Description

MARIA IVOGÜN (BUDAPEST, HUNGARY, 18 NOVEMBER, 1891 – BEATENBERG, SWITZERLAND, 3 OCTOBER, 1987)

Her real name, Maria Kempner, was shortened to “Ivogün” after her mother’s maiden name, the operetta singer Ida von Günther. Her father, Pál Kempner, was an Austro-Hungarian officer, and she was not related to the soprano Mizzi Günther, who created Lehár’s Lustige Witwe. She trained with Irene Schlemmer-Ambros in Vienna. Recognizing her outstanding talent, Bruno Walter engaged her at the Court Opera in Munich, where she made her debut as Mimi in Puccini’s La Bohème.

From 1913 to 1925, she was a highly valued prima donna at the Munich Court Opera, singing the role of Ighino in the world premiere of Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina on June 12, 1917, and the title role in Das Christelflein in 1918. In Munich, she also performed in the world premieres of Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s Der Ring des Polykrates (March 28, 1916) and Walter Braunfels’ Die Vögel (December 4, 1920). Between 1916 and 1919, she made guest appearances at the Berlin Court Opera, the Berlin State Opera, and the Dresden Court Opera, as well as at the City Theater of Zurich (1916–1919) and the City Theater of Basel (1919, 1932).

From 1921 to 1932, she was married to tenor Karl Erb (1877–1958) and, starting in 1933, to pianist and song accompanist Michael Raucheisen (1889–1984). Since 1925, she had been a member of the Berliner Städtische Oper. She made guest appearances at Covent Garden in London (in 1924 as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, one of her great creations, and as Gilda in Rigoletto, and in 1927 as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail), at La Scala in Milan, and achieved great success at the Vienna State Opera and the Berlin State Opera.

In 1922, she undertook a successful concert tour in the USA, and in 1923, she toured North America as a guest artist with the German Opera Company, performing in New York as Frau Fluth in Nicolai’s Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor. From 1922 to 1923, she sang at the Chicago Opera and, in 1926, appeared with its ensemble at the Metropolitan Opera in New York as Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia (though she did not join the company). At the Salzburg Festival in 1925 and 1930, she performed as Norina in Don Pasquale and appeared in recitals and concerts.

As a concert singer, she also appeared in Budapest (1926, 1933), Paris (1931), Amsterdam (1932, 1933), Oslo (1922), Copenhagen (1932), and Spain. She became renowned as an operetta singer and an interpreter of coloratura waltzes and canzons. Early in her career, she decided to sing for only twenty years, a commitment she honored, retiring in 1932, though she returned briefly to sing Zerbinetta in Berlin in 1934.

In 1948, she was appointed a professor at the Vienna Music Academy, and in 1950, at the Berlin Music Academy. Her students included famous sopranos Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Rita Streich, Renate Holm, Michi Tanaka, and Alexandra Trianti. She spent her later years in Beatenberg, where she passed away at an advanced age.

TRACKLIST

1. An der schönen blauen Donau (Strauss) B24336 X12945 Brunswick, New York 1924-04-21
2. An der schönen blauen Donau (Strauss) DB4412 (62-4724) HMV, Berlin 1932-10-24
3. Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss) Grossmächtige Prinzessin DB4405 (62-4710) HMV, Berlin 1932-06-04
4. Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss) So war es mit Pagliazzo DB4405 (62-4711) HMV, Berlin 1932-06-04
5. Barbier von Bagdad (Cornelius) O holdes Bild (w. Erb) 76999 xxB6363 Odeon, Berlin 1917
6. Barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini) Una voce poco fà 85309 1833as Gramophone, Berlin 1924-07/09
7. Bohème (Puccini) Man nennt mich jetzt nur Mimi Lxx76809 xxB6372 Odeon, Berlin 1917
8. Die Post (Schubert) 15075 12972 Brunswick, New York 1924-04-23
9. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Auch ich versteh’ die feine Kunst Lxx76972 xxB6248 Odeon, Berlin 1916 (medio)
10. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Laß es, o laß es mich hören (w. Erb) Lxx76998 xxB6367 Odeon, Berlin 1917
11. Don Pasquale (Donizetti) Quel guardo… Ah! un foco insolito J24016 1421as Polydor, Berlin 1923
12. Entführung aus dem Serail (Mozart) Martern aller Arten 76555 1423as Gramophone, Berlin 1923
13. Fledermaus (Strauss) Klänge der Heimat (Czardas) DB4412 (62-4727) HMV, Berlin 1933-02-01
14. Fledermaus (Strauss) Mein Herr Marquis B24235 1851as Gramophone Berlin 1924-07/09
15. Frühlingsstimmen Walzer (Strauss) 85313 889½az Gramophone, Berlin 1925-04/09
16. Geschichten aus dem Wiener Wald (Strauss) B24210 1422as Gramophone, Berlin 1923
17. Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Strauss) Lxx76978 xxB6321 Odeon, Berlin 1917
18. Gsätzli (trad); Maria auf dem Berge (trad) DA4402 (60-9805) HMV, Berlin 1932-05-09
19. Horch, horch, die Lerch’ (Schubert) 15075 12970 Brunswick, New York 1924-04-23
20. Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Ihr edlen Herr’n allhier! Lxx76997 xxB6384 Odeon, Berlin 1917