Rosa Olitzka (September 6, 1873 – September 29, 1949) was a German-born contralto singer. She sang with the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

from 1895 to 1901, and with the Chicago Opera from 1910 to 1911.

Early life

Rosa Olitzka was born in Berlin; her parents were Jewish immigrants from Poland. Her father, Joseph Olitzki, was a

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

. She studied voice with Julius Hey in Berlin, and with Désirée Artôt de Padilla in Paris. She also studied piano.

Career

Olitzka made her opera debut in 1892, in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

. She sang at the Court Theatre in

Hanover Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...

, at the Municipal Theatre in

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, and at the Court Opera in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. 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 Op ...

in London's

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, she appeared in ''Siegfried'' (1893), ''Orfeo ed Eurydice'' (1894), ''Otello'' (1895), ''Lohengrin'' (1895 and 1907), ''Faust'' (1895), ''Tannhäuser'' (1895), ''Die Walküre'' (1895, 1900, and 1907), ''Carmen'' (1897), ''Götterdämmerung'' (1900), ''Rigoletto'' (1901), and ''Aida'' (1905). Olitzka sang at the 1896 funeral of William Steinway, in New York City. She first performed opera in the United States with the

Damrosch Opera Company The Damrosch Opera Company was an American opera company which existed from 1894 until 1900. The company was organized by Walter Damrosch, and was meant to present German opera; in this capacity it did much to advance the cause of Richard Wagner' ...

, and was a member of the Metropolitan Opera from 1895 to 1901. From 1902 to 1910, she was in Europe, singing in various German cities, as well as Brussels, Paris, and in Milan, at

La Scala La Scala (, , ; abbreviation in Italian of the official name ) is a famous opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the ' (New Royal-Ducal Theatre alla Scala). The premiere performan ...

. She sang with the

Chicago Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago is one of the leading opera companies in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, with a season that included Maria ...

from 1910 to 1911. Her Chicago manager was

Vera Brady Shipman Vera Brady Shipman (May 26, 1889 – February 11, 1932) was an American composer, journalist, talent manager, and concert promoter, based in Kansas and Chicago. Early life Vera Corinne Brady was born in Salina, Kansas, the daughter of John L ...

. In 1915 she toured Kansas, Arkansas, and Texas, giving concerts. She made dozens of recordings, mostly on the Columbia label, including several duets with soprano

Bernice de Pasquali Bernice de Pasquali (December 7, 1873 – April 3, 1925), born Bernice James, was an American coloratura soprano singer and pianist. She sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 to 1917, and was the first American woman elected to membership i ...

. "Mme. Olitzka has a marvelously sweet yet strong voice and produces wondrously beautiful tones in her work," commented one reviewer. "Dramatic in manner as she sings, her vocal efforts are most charming. Her voice is perfect in a compass of three full octaves from low C to high C." She had a famous collection of jewelry, including a diamond pin given to her by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

for her work, and a medal from Kaiser Wilhelm. She was the victim of several publicized episodes of theft or robbery later in life, in 1920, 1930, and 1937.

Personal life

Rosa Olitzka married Boris J. Sinai, a Russian-born insurance agent, in 1908. She was widowed when he died in 1919. She died from a heart attack in 1949, aged 76 years, in her Chicago home.

References

External links

*
Rosa Olitzka
in the Met Opera Archives.
Three photographs of Rosa Olitzka
in the Philip Hale Photograph Collection,

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...

.
Sheet music featuring a photograph of Rosa Olitzka
from the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Olitzka, Rosa German opera singers Singers from Berlin 1873 births 1949 deaths