Mária von Ilosvay (8 May 1913 – 16 June 1987) was a Hungarian contralto renowned for her performances of the role of Erda in Richard Wagner's

Der Ring des Nibelungen (''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 '' Nibe ...

. She studied in Budapest and Vienna, where her teachers included Laura Hilgermann, Felicie Kashovska and Mária Budanovicz.Potter T. Ladies of low repute - Part 7. ''

Classical Recordings Quarterly ''Classical Recordings Quarterly'' (formerly ''Classic Record Collector'') was a quarterly British magazine devoted to vintage recordings of classical music, across the range of instrumental recordings, chamber music, orchestral, vocal and opera. ...

'', Autumn 2014, No 78, p42. In 1937 won first prize in the International Singing Contest in Vienna. During 1937 and 1938 she toured America with an opera company. In 1940, she joined the Hamburg company, while appearing as a guest artist in Vienna, Brussels, Amsterdam, and Salzburg. She became a mainstay at the Bayreuth Festival following its re-opening in 1951 when she made her debut there, until 1958. She recorded the role of Erda in live recordings from Bayreuth conducted by

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) and

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 ...

(1955, Decca stereo). Among her other recordings of opera excerpts on two 10 inch LPs are arias from ''

La finta semplice ''La finta semplice'' (''The Fake Innocent''), K. 51 (46a) is an opera buffa in three acts for seven voices and orchestra, composed in 1768 by then 12-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Young Mozart and his father Leopold were spending the year in ...

'', '' La Betulia Liberata'', ''

Il trovatore ''Il trovatore'' ('The Troubadour') is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto largely written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play ''El trovador'' (1836) by Antonio García Gutiérrez. It was García Gutiérrez's mos ...

'', ''

Don Carlos ''Don Carlos'' is a five-act grand opera composed by Giuseppe Verdi to a French-language libretto by Joseph Méry and Camille du Locle, based on the dramatic play '' Don Carlos, Infant von Spanien'' (''Don Carlos, Infante of Spain'') by Fried ...

'', ''

Mignon ''Mignon'' is an 1866 ''opéra comique'' (or opera in its second version) in three acts by Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré, based on Goethe's 1795-96 novel '' Wilhelm Meisters Lehrjahre''. ...

'' and '' Carmen''. She may also be heard in Verdi's Requiem, recorded in 1955 under van Kempen.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ilosvay, Maria von 1913 births 1987 deaths Contraltos 20th-century Hungarian women opera singers