Marianne Brandt (12 September 1842 – 9 July 1921) was an Austrian

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

tic singer with an international reputation. She was born as Marie Bischof 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 ...

and was educated at the music conservatory in that city, then studied with Pauline Viardot-García. She first attracted attention on stage in 1867 as Rachel in '' La Juive'' and soon afterward accepted an engagement at the Graz opera. From 1868 to 1886, she was associated with the Royal Opera in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Brandt travelled to New York during the 1880s, where she sang for several seasons (1884–1888) the principal

contralto A contralto () is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare; similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to that of a countertenor, typica ...

rôles at the Metropolitan Opera House under

Anton Seidl Anton Seidl (7 May 185028 March 1898) was a famous Hungarian Wagner conductor, best known for his association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the New York Philharmonic. Biography He was born in Pest, Austria-Hungary, where ...

's baton. Two other leading Germanic singers, the soprano

Lilli Lehmann Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch (24 November 1848 – 17 May 1929) was a German operatic soprano. She was also a voice teacher. Biography The future opera star's father, Karl-August Lehmann, wa ...

and the bass-baritone

Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fischer projection, a symbolic way of draw ...

, were performing at the Met at the same time as Brandt. Her associate artist for her 1887 tour was the pianist Carl Lachmund. She returned to Vienna in 1890, working as a singing teacher and in concert performances. She died in 1921, aged 78, in Vienna and was buried in the Hadersdorf-Weidlingau cemetery in Penzing. Gifted with a rich contralto/ mezzo-soprano voice of extraordinary compass and possessing exceptional histrionic gifts, Brandt was regarded, in her prime, as being one of the greatest German operatic vocalists of the 19th century. As an admirable interpreter of Wagnerian rôles, she contributed largely to the success of the Bayreuth music festivals in 1876 and 1882. In 1890 she took up residence in Vienna as a vocal teacher. Her pupils included

Edyth Walker Edyth Walker (March 27, 1867 – February 19, 1950) was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the 1890s through the 1910s. She began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory, but later success ...

and Ada Soder-Hueck. Her voice can be heard on a few Pathé recordings which she made during the early 1900s while in semi-retirement; these are available on CD re-issues.''The Contralto Voice''
, Marston Records (includes profile and details of her recordings)
''Vocal Music''
, Symposium Records SYMP1085

Notes

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Marianne Operatic contraltos 1842 births 1921 deaths 19th-century Austrian women opera singers 20th-century Austrian women opera singers