Anny Felbermayer (21 July 1924 – 5 September 2014) was an Austrian soprano in opera and concert. The

lyric soprano A lyric soprano is a type of operatic soprano voice that has a warm quality with a bright, full timbre that can be heard over an orchestra. The lyric soprano voice generally has a higher tessitura than a soubrette and usually plays ingenues and ot ...

was a long-term member of 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 ...

. She appeared in many operas by

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 ...

, including the premiere of his '' Die Liebe der Danae'' at the

Salzburg Festival The Salzburg Festival () is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer, for five weeks starting in late July, in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart's operas are a focus of ...

in 1952.

Career

Born Anna Maria Felbermayer-Szekely 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. ...

to a family of craftsmen, she attended a ''Handelsschule''. She studied piano and voice privately, then at the Wiener Musikakademie, with E. Rado, P. Mark-Neusser and J. Witt, graduating in 1949. She was awarded the Cebotari-Preis in Vienna, and was a winner at international competitions in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

and

Verviers Verviers (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also the cent ...

. She made her debut on the opera stage in 1950 at the

, which then played at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prim ...

, as a servant in Flotow's ''

Martha Martha (Aramaic language, Aramaic: מָרְתָא‎) is a Bible, biblical figure described in the Gospels of Gospel of Luke, Luke and Gospel of John, John. Together with her siblings Lazarus of Bethany, Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is descr ...

''. The lyric soprano was a member of the ensemble until 1982, and appeared with the company in 54 roles in 979 performances, including Mozart's ''

Le nozze di 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 Vienna ...

'', in which she appeared as Barbarina and Susanna, and many operas by

. Felbermayer performed in Vienna in 1950 in Cherubini's '' Les deux journées'' with the Niederösterreichisches Tonkünstlerorchester, conducted by H. Täubler. She worked in Mozart's ''Figaro'' with both Erich Kleiber, and with

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz, St ...

in 1957 at the

, where she also appeared in Mozart's ''

Idomeneo (Italian for ''Idomeneus, King of Crete, or, Ilia and Idamante''; usually referred to simply as ''Idomeneo'', Köchel catalogue, K. 366) is an Italian-language opera seria by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The libretto was adapted by Giambattista Vares ...

''. In Vienna, she performed as Nanette in a 1960 new production of Lortzing's '' Der Wildschütz'', and as Sandmännchen and Taumännchen in Humperdinck's '' Hänsel und Gretel''. She appeared in many operas by Strauss, including as Echo in ''

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 ...

'', as Zdenka in ''

Arabella ''Arabella'', Op. 79, is a lyric comedy, or opera, in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. Performance history It was first performed on 1 July 1933 at the D ...

'', and in ''

Intermezzo In music, an intermezzo (, , plural form: intermezzi), in the most general sense, is a composition which fits between other musical or dramatic entities, such as acts of a play or movements of a larger musical work. In music history, the term ha ...

'' in 1963. Felbermayer created the role of Xanthe in the posthumous premiere of his '' Die Liebe der Danae'' conducted by

Clemens Krauss Clemens Heinrich Krauss (31 March 189316 May 1954) was an Austrian conducting, conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss, Johann Strauss and Richard Wagner. He founded the Vienna New Year's Concert ...

at the 1952 Salzburg Festival. She appeared at the Vienna State Opera in 1970 in his ''

Die ägyptische Helena ''Die ägyptische Helena'' (''The Egyptian Helen''), Op. 75, is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on 6 June 1928. Strauss had written the title role with ...

'', a performance that was recorded. She performed the role of Blanchefleur in a concert performance of Kienzl's '' Der Kuhreigen'', and was Lucy in Weill's '' Die Dreigroschenoper''. Felbermayer also sang regularly 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 ...

, La Monnaie,

Liceu The Gran Teatre del Liceu (; ; ), or simply Liceu, is a theater in Barcelona, Spain. Situated on La Rambla, it is the city's oldest theater building still in use for its original purpose. Founded in 1837 at another location, the Liceu ope ...

, the Graz Opera, and at the

, where she appeared from 1952 almost every year. She appeared in concert and on radio in Vienna, and in Germany and Italy. She died in Vienna.

Awards

* 1969:

Austrian Decoration for Science and Art The Austrian Decoration for Science and Art () is a state decoration of the Republic of Austria and forms part of the Orders, decorations, and medals of Austria, Austrian national honours system. History The "Austrian Decoration for Science a ...

* 1983: Austrian

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 ...

Recordings

* Bach: ''Weichet nur, betrübte Schatten'', BWV 202 (1952), choir and orchestra of the Bach Guild conducted by Felix Prohaska * Bach: ''Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme'', BWV 140, choir and orchestra of the Bach Guild conducted by Felix Prohaska * Bach: ''Christ lag in Todes Banden'', BWV 4, choir and orchestra of the Bach Guild conducted by Felix Prohaska * Mozart: ''Sämtliche Lieder'' (Complete songs, 1956), with Eric Werba (piano) * Haydn: Stabat Mater (1952), chamber orchestra of the Wiener Symphoniker, Akademie Kammerchor, Hans Gillesberger *

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...

: ''Zigeunermelodien'' Op. 55 and

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period (music), Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, oft ...

: ''Songs in Folk Style'', with Viktor Graef (piano) *

: ''Lieder'', with Alfred Poell (baritone), Viktor Graef (piano) *

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

: ''Frühe Gesänge und Lieder aus letzter Zeit''. Alfred Poell (bass), orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, conducted by Felix Prohaska * Humperdinck: '' Hänsel und Gretel'', Sandmännchen and Taumännchen (London 1953), with

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

and English school choirs, conducted by Herbert von Karajan

Career

Awards

Recordings

References

External links