Iva Mihanović (also known as Iva Schell) (born 19 April 1978 in

Ulm Ulm () is a city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Danube on the border with Bavaria. The city, which has an estimated population of more than 126,000 (2018), forms an urban district of its own (german: link=no, ...

, Germany) is a German- Croatian

operatic 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 ...

and concert singer. She is also the widow of the actor, producer, director and Oscar winner

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was an Austrian-born Swiss actor, who also wrote, directed and produced some of his own films. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the 1961 American film '' Judgment at Nuremberg'', ...

, who died at the age of 83 less than a year after they married.

Life

Iva Mihanović lives in Preitenegg, Austria and Ulm. In August 2013, she married Maximilian Schell (47 years her senior) with whom she was romantically involved since 2008 and who died February 1, 2014 in

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a p ...

. Iva Mihanović is patron of Education World Maximilian Schell in Wolfsberg, as well as the HistiozytoseHilfe eV. From 1998 to 2008, she studied singing with

Edith Wiens Edith Wiens OC (born 9 June 1950) is a Canadian opera, recital and concert singer with a soprano voice. Early life and education Wiens, daughter of a Mennonite pastor, grew up in Vancouver where she finished high school at the age of 16. She ...

at the Musikhochschule Augsburg and Ilse Hahn at the University of Music Carl Maria von Weber Dresden. Iva attended master classes with

Brigitte Fassbaender Brigitte Fassbaender (; born 3 July 1939), is a German mezzo-soprano opera singer and a stage director. From 1999 to 2012 she was intendant (managing director) of the Tyrolean State Theatre in Innsbruck, Austria. She holds the title Kammersäng ...

Edith Mathis Edith Mathis (born 11 February 1938) is a Swiss soprano and a leading exponent of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart worldwide. She is known for parts in Mozart operas, but also took part in premieres of operas such as Henze's '' Der junge Lord ...

, Sena Jurinac, Irmgard Boas and Linda Plech. From 2001 to 2006, Iva Mihanović was a member of the

Theater Ulm Theater Ulm is the municipal theater in the Baden-Württemberg city of Ulm in Germany. Founded in 1641, it is the oldest municipal theater in Germany. Today, it operates distinct ensembles for opera/operetta, acting, and ballet. Until 2006, i ...

where she sang many

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 ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its ...

, and musical roles from 2009 until 2011, and again since the season 2015/2016 the ensemble of the

Leipzig Opera The Leipzig Opera (in German: ) is an opera house and opera company located at the Augustusplatz and the Inner City Ring Road at its east side in Leipzig's district Mitte, Germany. History Performances of opera in Leipzig trace back to Sing ...

/ Musical comedy. Since 2006, she has performed these roles at the following theaters: * 2006–2007:

Theater St. Gallen The Theater St. Gallen is a performing arts center for opera, musical, ballet, and theatre in St. Gallen, Switzerland, and considered to be the oldest professional theatre in Switzerland. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance. Al ...

(CH), as Pepi Pleininger ( Wiener Blut) * 2006–2007:

Theater Augsburg The Staatstheater Augsburg is a theatre of Augsburg, Germany. Until 1999 it was called Städtische Bühnen Augsburg, from then until the end of August 2018 it was called ''Theater Augsburg''. It offers on four stages musical theatre, plays and bal ...

, as Valencienne (

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' (german: Die lustige Witwe, links=no ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt ...

) * 2007–2013: Hessian State Theatre in

Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...

, as Ottilie ( The White Horse Inn) and Christl (

Der Vogelhändler ' (''The Bird Seller'') is an operetta in three acts by Carl Zeller with a libretto by and based on Victor Varin's and de Biéville's ' (1857). In 1891, Helen Tretbar translated the original German libretto into English and adapted it for per ...

) * 2007–2008:

, as Annie (

Der Freischütz ' ( J. 277, Op. 77 ''The Marksman'' or ''The Freeshooter'') is a German opera with spoken dialogue in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind, based on a story by Johann August Apel and Friedrich Laun from their 1810 ...

) and Christl (Der Vogelhändler) * 2008: Operetta Club Balzers (FL), as Juliska ( Mask in Blue) * 2009: Luzerner Theater (Switzerland), as Christl (Der Vogelhändler) * 2009: Stadttheater Baden near

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

(AT), as Dolly Marbanks (The Orlov) * 2012:

Landestheater Coburg Landestheater Coburg (Coburg State Theatre) is a medium-sized three-division (opera / operetta, drama, ballet) theatre in Coburg, Bavaria, Germany. Located on , a central square, the Neoclassical building has 550 seats. In 2008, the theatre ...

, as Ciboletta ( A Night in Venice) * 2012: Gärtnerplatz Theatre Munich, (The White Horse Inn) She performed at the following festivals: * Operetta Festival Bad Ischl (AT) – in 2003 as Juliette Vermont (Count of Luxembourg), 2004 as Ciboletta (A Night in Venice), and 2013 as Minnie Fay ( Hello, Dolly!) * International Music Festival "Classionata" Mümliswil (CH) – in 2005 as Adele ( Fledermaus) * Castle Festival Schönbrunn Wien (AT) – in 2005/06 as Pepi Pleininger (Wiener Blut) * Mörbisch Lake Festival (AT) – in 2007 as Pepi Pleininger (Wiener Blut), directed by Maximilian Schell * Schlossfestspiele Langenlois (AT) – in 2008 as Countess Stasi ( Csárdásfürstin) and 2010 as Ciboletta (A Night in Venice) * Mörbisch Lake Festival (AT) – in 2011 as Arsena (

The Gypsy Baron ''The Gypsy Baron'' () is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II which premiered at the Theater an der Wien on 24 October 1885. Its German libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer is based on the unpublished 1883 story ''Saffi'' by Mór Jókai. Jokai ...

), directed by Brigitte Fassbaender * Richard Wagner Festival Wels (AT) – in 2012 as flower girl (

Parsifal ''Parsifal'' ( WWV 111) is an opera or a music drama in three acts by the German composer Richard Wagner and his last composition. Wagner's own libretto for the work is loosely based on the 13th-century Middle High German epic poem ''Parzival ...

) * Richard Wagner Festival Wels (AT) – in 2013 and 2015 as Young Shepherd (

Tannhäuser Tannhäuser (; gmh, Tanhûser), often stylized, "The Tannhäuser," was a German Minnesinger and traveling poet. Historically, his biography, including the dates he lived, is obscure beyond the poetry, which suggests he lived between 1245 and ...

) * Freilichtspiele altusried (DE) – in 2014 as Ottilie (The White Horse Inn) * Stage Baden (AT) – in 2015 as Friederike (The Jolly Farmer)

Prizes and awards

* 2000: Promotion and Artist grant from the city of Ulm * 2002: Bayreuth scholarship of the Richard Wagner Society International eV * 2002: Winner of the "International Singing Competition Festival City Passau" * 2005: Finalist in the "3. Heinrich Strecker operetta competition "for operetta and Wienerlied Baden bei Wien * 2008: Semi-finalist in the Hans-Gabor-Belvedere Competition (category operetta) 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 ...

* 2009: Finalist at the 24th Int. Robert Stolz Competition for Viennese operetta in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Discography

* ',

by Oscar Straus, 2003 Cat: 5819263 ( CPO) * ''

Athalia Athaliah ( el, Γοθολία ''Gotholía''; la, Athalia) was the daughter of either king Omri, or of King Ahab and Queen Jezebel of Israel, the queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later queen ...

'',

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 ...

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

in 2004, production commissioned by the Theater Ulm * ''

'', operetta by

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

, 2011 DVD production of the Mörbisch Lake Festival

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mihanovic, Iva German operatic sopranos Croatian sopranos 1978 births Living people 21st-century German women opera singers