Description

DOROTHEE MANSKI (NEW YORK, 11. 3. 1895 † ATLANTA CITY, GEORGIA, 24. 2. 1967)

 

 

 

 

As a child, she moved to Berlin, where she studied singing with the renowned pedagogue Emmy Raabe-Burg. She made her debut at the Hofoper in Berlin during the 1913-1914 season, where she sang roles such as Tebaldo in Verdi’s Don Carlo and participated in the Berlin premiere of Wagner’s Parsifal (1914). From 1914 to 1919, she performed at the Nationaltheater in Mannheim, where she notably sang the title role in the 1917 premiere of Sharazade by Bernhard Sekles.

During the 1919-1921 seasons, she was a soloist at the Staatsoper in Stuttgart. From 1922 to 1926, she was engaged by the Berlin Staatsoper. In 1927, she joined the ensemble of the Metropolitan Opera in New York, making her debut as the Witch in Humperdinck’s Hänsel und Gretel. She remained with the Metropolitan Opera from 1927 until 1941, where her repertoire included Elsa in Lohengrin, Venus in Tannhäuser, Ortrud in Lohengrin, Gutrune in Götterdämmerung, Chrysothemis in Strauss’s Elektra, Herodias in Salome, Giulietta in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, and Marianne Leitmetzerin in Der Rosenkavalier. In 1933, she famously substituted for Frida Leider as Brünnhilde in Die Walküre, though her signature role remained the Witch in Hänsel und Gretel.

She also performed at the San Francisco Opera in 1930, 1935, and 1936, and at the Chicago Opera in 1938. During the 1933-1934 season, at the Salzburg Festival, she sang Isolde in Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde under the baton of Bruno Walter. In 1934, she appeared as a guest at the Staatsoper in Vienna.

In 1942, she became a professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, where she also resided. One of her notable students was the soprano Felicia Weathers. She was married to the Swedish music critic Walter Brandon, and her daughter, Inge Manski, also became a successful singer.

 

Chronology of some appearances

 

1913 Berlin Hofoper Don Carlo (Tebaldo)

1914 Berlin Hofoper Parsifal (1. Knappen)

1917 Mannheim Nationaltheater Scheherazade (Scheherazade)

1927 New York Metropolitan Opera House Hänsel und Gretel (witch Marzipan)

1927 Philadelphia Academy of Music Hänsel und Gretel (witch Marzipan)

1931 New York Metropolitan Opera Boccaccio (Isabella)

1931 Philadelphia Academy of Music Boccaccio (Isabella)

1931 New York Academy of Music Boccaccio (Isabella)

1932 New York Metropolitan Opera Il signor Bruschino ossia Il figlio per azzardo (Aufseherin)

1932 New York Metropolitan Opera Donna Juanita (Donna Olimpia)

1932 Philadelphia Opera House Donna Juanita (Donna Olimpia)

1932 Philadelphia Academy of Music Hänsel und Gretel (witch Marzipan)

1932 New York Academy of Music Donna Juanita (Donna Olimpia)

1933 Salzburg festival Tristan und Isolde (Isolde)

1934 Salzburg festival Tristan und Isolde (Isolde)

1938 New York Metropolitan Opera House Amelia goes to the Ball (housekeeper-overseer)

1938 Philadelphia Academy of Music Der Rosenkavalier (Marianne)

1949 New York Metropolitan Opera Faust (Siebel)

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

1. Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Als euer Sohn einst fortzog 02008 207A Vox, Berlin 1921/1922
2. Fliegende Holländer (Wagner) Traft ihr das Schiff (Senta-Ballade) 2009 379B Vox, Berlin 1921/1922
3. Madama Butterfly (Puccini) Eines Tages seh’n wir 02008 206A Vox, Berlin 1921/1922
4. Mignon (Thomas) Kennst du das Land 2009 380B Vox, Berlin 1921/1922
5. Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Heute fällt mein Geschick (w. Koerfer) 2-944219 12872r Gramophone, Berlin 1913-02-28
6. Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) Warum denn hieltst du mich (w. Koerfer) 2-944218 12929r Gramophone, Berlin 1913-09-08
7. Undine (Lortzing) Nun ist’s vollbracht (w. Koerfer & chorus) 044232 326al Gramophone, Berlin 1913-02-28
8. Undine (Lortzing) Schwanensang (w. Koerfer & chorus) 044233 327al Gramophone, Berlin 1913-02-28