Marianne Brandt (contralto)
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Marianne Brandt (12 September 1842 – 9 July 1921) was an Austrian
opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...
tic singer with an international reputation. She was born as Marie Bischof 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. ...
and was educated at the music conservatory in that city, then studied with Pauline Viardot-García. She first attracted attention on stage in 1867 as Rachel in ''
La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...
'' and soon afterward accepted an engagement at the
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opera. From 1868 to 1886, she was associated with the Royal Opera in
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. Brandt travelled to New York during the 1880s, where she sang for several seasons (1884–1888) the principal
contralto A contralto () is a classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range is the lowest of their voice type, voice types. The contralto's vocal range is fairly rare, similar to the mezzo-soprano, and almost identical to ...
rôles at the Metropolitan Opera House under
Anton Seidl Anton Seidl (7 May 185028 March 1898) was a Hungarian conductor, best known for his collaboration with Richard Wagner and conducting his operas, and for his association with the Metropolitan Opera in New York City and the New York Philharmonic. ...
's baton. Two other leading Germanic singers, the
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 ...
Lilli Lehmann Lilli Lehmann (born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, later Elisabeth Maria Lehmann-Kalisch; 24 November 1848 – 17 May 1929) was a German operatic dramatic coloratura soprano. She was also a voice teacher and animal welfare advocate. Biography The fu ...
and the
bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...
Emil Fischer Hermann Emil Louis Fischer (; 9 October 1852 – 15 July 1919) was a German chemist and List of Nobel laureates in Chemistry, 1902 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He discovered the Fischer esterification. He also developed the Fisch ...
, were performing at the Met at the same time as Brandt. Her associate artist for her 1887 tour was the pianist Carl Lachmund. She returned to Vienna in 1890, working as a singing teacher and in concert performances. She died in 1921, aged 78, in Vienna and was buried in the Hadersdorf-Weidlingau cemetery in Penzing. Gifted with a rich contralto/
mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...
voice of extraordinary compass and possessing exceptional histrionic gifts, Brandt was regarded, in her prime, as being one of the greatest German operatic vocalists of the 19th century. As an admirable interpreter of
Wagnerian Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most ...
rôles, she contributed largely to the success of the Bayreuth music festivals in 1876 and 1882. In 1890 she took up residence in Vienna as a vocal teacher. Her pupils included
Edyth Walker Edyth Walker (March 27, 1867 – February 19, 1950) was an American opera singer who had an active international career from the 1890s through the 1910s. She began her career performing roles from the mezzo-soprano repertory, but later successfu ...
and Ada Soder-Hueck. Her voice can be heard on a few
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recordings which she made during the early 1900s while in semi-retirement; these are available on CD re-issues.''The Contralto Voice''
, Marston Records (includes profile and details of her recordings)
''Vocal Music''
, Symposium Records SYMP1085


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References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Marianne Operatic contraltos 1842 births 1921 deaths Women singers from Austria-Hungary 19th-century Austrian women opera singers 20th-century Austrian women opera singers