Description

ROSE PAULY (SOMETIMES PAULY-DRESDEN, BORN ROSE POLLAK; EPERJESKE, 15 MARCH 1894 – TEL AVIV, 14 DECEMBER 1975)

 

 

 

 

Her real name was Rosa Pollak; she trained under Rosa Papier-Paumgartner in Vienna. She made her debut during the 1917–18 season at the Hamburg Opera in a small role in Flotow’s Martha. From 1918 to 1919, she was engaged at the Hamburg City Theatre (Opera House), where she sang, among other roles, Aida. She then appeared at the Gera State Theatre (1919–1921), the Karlsruhe State Theatre (1921–1922), the Cologne Opera House (1922–1926), and the Mannheim National Theatre (1926–1927).

At the Cologne Opera House, she took part in the German premiere of Janáček’s Katya Kabanova in 1922.

In 1923, she made her first guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera as Sieglinde, as the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten, and as Rachel in Halévy’s La Juive.

In 1927, she joined the Berlin Kroll Opera, where she remained until 1931. At the opening performance, she sang one of her major roles, Leonore in Fidelio. At the Kroll, she also performed Donna Anna in Don Giovanni, Carmen, Senta in Der fliegende Holländer, Maria in Křenek’s Der Diktator, and she participated in the world premiere of Paul Hindemith’s Neues vom Tage (June 8, 1929). She enjoyed great success in Berlin and also appeared at the Berlin State Opera, including in the world premiere of Karol Rathaus’s Fremde Erde (December 10, 1930).

In 1930, she appeared at the Paris Opera as Salome in Richard Strauss’s opera of the same name.

From 1929 to 1938, she was a member or frequent guest of the Vienna State Opera. There she sang Marie in the Vienna premiere of Alban Berg’s Wozzeck in 1930 and, on June 20, 1931, created the role of Agave in the world premiere of Egon Wellesz’s Die Bakchantinnen. She had earlier appeared at the Salzburg Festival in 1922 as Donna Anna and later achieved brilliant success there in 1934 and 1937 in her signature role, Elektra, in Richard Strauss’s opera. She sang the Dyer’s Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten in Salzburg in 1933, and again at the Rome Opera in 1935.

From 1935 to 1939, she was a guest artist at La Scala in Milan and at the Rome Opera. Because she was Jewish, she was unable to continue performing in Germany after 1933 and therefore accepted an engagement at the German Theatre in Prague from 1933 to 1936.

In 1937, she first traveled to North America, singing the title role in a concert performance of Elektra in New York. In 1938, she received acclaim in the same role at her debut at the Metropolitan Opera, where she remained until 1940. At the Met, she sang a total of nine performances of Elektra, as well as Venus in Tannhäuser and Ortrud in Lohengrin.

Also in 1938, she sang Elektra at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London and in San Francisco; that same year, she appeared at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. She performed at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires in 1939, and sang Carmen at Lewisohn Stadium in New York in 1940. In 1943, her final stage roles—Elektra and Gutrune—were performed at the Teatro Colón. She later also appeared as a guest in Moscow, Leningrad, and Odessa.

After retiring from the stage, she settled in Kfar Shmaryahu, Israel, from 1946 onward with her husband, Dr. Fleischner, and continued to work as a teacher.

One of the most important dramatic sopranos of her time, she was particularly celebrated as an interpreter of Wagner and Richard Strauss. Her recorded legacy is relatively small and includes discs for Kristall, Odeon, and Parlophon, as well as private Metropolitan Opera recordings and unpublished Vox items. She sang the title role in Strauss’s Elektra on Unique Opera Records (a recording of the 1937 New York concert performance). Koch Records released additional recordings of Vienna State Opera performances, including Martha in Tiefland and excerpts from Elektra.

 

 

TRACKLIST

 

 

Ägyptische Helena (R Strauss) Bei jener Nacht O-6670 xxB8186 Odeon, Berlin 1928-10-02

Ägyptische Helena (R Strauss) Zweite Brautnacht, Zaubermacht! O-6670 xxB8188 Odeon, Berlin 1928-10-02

Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) Als euer Sohn einst fortzog 2211E 1530BB Vox, Berlin 1927

Fidelio (Beethoven) Abscheulicher, wo eilst du hin P9179 2-20443 Parlophon, Berlin 1927-11-09

Fidelio (Beethoven) Komm’, Hoffnung, laß den letzten Stern P9179 2-20444 Parlophon, Berlin 1927-11-09

Tosca (Puccini) Nur der Schönheit 2211E 1529-1BB Vox, Berlin 1927