Helene Wiet (12 March 1871 – 1939) was an Austrian opera singer who sang leading

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 ...

roles in the theatres of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

in the late 19th century. From 1895 to 1899, she was the prima donna of the Deutsches Landestheater in Prague.

Life and career

Wiet was born into a middle-class family in Vienna and trained at the Vienna Conservatory where she studied singing under

Luise Meyer-Dustmann Luise Meyer-Dustmann (born Luise Meyer: 22 August 1831 - 2 March 1899) was a German opera singer (soprano), and singing teacher. Life Marie Luise Meyer was born in Aachen where her father, Friedrich August Meyer, worked as a theatre inspector. ...

and piano under Leopold Landskron. She made her stage debut in 1892 at the Municipal Theatre of Troppau. After singing in

Pressburg Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the 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 — approximately 140% of ...

and Brünn from 1893 to 1895, she became a member of the Deutsches Landestheater company in Prague where she sang for the next four years with great popular success. She also sang at the Vienna State Opera in 1896 as Marzelline in '' Fidelio''. Following Wiet's marriage in 1899 to the physician

Alfons von Rosthorn Alfons Edler von Rosthorn (19 September 1857 – 9 August 1909) was an gynecologist in Austria-Hungary who was native of Oed, a village that is located in the district of Wiener Neustadt-Land. In 1885 he earned his doctorate from the University ...

, she retired from the stage and moved to

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...

where he had recently been appointed as a professor at the university there. She continued to perform in concerts for several years and also trained her niece,

Therese Wiet Therese Wiet (15 October 1885 – 24 January 1971) was an Austrian operetta and concert singer whose career was based primarily in Leipzig. She was married to the operetta singer and composer Rudi Gfaller. __FORCETOC__ Life and career Wiet was ...

, in singing. In 1908 she moved to Vienna with her husband when he was appointed a professor at the University of Vienna. He died the following year. Helene died in 1939. The exact date and place of her death are unknown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiet, Helene Austrian operatic sopranos Musicians from Vienna 1871 births 1939 deaths