Hildegard Ranczak ( Vítkovice, 20 December 1895 -

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. ...

, February 1987) was a

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

n operatic

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

, particularly associated with

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 ...

roles, and largely based in Germany. She married German baritone Fritz Schaetzler. She studied in Vienna with Irene Schlemmer-Ambros and her debut in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

in 1919, as Pamina. After engagements in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

(1923–25),

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

(1926–28), she became a member of the

Munich State Opera The Bavarian State Opera () is a German opera company based in Munich. Its main venue is the Nationaltheater München, and its orchestra the Bavarian State Orchestra. History The parent ensemble of the company was founded in 1653, under Ele ...

, where under the direction of

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 ...

she often appeared in operas by

, creating Clairon in ''

Capriccio Capriccio may refer to: __NOTOC__ Music * Capriccio (music), a piece of music which is fairly free in form * Fantasia in C major (Haydn), "Capriccio", a 1789 piano composition by Joseph Haydn * Capriccio (Janáček), a chamber music composition by ...

'', other notable roles included

Octavian Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in ...

, Zdenka, Aithra, Die Farberin. In 1944 she played ''Tosca'' recorded with the Berliner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester under conductor Leopold Ludwig. She made guest appearances in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. Her last performance was as ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' in Munich, in 1945.

Selected recordings

* ''Die Boheme'' -

Trude Eipperle Trude Eipperle (27 January 1908 – 18 October 1997) was a German operatic soprano. Life Born in Stuttgart, Eipperle studied at the Musikhochschule in her native Stuttgart, and made her stage debut in Wiesbaden, in 1930. She sang in Nuremberg (19 ...

, Alfons Fugel, Hildegard Ranczak, Carl Kronenberg,

Georg Hann Georg Hann (January 30, 1897 – December 9, 1950)Nach anderen Angaben: 9–11 December 1950 was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the comic (singspiel) German repertory. Born in Vienna, he studied at the Music ...

, Georg Wieter - Munich State Opera Chorus and Orchestra,

- Cantus Classic (1940) * ''Tosca'' - Hildegard Ranczak,

Helge Rosvaenge Helge Rosvaenge (born Helge Anton Rosenvinge Hansen, 29 August 189717 June 1972) was a Danish-born operatic tenor whose career was centred on Germany and Austria, before, during and after World War II. His last name is sometimes spelled Roswaenge ...

- Berlin Radio Chorus and Orchestra,

Leopold Hager Leopold Hager (born 6 October 1935, Salzburg) is an Austrian conductor known for his interpretations of works by the Viennese Classics (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert). Hager studied piano, organ, harpsichord, conducting, and composition a ...

- Cantus Classic (1944)

Sources

* ''Grove Music Online'', David Cummings, May 2008. 1895 births 1987 deaths Austrian people of Moravian-German descent Austrian operatic sopranos People from Austrian Silesia Musicians from Ostrava 20th-century Austrian women opera singers {{Austria-opera-singer-stub