Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was a Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of the leading

Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

heroic sopranos of her generation.

Background

Both her parents were Hungarian and born in small towns in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but she was born in Stockholm, where her parents were living during part of World War I. During a Da Capo interview in 1988 Varnay claimed that although she was born in Stockholm, her ancestry was Hungarian, French and German. Her mother, Maria Junghans (who changed her name to Javor when she took to the stage as a singer), born October 15, 1889, was a noted coloratura soprano with acoustic recordings to her credit. Her father was Alexander Varnay (born September 11, 1889), a spinto tenor. Opera was the family business, and Varnay grew up backstage at the world's opera houses. Her father founded, and both parents ran, the

Opera Comique The Opera Comique was a 19th-century theatre constructed in Westminster, London, between Wych Street, Holywell Street and the Strand. It opened in 1870 and was demolished in 1902, to make way for the construction of the Aldwych and Kingsway. ...

in Kristiania (later

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...

), (1918–1921). During one performance, she was swaddled in the lower drawer of the dressing room

chest of drawers A chest of drawers, also called (especially in North American English) a dresser or a bureau, is a type of cabinet (a piece of furniture) that has multiple parallel, horizontal drawers generally stacked one above another. In American English a ...

of the young

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casa ...

. The family moved to Argentina, then New York City, where her father died at age 35 in 1924. Two years later her mother married tenor Fortunato de Angelis and the family settled in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Varnay had been studying to be a pianist but decided at age eighteen to become a singer and had intensive vocal lessons with her mother.

Career

A year later, Flagstad arranged for her to start preparing roles with

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...

staff conductor and coach

Hermann Weigert Hermann Weigert (20 October 1890 in Breslau – 2 April 1955 in New York City) was a German vocal coach, pianist, and conducting, conductor. He was a vocal coach and accompanist for the Metropolitan Opera for thirteen years. Recognized as an au ...

(1890–1955). By the age of 22 she knew Hungarian, German, English, French and Italian and her repertoire consisted of fifteen leading dramatic soprano roles, eleven of which were Wagnerian parts. She also had formidable mezzo-soprano capability, which she displayed in performances as Ortrud in ''

Lohengrin Lohengrin () is a character in German Arthurian literature. The son of Parzival (Percival), he is a knight of the Holy Grail sent in a boat pulled by swans to rescue a maiden who can never ask his identity. His story, which first appears in Wolf ...

'' and

Klytemnestra Clytemnestra (; grc-gre, Κλυταιμνήστρα, ''Klytaimnḗstrā'', ), in Greek mythology, was the wife of Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, and the twin sister of Helen of Troy. In Aeschylus' ''Oresteia'', she murders Agamemnon – said by E ...

in '' Elektra''. She made her sensational debut at the

on 6 December 1941 in a broadcast performance singing Sieglinde in

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...

's ''

Die Walküre (; ''The Valkyrie''), WWV 86B, is the second of the four music dramas that constitute Richard Wagner's ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' (English: ''The Ring of the Nibelung''). It was performed, as a single opera, at the National Theatre Munich on ...

'', substituting for the indisposed

Lotte Lehmann Charlotte "Lotte" Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a German soprano who was especially associated with German repertory. She gave memorable performances in the operas of Richard Strauss, Richard Wagner, Ludwig van Beethoven, ...

with almost no rehearsal. This was her first appearance in a leading role, and it was a triumph. Six days later she replaced the ailing

Helen Traubel Helen Francesca Traubel (June 16, 1899July 28, 1972) was an American opera and concert singer. A dramatic soprano, she was best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially those of Brünnhilde and Isolde. Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, ...

as Brünnhilde in the same opera. Varnay and Weigert became closer and were married in 1944. It was also at this time that she had lessons with former Metropolitan Opera tenor,

Paul Althouse Paul Shearer Althouse (December 2, 1889 – February 6, 1954) was an American opera singer. He began his career as a lyric tenor with a robust Italianate sound, in roles including Cavaradossi in ''Tosca'', Pinkerton in ''Madama Butterfly'', and T ...

. In 1948, she made her debut at Covent Garden and in 1951 in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

as Lady Macbeth. In that year she also made her debut at Bayreuth after Flagstad, who had declined the invitation to Bayreuth, recommended that

Wieland Wagner Wieland Wagner (5 January 1917 – 17 October 1966) was a German opera director, grandson of Richard Wagner. As co-director of the Bayreuth Festival when it re-opened after World War II, he was noted for innovative new stagings of the operas, depa ...

engage Varnay. She sang at Bayreuth for the next seventeen years, and appeared regularly at the Metropolitan until 1956. She left when it was clear that the Met director

Rudolf Bing Sir Rudolf Bing, KBE (January 9, 1902 – September 2, 1997) was an Austrian-born British opera impresario who worked in Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably being General Manager of the Metropolitan Opera in New York ...

did not appreciate her, and went on to become a mainstay of the world's other great opera houses, especially in Germany, in Wagner and

Strauss Strauss, Strauß or Straus is a common Germanic surname. Outside Germany and Austria ''Strauß'' is always spelled ''Strauss'' (the letter " ß" is not used in the German-speaking part of Switzerland). In classical music, "Strauss" usually re ...

but also several

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

and other roles. She had already made

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...

her home, where audiences liked her. In 1969, she gave up her repertoire of heavy dramatic soprano roles and began a new career singing mezzo roles. After being the world's leading Elektra for over twenty years, she now established herself as a great interpreter of

. The role of Herodias in '' Salome'' became her most often-performed role: 236 performances. She returned to the Metropolitan in 1974 and last appeared there in Weill's ''

Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny ''Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny'' (german: Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny, links=no) is a political-satirical opera composed by Kurt Weill to a German libretto by Bertolt Brecht. It was first performed on 9 March 1930 at the i ...

'' in 1979. In 1975 she appeared as Herodias in the production of Salome with Teresa Stratas which was filmed with the Vienna Philharmonic and directed by Gotz Friedrich. In the mid-1980s, character roles now became Varnay's metier. Her last appearance on stage was in Munich in 1995, fifty-five years after her Metropolitan debut. In 1998, she published her autobiography ''Fifty-Five Years in Five Acts: My Life in Opera'', written with Donald Arthur (German title is ''Hab' mir's gelobt''). In 2004, a documentary about her life and first New York career entitled ''Never Before'' received acclaim in the USA. Her recordings of Strauss heroines such as Elektra and Salome along with the Wagnerian roles are among the treasures of the medium, while transcriptions of broadcast performances of her great roles document her art in sound, and a few video recordings of her late career preserve evidence of her acting ability. Varnay died in Munich on 4 September 2006 at age 88.

Recordings

: ''

Der fliegende Holländer ' (''The Flying Dutchman''), WWV 63, is a German-language opera, with libretto and music by Richard Wagner. The central theme is redemption through love. Wagner conducted the premiere at the Königliches Hoftheater Dresden in 1843. Wagner cla ...

'' – Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival * Conductor:

Joseph Keilberth Joseph Keilberth (19 April 1908 – 20 July 1968) was a German conductor who specialised in opera. Career He started his career in the State Theatre of his native city, Karlsruhe. In 1940 he became director of the German Philharmonic Orches ...

* Principal singers:

Hermann Uhde Hermann Uhde (July 20, 1914 – October 10, 1965) was a German Wagnerian bass-baritone. He was born in Bremen and died on stage of a heart attack during a performance in Copenhagen. He studied in his hometown, where he gave his début in 1936. Du ...

(Dutchman); Astrid Varnay (Senta); Ludwig Weber (Daland); Rudolf Lustig (Erik);

Josef Traxel Josef Traxel (29 September 1916 in Mainz – 8 October 1975 in Stuttgart) was a German operatic tenor, particularly associated with Mozart roles and the German repertory. He studied at the Darmstadt Conservatory, but was conscripted into t ...

(Helmsman); Elisabeth Schärtel (Mary) * Recording location & date:

Bayreuth Festspielhaus The ''Bayreuth Festspielhaus'' or Bayreuth Festival Theatre (german: link=no, Bayreuther Festspielhaus, ) is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, built by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner and dedicated solely to the performa ...

, 7, 15, & 19 August 1955 (stereo) * Label: Testament SBT2 1384 (2 CDs) Wagner: ''

'' – Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival * Conductor:

Eugen Jochum Eugen Jochum (; 1 November 1902 – 26 March 1987) was a German conductor, best known for his interpretations of the music of Anton Bruckner, Carl Orff, and Johannes Brahms, among others. Biography Jochum was born to a Roman Catholic family in ...

* Principal singers:

Wolfgang Windgassen Wolfgang Windgassen (26 June 1914 – 8 September 1974) was a heldentenor internationally known for his performances in Wagner operas. Life and career Born in Annemasse, France, he was the son (and pupil) of a well known German Heldentenor, Fritz ...

(Title role); Birgit Nilsson (Elsa); Astrid Varnay (Ortrud);

Theo Adam Theo Adam (1 August 1926 – 10 January 2019) was a German operatic bass-baritone and bass singer who had an international career in opera, concert and recital from 1949. He was a member of the Staatsoper Dresden for his entire career, and sang ...

(Konig Heinrich);

(Telramund);

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German lyric baritone and conductor of classical music, one of the most famous Lieder (art song) performers of the post-war period, best known as a singer of Franz Schubert's Lieder, ...

(Heerrufer) * Recording location & date: Bayreuth Festspielhaus, 1954 * Label: Archipel Wagner: ''

Götterdämmerung ' (; ''Twilight of the Gods''), WWV 86D, is the last in Richard Wagner's cycle of four music dramas titled (''The Ring of the Nibelung'', or ''The Ring Cycle'' or ''The Ring'' for short). It received its premiere at the on 17 August 1876, as ...

'' – Chorus and Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival * Conductor:

Hans Knappertsbusch Hans Knappertsbusch (12 March 1888 – 25 October 1965) was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Wagner, Bruckner and Richard Strauss. Knappertsbusch followed the traditional route for an aspiring conductor in Ger ...

* Principal singers: Astrid Varnay (Brünnhilde);

Josef Greindl Josef Greindl (23 December 1912 - 16 April 1993) was a German operatic bass, remembered mainly for his performances of Wagnerian roles at Bayreuth beginning in 1943. Josef Greindl was born in Munich and studied at the Munich Music Academy with Pa ...

(Hagen);

(Siegfried); Otto Wiener (Gunther) * Recording location & date: Bayreuth Festspielhaus, 1958 * Label: Walhall Eternity Series WLCD 0249 (4 CDs)

References

Further reading * Liese, Kirsten, ''Wagnerian Heroines. A Century Of Great Isoldes and Brünnhildes'', English translation: Charles Scribner, Edition Karo, Berlin, 2013.

External links

Discography
on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

As Ortrud in ''Lohengrin'' (audio only, YouTube)

Singing in ''Jenufa'' by Leóš Janáček (video, YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varnay, Astrid 1918 births 2006 deaths Singers from New Jersey American operatic sopranos American people of Hungarian descent Swedish emigrants to the United States Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century American women opera singers Classical musicians from New Jersey 21st-century American women