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Maria Ivogün (18 November 1891 – 3 October 1987) was a distinguished coloratura soprano singer of Hungarian origin. She was an especially outstanding interpreter of the works of
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 ...
: her recording of the aria of the Queen of the Night (''
Die Zauberflöte ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'') became legendary.


Biography and artistic career

Maria Ivogün was born Ilse Kempner in
Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...
in 1891. Her father was the
Austro-Hungarian 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 ...
Colonel Pál Kempner. She created her professional name by contracting the maiden name of her mother, an Austrian operetta singer named Ida von Günther. She spent the greater part of her childhood and youth in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
. From 1909 (other sources say after 1907) she began to study singing and theatre in
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. ...
. When the young soprano sang in 1913 at the
Vienna Hofoper The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival architecture, Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from ...
, she was overlooked. However, the house conductor there,
Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a Germany, German-born Conducting, conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French people, French cit ...
, recognized her outstanding talent and engaged her for his new workplace at the Hofoper in Munich. She gave her debut in Munich in the role of Mimi in
Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...
's ''
La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...
''. Three years later, in 1916, she sang the role of Zerbinetta in the re-worked version of ''
Ariadne auf Naxos (''Ariadne on Naxos''), Op. 60, is a 1912 opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The opera's unusual combination of elements of low commedia dell'arte with those of high opera seria points up one of the work's ...
'' in Vienna at the express wish of the composer
Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...
. In the same year she replaced an indisposed singer as Queen of the Night in Mozart's ''
The Magic Flute ''The Magic Flute'' (, ), K. 620, is an opera in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. It is a ''Singspiel'', a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue. The work premiered on ...
'', a role for which Maria Ivogün became very highly regarded and with which she laid the foundation of her success. By 1916 Ivogün was reckoned among the best female singers in Europe and had roles in operas such as ''
Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Opus number, Op. 72, is the sole opera by German composer Ludwig van Beethoven. The libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of ...
'' (Marzelline), ''
Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...
'', ''
The Marriage of Figaro ''The Marriage of Figaro'' (, ), K. 492, is a ''commedia per musica'' (opera buffa) in four acts composed in 1786 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, with an Italian libretto written by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienn ...
'' and many others. Moreover she became well known as Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’ ''Ariadne auf Naxos''. In 1917 the title of Royal Bavarian
Kammersänger Kammersänger (male; ) or Kammersängerin (female; ), abbreviated Ks. or KS, is a German Title of honor, honorific title for distinguished singers of opera and classical music. It literally means "chamber singer". Historically, the title was besto ...
in was bestowed upon her. In the same year she sang the boy-role of Ighino in the original production of
Hans Pfitzner Hans Erich Pfitzner (5 May 1869 – 22 May 1949) was a German composer, conductor and polemicist who was a self-described anti-modernist. His best known work is the post-Romantic opera ''Palestrina'' (1917), loosely based on the life of the ...
's ''
Palestrina Palestrina (ancient ''Praeneste''; , ''Prainestos'') is a modern Italian city and ''comune'' (municipality) with a population of about 22,000, in Lazio, about east of Rome. It is connected to the latter by the Via Prenestina. It is built upon ...
'' opposite the tenor Karl Erb in the title-role, whom she married in 1921. In two further important original productions in Munich, Ivogün took on leading roles: in '' Der Ring des Polykrates'' of the then barely 19-year-old
Erich Wolfgang Korngold Erich Wolfgang Korngold (; May 29, 1897 – November 29, 1957) was an Austrian composer and conductor, who fled Europe in the mid-1930s and later adopted US nationality. A child prodigy, he became one of the most important and influential comp ...
(first performance 28 March 1916) she sang Laura, and in Walter Braunfels's '' Die Vögel'' (first performance 4 December 1920) she took the part of the Nightingale. In the theatrical season of 1925/1926 Ivogün followed Bruno Walter to the State Opera in Berlin. She remained there as a member of the regular company until 1932. In 1932, Ivogün divorced Karl Erb, and in 1933 she married their pianist-accompanist Michael Raucheisen. The highly celebrated soprano made countless concert-tours and guest opera appearances both within Germany and beyond. She appeared above all at
La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
,
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
, the
Vienna State Opera The Vienna State Opera (, ) is a historic opera house and opera company based in Vienna, Austria. The 1,709-seat Renaissance Revival venue was the first major building on the Vienna Ring Road. It was built from 1861 to 1869 following plans by ...
,
Covent Garden, London 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 sit ...
and the
Chicago Opera Lyric Opera of Chicago is an American opera company based in Chicago, Illinois. The company was founded in Chicago in 1954, under the name 'Lyric Theatre of Chicago' by Carol Fox (Chicago opera), Carol Fox, Nicola Rescigno and Lawrence Kelly, w ...
. When she fell ill with an eye illness, she ended her operatic career in 1932 and in 1934 her career as a singer of lieder. From 1948 to 1950 Ivogün taught at the Music High School in Vienna, and finally she became a professor at the Hochschule in Berlin. She spent her twilight years in Switzerland, virtually blind, and died in Beatenberg, Switzerland in 1987. The singer's last resting place was at the side of her second husband, Michael Raucheisen, in the city cemetery of Rain, Switzerland.


Work

Today, Maria Ivogün is considered to have been one of the best and most distinguished female opera singers of the twentieth century. In the period between the two World Wars, she gave very good account of operatic standards in Germany, through the whole of Europe. Very many recorded performances (also with Karl Erb, her first husband) are to be included among her artistic achievements. Maria Ivogün worked as the teacher and mentor of many distinguished female singers of opera and entertainment music. Among her students are numbered above all the opera singers
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf Dame Olga Maria Elisabeth Friederike Schwarzkopf, (; 9 December 1915 – 3 August 2006) was a German-born Austro-British lyric soprano. She was among the foremost singers of lieder, and is renowned for her performances of Viennese operetta, as w ...
, Rita Streich, Evelyn Lear, Renate Holm and Helga Kosta; the theatrical singer
Gitta Lind Gitta Lind (17 April 1925 – 9 November 1974) was a German singer and film actress. Lind was born in Trier as Rita Maria Gracher. During her first employment as a singer she changed her name to Gitta Lind, a tribute to Gitta Alpár and Jenny L ...
, much loved in the 1950s, was her also one of her students.


Selected filmography

*'' The Loves of Casanova'' (1927)


Discography (selected)

*Maria Ivogün – The complete recordings – 17 unpublished items 1916–1919 *Die goldene Stimme – Maria Ivogün *Ivogün – Prima Voce Nimbus 7832


Sources

*Müller-Gögler, M.: Karl Erb. Das Leben eines Sängers, (Offenburg 1948) * Kutsch, K. J./ Riemens, Leo: ''
Großes Sängerlexikon ''Großes Sängerlexikon'' (''Biographical Dictionary of Singers'', literally: Large singers' lexicon) is a single-field dictionary of singers in classical music, edited by Karl-Josef Kutsch and Leo Riemens and first published in 1987. The fi ...
'', 1st Vol. (Bern/Stuttgart 1987) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ivogun, Maria 1891 births 1987 deaths Singers from Budapest German operatic sopranos 20th-century German women opera singers