Erzsébet Házy (; 1 October 1929 – 24 November 1982) was a Hungarian operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

. She fascinated the criticsLISTSERV 15.5 - OPERA-L Archives
/ref> (see 'Critics' below) and audience not only with her voice but also with perfect acting and her beauty. She was particularly admired for her portrayal of the title heroine in Giacomo Puccini’s ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Czechoslovakia to Hungarian parents, Házy grew up in her parents' native country and was a Hungarian citizen. She studied singing at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Géza László. She began her career as a member of the Hungarian Radio Choir before making her professional opera debut in 1951 as Oscar in

Giuseppe 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 ...

's '' Un ballo in maschera'' at the Hungarian State Opera House. She remained committed to that house for many years where she excelled in soubrette and

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills. The term '' coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component o ...

roles. She notably appeared in several world premieres at that house, including Sándor Szokolay's ''Hamlet'' (1968), Szokolay's ''Samson'' (1973), and

György Ránki György Ránki (; 30 November 1907 – 22 May 1992) was a Hungarian composer. Life Born in Budapest, he studied composition with Zoltán Kodály at the Budapest Academy of Music from 1926-1930. He became interested in folk music and ethnom ...

's ''Az ember tragédiája'' (1970, "The Tragedy of Man"). Házy also worked regularly as a performer in

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

s at the Vienna Volksoper for many years. As a guest artist she made appearances at the

Prague State Opera The State Opera (Czech: Státní opera) is an opera house in Prague, Czech Republic. It is part of the National Theatre of the Czech Republic, founded by Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic in 1992. The theatre itself originally opened in ...

Sofia National Opera The National Opera and Ballet ( bg, Национална опера и балет) is a national cultural institution in Bulgaria that covers opera and ballet. It is based in an imposing building in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The first opera ...

Romanian National Opera, Bucharest The Romanian National Opera, Bucharest ( ro, Opera Națională București) is one of the four national opera and ballet companies of Romania. The company is headquartered in Bucharest, near the Cotroceni neighbourhood. History In 1877, Romanian ...

Great Theatre, Warsaw The Grand Theatre in Warsaw ( pl, Teatr Wielki w Warszawie), known in full as the Grand Theatre–National Opera, is a theatre and opera complex situated on the historic Theatre Square in central Warsaw, Poland. The Warsaw Grand Theatre is home ...

, Glyndebourne Festival, Finnish National Opera,

Teatro Comunale di Bologna The Teatro Comunale di Bologna is an opera house in Bologna, Italy. Typically, it presents eight operas with six performances during its November to April season. While there had been various theatres presenting opera in Bologna since the early 1 ...

Oper Köln The Cologne Opera (German: Oper der Stadt Köln or Oper Köln) refers both to the main opera house in Cologne, Germany and to its resident opera company. History of the company From the mid 18th century, opera was performed in the city's court th ...

, Komische Oper Berlin,

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...

, and the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden. Házy was awarded the Franz Liszt Prize in 1963, was appointed a

Meritorious Artist Merited Artist of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Заслуженный артист Российской Федерации, ''Zasluzhenny artist Rossiyskoy Federatsii'') is an honorary title in the Russian Federation. The title is ...

in 1968, and in 1970 she received the

Kossuth Prize The Kossuth Prize ( hu, Kossuth-díj) is a state-sponsored award in Hungary, named after the Hungarian politician and revolutionist Lajos Kossuth. The Prize was established in 1948 (on occasion of the centenary of the March 15th revolution, the ...

by the People's Republic of Hungary. She died from ovarian cancer in Budapest, Hungary at the age of 53.

Critics

"When she stepped on the podium, she enthused the atmosphere with her soul. She was the type of artist who carried a unique aura. This was the main secret of her success at home and abroad. She had that almost indefinable ability by which a great actress or a singer-personality does not live her part, rather she becomes the personification of it." (Musicologist Peter Varnai)

Recordings

German CDs: *''

Der Zigeunerbaron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jok ...

'', Label: RCA Red S. (Sony Music) *'' Gräfin Mariza'', Philips *Other CDs: *Erzsébet Házy: ''Soprano Arias''; Hungaroton HCD31996 *Puccini: ''

'' (Sung in Hungarian); HCD12648-49 *Abraham, P.: ''Operettas''; HCD16886 *Kálmán: ''A csárdás királynő'' (''

Die Csárdásfürstin ' (''The Csárdás Princess''; translated into English as ''The Riviera Girl'' and ''The Gipsy Princess'') is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with libretto by Leo Stein and Bela Jenbach. It premiered in Vienna at the ...

'') (excerpts) HCD 16780 *Kálmán, Lehár: ''Operettrészletek'' (Operetta Excerpts) HCD 16847 *Lehár: Arany és ezüst - Gold and Silver (The Land of Smiles, Giuditta; excerpts) HCD 16809 *Kálmán: Cirkuszhercegnő/Cigányprímás (''

Die Zirkusprinzessin ' (''The Circus Princess'') is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán to a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 p ...

''/''

Der Zigeunerprimas ''Der Zigeunerprimas'' (''The Gypsy Band Leader'', known as ''Sari'' and ''The Gypsy Virtuoso'' in English speaking countries) is a three-act operetta, which was composed by Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by and Fritz Grünbaum. It ...

'' (excerpts) HCD 16876 *Lehár: Luxemburg grófja / Der Graf von Luxemburg (excerpts)Cigányszerelem / Der Zigeunerliebe (excerpts) HCD 16877 *Zeller, C.: Vogelhandler (Der) / Millöcker, K.: Gräfin Dubarry; HCD16583 *Szokolay: Vernász (Blood Wedding); HCD11262-63 * Simándy, József – Operetta excerpts HCD 16880 *Ilosfalvy, Róbert: Tenor Opera Arias; HCD31762 *Bizet: Carmen (excerpts) (Sung in Hungarian); HCD32026 *Fifty Years of Hungaroton Singers (1951–2001) HCD 32096-98

Filmography

German operetta films with Erzsébet Házy: *Der Zigeunerbaron (1965, Szaffi) with Rudolf Schock, Eberhard Wächter; (in the archive of WDR) *Gräfin Mariza (1973, Mariza) with René Kollo; (Unitel, in the archive of ZDF) *Budapester Nächte (1973), Musikalische Impressionen einer Stadt; (ZDF’s archive) Hungarian films with Erzsébet Házy: *Gábor diák - 1956 (Veronika's voice) * ''

Adventure in Gerolstein ''Adventure in Gerolstein'' (Hungarian: ''Gerolsteini kaland'') is a 1957 Hungarian comedy film directed by Zoltán Farkas and starring Erzsébet Házy, Iván Darvas and Manyi Kiss. The film was shot at the Hunnia Studios in the capital Budapest ...

'' - 1957 (Antónia, Grand Duchess of Gerolstein) * ''

Up the Slope ''Up the Slope'' (Hungarian: ''Felfelé a lejtön'') is a 1959 Hungarian romantic comedy film directed by Viktor Gertler and starring Erzsébet Házy, György Kálmán and Imre Ráday. Rîpeanu p.41 It was shot at the Hunnia Studios in Budapest. ...

'' - 1959 (Takács Éva) *Éjszakai repülés - 1963 *Új Gilgames - 1964 (Klári) *Férjhez menni tilos! - 1964 (Lillian) *Denevér - 1965 (Adél) * '' And Then The Guy...'' - 1966 (Széphalminé) *Zenés TV színház-Vérnász - 1974 (Bride)

References

External links

OPERA-L Archives
*
PhotosPicture taken from a ''Felfelé a lejtőn'' scene in 1958 Broadcast auditions “Házy Erzsébet” (1,2)
(cycle “From collection of the rare recordings” by Maxim Malkov – in Russian). {{DEFAULTSORT:Hazy, Erzsebet 1929 births 1982 deaths Franz Liszt Academy of Music alumni Hungarian operatic sopranos Musicians from Bratislava 20th-century Hungarian actresses Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery 20th-century Hungarian women opera singers Artists of Merit of the Hungarian People's Republic Deaths from cancer in Hungary Deaths from ovarian cancer 20th-century women composers