Ira Malaniuk ( uk, Ірина Маланюк; ''Iryna Malanyuk''; 29 January 1919 – 25 February 2009) was an Austrian operatic Mezzo-soprano of Ukrainian descent. She sang a wide range of roles, from Mozart to contemporary works.

Life

Malaniuk was born in Stanyslaviv. She studied first in

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukrain ...

with Adam Didur, and later in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

with Anna Bahr-Mildenburg. She made her stage debut in Graz in 1945. She joined the Zurich Opera in 1947, where she took part in the creation of Willy Burkhard's ''Die schwarze Spinne'' and sang in the local premiere of Stravinsky's ''

The Rake's Progress ''The Rake's Progress'' is an English-language opera from 1951 in three acts and an epilogue by Igor Stravinsky. The libretto, written by W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman, is based loosely on the eight paintings and engravings '' A Rake's Prog ...

''. In 1952, she began appearing at the Munich State Opera and the

Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is an opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by August ...

, her roles there included;

Gluck Christoph Willibald (Ritter von) Gluck (; 2 July 1714 – 15 November 1787) was a composer of Italian and French opera in the early classical period. Born in the Upper Palatinate and raised in Bohemia, both part of the Holy Roman Empire, he g ...

Orfeo Orfeo Classic Schallplatten und Musikfilm GmbH of Munich was a German independent classical record label founded in 1979 by Axel Mehrle and launched in 1980. It has been owned by Naxos since 2015. History The Orfeo music label was registered ...

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 Lady Macbeth, and Judith in Béla Bartók's ''

Bluebeard's Castle ''Duke Bluebeard's Castle'' ( hu, A kékszakállú herceg vára, link=no, or ''The Blue-Bearded Duke's Castle'') is a one-act expressionist opera by Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. The libretto was written by Béla Balázs, a poet and friend of t ...

''. Malaniuk appeared at La Scala in Milan, in the

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...

under

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...

. She also made guest appearances at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

in London, the

Paris Opéra The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

, the

Monte Carlo Opera Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mont ...

, at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival (german: Salzburger Festspiele) is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer (for five weeks starting in late July) in the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Ama ...

, the Bayreuth Festival in roles such as Magdalene, Fricka, Brangäne, Waltraute,

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and Marina. Malaniuk also enjoyed success in Italian roles such as Dorabella, Vittelia, Azucena, Amneris, she was also active in concert and

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...

s, often singing the alto parts in

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's Ninth Symphony and Mozart's Requiem. Malaniuk retired from the stage in 1971, and taught at the Graz Music Conservatory. She died, aged 90, at

Zirl Zirl is a market town in the district of Innsbruck-Land in the Austrian state of Tyrol located 10 km west of Innsbruck at the bottom of a pass up the side of the Zirler Berg, leading to Seefeld and ultimately to Germany. The location was me ...

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

(

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

Selected recordings

* 1953 – Wagner – ''Der Ring des Nibelungen'' – Ira Malaniuk sings Fricka, Waltraute and Second Norn at Bayreuth with

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. Krauss was born in Vienna to Clementine Krauss, ...

* 1953 – Mozart – ''Così fan tutte'' – Suzanne Danco, Ira Malanuik, Rudolf Schock, Horst Gunter, Edith Oravez,

Benno Kusche Benno Paul Kusche (30 January 1916 – 14 May 2010) was a German operatic baritone, who was praised as one of the best Mozart and Wagner singers, especially in character roles and opera buffa. Career Born in Freiburg im Breisgau, Kusche was th ...

– Hamburg Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt (5 May 190028 May 1973) was a German conductor and composer. After studying at several music academies, he worked in German opera houses between 1923 and 1945, first as a répétiteur and then in increasingly senior conduc ...

– Cantus Classics (sung in German) * 1953 – Verdi – ''Der Troubadour'' – Christel Goltz, Hans Hopf, Ira Malaniuk, Josef Metternich, Wilhelm Schirp – Cologne Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

Ferenc Fricsay Ferenc Fricsay (; 9 August 1914 – 20 February 1963) was a Hungarian conductor. From 1960 until his death, he was an Austrian citizen. Biography Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, E ...

– Cantus Classics (sung in German) * 1955 – Mozart – ''La clemenza di Tito'' – Nicolai Gedda,

Hilde Zadek Hildegard Zadek (15 December 1917 – 21 February 2019) was a German operatic soprano. She was Kammersängerin at the Vienna State Opera and performed internationally. Early life Zadek, the oldest of three daughters of Elizabeth (Freundlich) a ...

, Ilse Wallerstein, Ira Malaniuk, Peter Offermanns, Gerhard Groschel – Cologne Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

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 ...

– Cantus Classics (sung in Italian)

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Malaniuk, Ira 1923 births 2009 deaths 20th-century Austrian women opera singers Operatic contraltos Austrian people of Ukrainian descent People from Ivano-Frankivsk Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz Polish emigrants to Austria