Růžena Maturová (2 September 186925 February 1938) was a Czech

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

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soprano A soprano () is a type of classical 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 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

whose international career began in the late 1880s and continued through the first decade of the 20th century. Born in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, she was the leading soprano at the National Theatre there and created roles in several operas including three by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

: the Princess in ''

The Devil and Kate ''The Devil and Kate'', Op. 112, B. 201, (''Čert a Káča'' in Czech) is an opera in three acts by Antonín Dvořák to a Czech libretto by Adolf Wenig. It is based on a farce by Josef Kajetán Tyl, and the story also had been trea ...

'' (1898), and the title roles in ''

Rusalka In Slavic folklore, the rusalka (plural: rusalki; , plural: русалки; , plural: ''rusałki'') is a female entity, often malicious toward mankind and frequently associated with water. It has counterparts in other parts of Europe, such as th ...

'' (1901) and ''

Armida Armida is the fictional character of a Saracen sorceress, created by the Italian late Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso. Description In Tasso's epic '' Jerusalem Delivered'' (), Rinaldo is a fierce and determined warrior who is also honorabl ...

'' (1904).Růžena Biography at operissimo.com (in German)
After her retirement from the stage in 1910, she taught singing in Prague. Her most famous pupil was the contralto Marta Krásová. Maturová also appeared in four silent films in the early 1920s. Růžena Maturová died in Prague in 1938 at the age of 68.

References

1869 births 1938 deaths Czech operatic sopranos Actresses from Prague Czech film actresses Czech silent film actresses 19th-century Czech women opera singers 20th-century Czech women opera singers 20th-century Czech actresses Singers from Prague Sopranos from Austria-Hungary Burials at Olšany Cemetery {{CzechRepublic-opera-singer-stub