” and Dvořák’s “Stabat Mater.”