Elisabeth Radó (29 October 1899 – 3 April 1986) was a

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

n singer and singing teacher from

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

Biography

Born in

Mostar Mostar () is a city and the administrative centre of Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the historical capital of Herzegovina. Mostar is situated on the Neretva Riv ...

, which in the days before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

was still part of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

. She studied singing with her adoptive mother, the singer Maria Rado, and like many singers, was attracted to the capital city of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where she started her career as a concert and opera singer in the 1920s. She began giving singing lessons in 1931 and became one of the most respected singing teachers in the city. From 1950–1966, she taught singing at the Academy (now: University) of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. She died in

, on 3 April 1986. Elisabeth Radó was a woman with strong features, a rather square jaw, and a professorial demeanor. She was a teacher who obviously took her work quite seriously and was highly respected as a voice teacher in Vienna by such professional musicians as

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

specialist Dr. Ernst Reichert. At one time, she had over 83 students singing in opera theaters throughout

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Not only was Elisabeth Radó a well-known teacher, she also had an excellent reputation as the teacher of many famous singers, among them

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

Eberhard Waechter and

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

Fritz Uhl Fritz Uhl (2 April 1928 – 21 May 2001) was an Austrian operatic tenor, particularly associated with Richard Wagner, Wagner roles. Born in Matzleinsdorf, near Vienna, he studied in Vienna with Elisabeth Radó, and while still a student toured th ...

, Waldemar Kmentt and Werner Krenn, singers who were in great demand as leading men at the Wiener Staatsoper and in all the major German opera houses. South African baritone George Fourie was one of her students, as was mezzo-soprano Gertrude Jahn or soprano Dorit Hanak. She also taught the Americans

Kieth Engen Kieth Engen (5 April 1925 – 2 September 2004) was an American operatic bass who was a member of Munich's Bavarian State Opera for decades. Although his career was based in Munich, he appeared internationally as a guest singer at major opera h ...

, Emile Belcourt, Frederick Guthrie, and Joseph Meyers. These last were part of the large groups of Americans who came to Vienna after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to study

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 ...

, both because of the high quality of education found in that city and the low cost compared to study in the United States, as well as the abundant opportunities to start a career by singing in one of the many opera houses in the German-speaking countries of Austria, Germany and Switzerland. All of these singers recommended her highly.

Biography

References

Further reading