Rotraud Hansmann

Rotraud Hansmann, born in 1939 in Graz, Austria, is a soprano known for her work in opera and concert performances. She studied violin and piano as a child before pursuing vocal training at the Konservatorium in Graz under Maria Salmar and later with Paula Salomon-Lindberg in Amsterdam. Hansmann made her operatic debut in 1958 as the second boy in Mozart's Die Zauberflöte at the Opernhaus Graz. She won the MOZARTpreis at the Internationalen Gesangwettbewerb der Stadt Wien in 1963 and performed regularly in Amsterdam and at the Bregenzer Festspiele. Hansmann is particularly active in early music, collaborating with Nikolaus Harnoncourt on notable recordings such as Monteverdi operas including L’Orfeo and Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria.