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. Huguenots (Meyerbeer) Pagen-Arie 85312 1855as Gramophone Berlin 1924-07/09
2. Il bacio (Arditi) J24099 X7799 Brunswick, New York 1922-03
3. Il Pensieroso (Händel) Sweet bird 85313 887½az Gramophone, Berlin 1925-04/09
4. La Villanelle (dell’ Acqua) Lxx76981 xxB6331 Odeon, Berlin 1917
5. Liebesfreud (Kreisler) 50050 X12943 Brunswick, New York 1924-04-21
6. Lucia di Lammermoor (Donizetti) Ardon gl’incensi Lxx76977 xxB6328 Odeon, Berlin 1917
7. Lustigen Weiber von Windsor (Nicolai) Nun eilt herbei Lxx76811 xxB6383 Odeon, Berlin 1917
8. Nocturno (Chopin) Lxx76975, xxB6332 Odeon, Berlin 1917
9. O schöner Mai (Strauss) B24350 X12939 Brunswick, New York 1924-04-21
10. O, du liabs Aengeli (trad); Z’Lauterbach hab’I mein Strumpf verlor’n (trad) DA4402 (60-9804) HMV, Berlin 1932-05-09
11. Perle du Brésil (David) Charmant oiseau F24034 X7787 Brunswick, New York 1922-03
12. Rigoletto (Verdi) Caro nome 85309 1834as Gramophone, Berlin 1924-07/09
13. Schweizer-Echolied (Eckert) B24337 X12360 Brunswick, New York 1924-01-23
14. Sonnambula (Bellini) Ah non giunge Lxx76971 xxB6243 Odeon, Berlin 1916 (medio)
15. Traviata (Verdi) ‘s ist seltsam B24214 1429as Gramophone, Berlin 1923
16. Traviata (Verdi) s’ ist seltsam XX76982 xxB7084 Odeon, Berlin 1924-11-24
17. Traviata (Verdi) ‘s ist seltsam…Er ist es Lxx76982 xxB6249 Odeon, Berlin 1916 (medio)
18. Zauberflöte (Mozart) Der Hölle Rache 85310 1856as Gramophone, Berlin 1924-07/09
19. Zauberflöte (Mozart) O zittre nicht 85310 1835as Gramophone, Berlin 1924-07/09