Maria Madlen Madsen

[1] Born in Krefeld, Madsen grew up in Hamburg, went to school there and studied classical singing with Robert Dähmke for four years.

Under the stage name Gerda Hansi she first worked between 1926 and 1929 as a program employee (singer) for the Süddeutscher Rundfunk and became known there as the "Schwäbische Nachtigall" (Swabian Nightingale).

During this time, she worked with Trude Eipperle, Franz Fehringer, Ferdinand Frantz, Karl Friedrich, Otto von Rohr, Helge Rosvaenge, Heinrich Schlusnus, Erik Schumann, Georg Stern and Günther Treptow, among others.

She was preferably cast for comic stage roles such as Despina in Mozart's Così fan tutte, Zerline in Don Giovanni, Blondchen in Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Marzelline in Beethoven's Fidelio, Ännchen in Weber's Der Freischütz, Marie in Lortzing's Zar und Zimmermann, Frau Fluth in Adam's Der Postillon von Lonjumeau, Musetta in Puccini's La Bohème, Adele in Strauss II's Die Fledermaus and as Christel in Zeller's Der Vogelhändler.

[5] After the end of her singing career she gave lessons in voice training to young singers in Frankfurt am Main from 1963.

Maria Madlen Madsen was engaged at the Stadttheater Zurich between 1929 and 1934.
The Frankfurt Opera was the stage for Maria Madlen Madsen's singing career from 1934 onwards.