Esther Réthy
Encyclopedia
Esther Réthy was a Hungarian
opera
tic soprano
who had a major career in Europe from 1934 through 1968. She was notably a principal artist at the Vienna State Opera
for over a decade and was a frequent performer at the Salzburg Festival
. She performed a broad opera repertoire that encompassed French, German, Italian, Czech, and Hungarian operas. The latter part of her career was dedicated mainly to performing the German operetta
literature at the Vienna Volksoper
. A very beautiful woman, she was a greatly admired Angele in Richard Heuberger
’s Der Opernball.
, Réthy studied singing with Magda Rigó in her native city and in Vienna. In 1934 she made her professional opera debut at the Hungarian State Opera House
as the Shepherd in Richard Wagner
's Tannhäuser
. She remained at that house for the next three years, drawing particular acclaim as Micaëla in Georges Bizet
's Carmen
. She also appeared as a guest artist at a number of opera houses in Central Europe.
In 1937 Réthy became a principal artist at the Vienna State Opera
, where she committed until 1949. She made her first appearance at that house as Marguerite in Charles Gounod
's Faust
with Jussi Björling
in the title role. Her other roles with the company included Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber
's Der Freischütz
, Countess Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's Le nozze di Figaro, Alice Ford in Giuseppe Verdi
's Falstaff
, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
, Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
, Lauretta in Giacomo Puccini
's Gianni Schicchi
, Mařenka in Bedřich Smetana
's The Bartered Bride
, Micaela, Mimì in Puccini's La bohème
, Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute
, Violetta Valéry in Verdi's La traviata
, and the title role in George Frideric Handel
's Rodelinda among others.
While singing in Vienna, Réthy was active as a guest artist with many European opera houses. She remained a frequent performer at the Hungarian State Opera House and appeared often as a guest at the Bavarian State Opera
, Berlin State Opera
, and Semperoper
under such conductors as Karl Böhm
, Victor de Sabata
, Wilhelm Furtwängler
, Hans Knappertsbusch
, Clemens Krauss
, and Josef Krips
. She became internationally famous through her many appearances at the Salzburg Festival
where she sang Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (1937–1939, 1941 with Ezio Pinza
as Figaro), Sophie in Richard Strauss
'a Der Rosenkavalier
(1937–1939), Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
(1950), and Europa in the first public performance of Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae
(1952). She also appeared at the 1940 Salzburg Festival in an operetta
concert. In 1940, she was supposed to appear in several roles at the Metropolitan Opera
in New York City, but the events of World War II
made this impossible.
After World War II, Réthy became a highly lauded performer in operettas, beginning with a triumphant portrayal of Rosalinde in Johann Strauss II
's Die Fledermaus
under the baton of Herbert von Karajan
at the Vienna State Opera. From 1948 she sang frequently at the Vienna Volksoper
in the operettas of Emmerich Kálmán
, Franz Lehár
, and Strauss. Her first performances at the house were as Annina in Eine Nacht in Venedig
and Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron. Her operetta repertoire grew to include Angèle Didier in Der Graf von Luxemburg
, Angele in Der Opernball, Fiametta in Boccaccio, Gabriele in Wiener Blut
, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe, and Laura in Der Bettelstudent
among others.
Réthy retired from the stage in 1968, after which she was committed to teaching singing in Vienna
. She died there at the age of 91 in 2004. She was married first to conductor Anton Paulik and then for many years to Dr. Vincent Imre. Her son from her second marriage, Laszló Imre, became a successful conductor.
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic soprano
Soprano
A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
who had a major career in Europe from 1934 through 1968. She was notably a principal artist at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
for over a decade and was a frequent performer at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
. She performed a broad opera repertoire that encompassed French, German, Italian, Czech, and Hungarian operas. The latter part of her career was dedicated mainly to performing the German operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
literature at the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
. A very beautiful woman, she was a greatly admired Angele in Richard Heuberger
Richard Heuberger
Richard Franz Joseph Heuberger was an Austrian composer of operas and operettas, a music critic, and teacher....
’s Der Opernball.
Biography
Born in BudapestBudapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Réthy studied singing with Magda Rigó in her native city and in Vienna. In 1934 she made her professional opera debut at the Hungarian State Opera House
Hungarian State Opera House
The Hungarian State Opera House is a neo-Renaissance opera house located in central Budapest, on Andrássy út. It is home to the Budapest Opera Ball, a society event dating back to 1886.-History:...
as the Shepherd in Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
's Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)
Tannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two German legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
. She remained at that house for the next three years, drawing particular acclaim as Micaëla in Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Carmen
Carmen
Carmen is a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée, first published in 1845, itself possibly influenced by the narrative poem The Gypsies by Alexander Pushkin...
. She also appeared as a guest artist at a number of opera houses in Central Europe.
In 1937 Réthy became a principal artist at the Vienna State Opera
Vienna State Opera
The Vienna State Opera is an opera house – and opera company – with a history dating back to the mid-19th century. It is located in the centre of Vienna, Austria. It was originally called the Vienna Court Opera . In 1920, with the replacement of the Habsburg Monarchy by the First Austrian...
, where she committed until 1949. She made her first appearance at that house as Marguerite in Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
's Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
with Jussi Björling
Jussi Björling
Johan Jonatan "Jussi" Björling was a Swedish tenor. One of the leading operatic singers of the 20th Century, Björling appeared frequently at the Royal Opera House in London, La Scala in Milan, and the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as at other major European opera...
in the title role. Her other roles with the company included Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria von Weber
Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
's Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz
Der Freischütz is an opera in three acts by Carl Maria von Weber with a libretto by Friedrich Kind. It premiered on 18 June 1821 at the Schauspielhaus Berlin...
, Countess Almaviva in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Le nozze di Figaro, Alice Ford in Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
's Falstaff
Falstaff (opera)
Falstaff is an operatic commedia lirica in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi, adapted by Arrigo Boito from Shakespeare's plays The Merry Wives of Windsor and scenes from Henry IV. It was Verdi's last opera, written in the composer's ninth decade, and only the second of his 26 operas to be a comedy...
, Desdemona in Verdi's Otello
Otello
Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play Othello. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, and was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on February 5, 1887....
, Eva in Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg is an opera in three acts, written and composed by Richard Wagner. It is among the longest operas still commonly performed today, usually taking around four and a half hours. It was first performed at the Königliches Hof- und National-Theater in Munich, on June 21,...
, Lauretta in Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...
's Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi
Gianni Schicchi is a comic opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giovacchino Forzano, composed in 1917–18. The libretto is based on an incident mentioned in Dante's Divine Comedy. The work is the third and final part of Puccini's Il trittico —three one-act operas with...
, Mařenka in Bedřich Smetana
Bedrich Smetana
Bedřich Smetana was a Czech composer who pioneered the development of a musical style which became closely identified with his country's aspirations to independent statehood. He is thus widely regarded in his homeland as the father of Czech music...
's The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride
The Bartered Bride is a comic opera in three acts by the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana, to a libretto by Karel Sabina. The opera is considered to have made a major contribution towards the development of Czech music. It was composed during the period 1863–66, and first performed at the...
, Micaela, Mimì in Puccini's La bohème
La bohème
La bohème is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions quadro, a tableau or "image", rather than atto . by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de bohème by Henri Murger...
, Pamina in Mozart's The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute
The Magic Flute is an opera in two acts composed in 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder. The work is in the form of a Singspiel, a popular form that included both singing and spoken dialogue....
, Violetta Valéry in Verdi's La traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
, and the title role in George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's Rodelinda among others.
While singing in Vienna, Réthy was active as a guest artist with many European opera houses. She remained a frequent performer at the Hungarian State Opera House and appeared often as a guest at the Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
, Berlin State Opera
Berlin State Opera
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden is a German opera company. Its permanent home is the opera house on the Unter den Linden boulevard in the Mitte district of Berlin, which also hosts the Staatskapelle Berlin orchestra.-Early years:...
, and Semperoper
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
under such conductors as Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
, Victor de Sabata
Victor de Sabata
Victor de Sabata was an Italian conductor and composer. He is widely recognized as one of the most distinguished operatic conductors of the twentieth century, especially for his Verdi, Puccini and Wagner. He is also acclaimed for his interpretations of orchestral music...
, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Wilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer. He is widely considered to have been one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. By the 1930s he had built a reputation as one of the leading conductors in Europe, and he was the leading conductor who remained...
, Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch
Hans Knappertsbusch was a German conductor, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
, Clemens Krauss
Clemens Krauss
Clemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss.-Biography:...
, and Josef Krips
Josef Krips
Josef Alois Krips was an Austrian conductor and violinist.-Biography:Krips was born in Vienna and went on to become a pupil of Eusebius Mandyczewski and Felix Weingartner. From 1921 to 1924, he served as Weingartner's assistant at the Vienna Volksoper and as répétiteur and chorus master...
. She became internationally famous through her many appearances at the Salzburg Festival
Salzburg Festival
The Salzburg Festival is a prominent festival of music and drama established in 1920. It is held each summer within the Austrian town of Salzburg, the birthplace of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart...
where she sang Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro (1937–1939, 1941 with Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza
Ezio Pinza was an Italian basso opera singer with a rich, smooth and sonorous voice. He spent 22 seasons at New York's Metropolitan Opera, appearing in more than 750 performances of 50 operas...
as Figaro), Sophie in Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
'a Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(1937–1939), Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni
Don Giovanni is an opera in two acts with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and with an Italian libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte. It was premiered by the Prague Italian opera at the Teatro di Praga on October 29, 1787...
(1950), and Europa in the first public performance of Strauss’s Die Liebe der Danae
Die Liebe der Danae
Die Liebe der Danae is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a February 1937 German libretto by Joseph Gregor, based on an outline written in 1920, "Danae, or The Marriage of Convenience", by Hugo Hofmannsthal...
(1952). She also appeared at the 1940 Salzburg Festival in an operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
concert. In 1940, she was supposed to appear in several roles at the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in New York City, but the events of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
made this impossible.
After World War II, Réthy became a highly lauded performer in operettas, beginning with a triumphant portrayal of Rosalinde in Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
's Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus
Die Fledermaus is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée.- Literary sources :...
under the baton of Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
at the Vienna State Opera. From 1948 she sang frequently at the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
in the operettas of Emmerich Kálmán
Emmerich Kalman
Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...
, Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
, and Strauss. Her first performances at the house were as Annina in Eine Nacht in Venedig
Eine Nacht in Venedig
Eine Nacht in Venedig is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II and was premiered in Berlin on 3 October 1883 in the Neues Friedrich Wilhelmstadisches Theater, and is the only one of the operettas of Johann Strauss II ever to be premiered outside Vienna...
and Saffi in Der Zigeunerbaron. Her operetta repertoire grew to include Angèle Didier in Der Graf von Luxemburg
Der Graf von Luxemburg
Der Graf von Luxemburg is an operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár to German libretto by Alfred Willner, Robert Bodanzky, and Leo Stein. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, on 12 November 1909 and was an immediate success...
, Angele in Der Opernball, Fiametta in Boccaccio, Gabriele in Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut
Wiener Blut may refer to:*Wiener Blut , a waltz by Johann Strauss II*Wiener Blut , an operetta by Johann Strauss II*Wiener Blut , an album by Falco*Wiener Blut , a song by Rammstein...
, Hanna Glawari in Die Lustige Witwe, and Laura in Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent
Der Bettelstudent is an operetta in three acts by Carl Millöcker with a German libretto by Camillo Walzel and Richard Genée, based on Les noces de Fernande by Victorien Sardou and The Lady of Lyons by Edward Bulwer-Lytton...
among others.
Réthy retired from the stage in 1968, after which she was committed to teaching singing in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
. She died there at the age of 91 in 2004. She was married first to conductor Anton Paulik and then for many years to Dr. Vincent Imre. Her son from her second marriage, Laszló Imre, became a successful conductor.
Awards and honors
- Kammersänger 1948
- Honorary member of the Vienna State Opera (1975)
- Honorary Member of the Vienna Volksoper
- Gold medal of the Republic of Austria (1958)
- Medal of Honor of the Federal capital, Vienna Gold (1978)
- Golden Diploma of the Franz Liszt College (1983)