Actress Gisela May dies at 92

Berlin - as an expression of strong interpreter of Brecht Weill Chansons, it became famous. Her solo evenings gave Gisela May - triumphs over decades of New York's Carnegie Hall to the Milan Scala. At the age of 92 is the singer and Brecht actress now early on Friday morning in Berlin died.

Where May occurred, was celebrated with enthusiastic applause. Not only as a singer, but also on the theatrical stage won may great success. Their main stage role was Brecht's "Mother Courage and her children". She played the character from 1978 until her resignation from the Berliner Ensemble in 1992. May was next to Helene Weigel and Therese Giehse as most famous performer of the Marketenderin, during the thirty years war for survival all humanity to drive.

Unlike the majority of German actresses, may never close border between serious and entertaining theater. In addition to classic acting roles took also often tasks in the service of light entertainment. For example shined in the 1970s in the (East) Berlin Metropol Theater, the present Admiral Palace, as actress in a leading role in the musical "Hello, Dolly!".

Display
the desire to language and music was the 1924 in Wetzlar-born artist already in the cradle. Her mother Kate was an actress, Father Ferdinand May writer. From 1942 to 1944 she attended drama school in Leipzig. After that she had engagements at various theaters. In 1951, may to the Deutsches Theater Berlin.

A work with and under the Bertolt Brecht, which you in your time at the Deutsches Theater Berlin multiple personally met it was not. Like told him that they may at the beginning of the 1950s was met by chance once and for his views seen that "in him nothing could win". Grinning she always adds: "The Brecht stand yes more, now yes, I will not say on rural women, but to stronger, on women that are not painted. And I have always done."

Only 1962 years after Brecht's death, he may at the time of his widow Helene Weigel led Berliner Ensemble. You remained there for 30 years. Their often brittle interpretation of complex characters, always remote any sentimentality, brought them to one of the most important actors in the house. At the time of chanson singer already celebrated internationally, provided you with international guest performances of the ensemble is also an increasing interest in the thanks to Brecht and Weigel famous flagship theater of the GDR

had begun Mays musical career already in 1957. The composer Hanns Eisler recognized her special talent for the Chanson. In intensive co-operation Schulte he makes use of the possibilities of your voice, taught them, feeling and elegance effectively together. On the basis of established "may" own evenings and toured through the whole world.

At times, because the DDR widely the political recognition was denied, may in your home country the "ambassador of chansons". In the West had the concept of "socialist nightingale" the round. May like to wall times state correct behavior, angebiedert but it has not. It considered it as hard to your long-term partner, the governments off from deportation of system-critical philosopher Wolfgang Harich.




Already in the 1950s and 60s was may occasionally in the DEFA films and films of television in the DDR occurred. Success as an actress in front of the camera, but only after the fall of the wall. It was popular at the side of Evelyn Hamann in 1993 to death Hamanns 2007 Series "Adelheid and their murderers". Cult character reached a continuous dialog between the daughter Adelheid (Hamann) and their mother (May): "Say but not always muddi to me!" - "Muddi is right."




http://www.zeit.de/kultur/2016-12/berliner-ensemble-gisela-may-mutter-courage-brecht