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Leopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek (November 14, 1926–March 7, 1998) was an Austrian dramatic soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately 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....
.

Rysanek was born in Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
 and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. Her Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director....
 debut came in 1959 as Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare)

Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scotland nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, and later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime....
, replacing Maria Callas
Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greeks soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts....
 who had been "fired" from the production. She made her farewell to the Met as the Countess in The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)

The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, based on a The Queen of Spades by the poet Alexander Pushkin....
 in January 1996. Her final performance was at the Salzburg Festival in August 1996, as Klytämnestra in Elektra
Elektra (opera)

Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
.






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Leopoldine "Leonie" Rysanek (November 14, 1926–March 7, 1998) was an Austrian dramatic soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately 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....
.

Rysanek was born in Vienna
Vienna

Vienna is the Capital of Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million...
 and made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck. Her Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera

The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director....
 debut came in 1959 as Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare)

Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scotland nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, and later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime....
, replacing Maria Callas
Maria Callas

Maria Callas was an American-born Greeks soprano and one of the most renowned opera singers of the twentieth century. She combined an impressive bel canto technique with great dramatic gifts....
 who had been "fired" from the production. She made her farewell to the Met as the Countess in The Queen of Spades
The Queen of Spades (opera)

The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky, based on a The Queen of Spades by the poet Alexander Pushkin....
 in January 1996. Her final performance was at the Salzburg Festival in August 1996, as Klytämnestra in Elektra
Elektra (opera)

Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
. Over her lengthy career, she sang 299 performances of 24 roles at the Met. She starred in the Met premieres of Macbeth
Macbeth (opera)

Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth....
, Nabucco
Nabucco

Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the biblical story and the Play by Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu....
, Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
, Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten

Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
, and Katya Kabanova.

In 1951, she was the first Sieglinde
Signy

Signy or Signe is the name of two heroines in two connected legends from Scandinavian mythology which were very popular in medieval Scandinavia....
 of the new Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival

The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented....
 in Die Walküre
Die Walküre

Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
 under Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conducting, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years....
.

She was appointed curator of the Vienna Festival
Vienna Festival

The Vienna Festival is a cultural festival in Vienna that takes place every year for five weeks in May and June.The Vienna Festival started in 1951, when Vienna was still Military occupation by the Participants in World War II#The Allies....
 (Wiener Festwochen) a few months after her retirement, a post she held until her death in Vienna at age 71 (she had been diagnosed with bone cancer during her last Met performances).

Voice and roles

Leonie Rysanek's voice was astride the spinto and dramatic soprano
Soprano

A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately 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....
 voices in certain roles. Although her voice fell in the upper end of the jugendlich-dramatisch and dramatischer sopran categories in the German repertoire, it was exclusively dramatic by Italian operatic standards. In the octave just above middle C, the voice could sound dry with wobbly intonation, but at the top of the staff it blossomed into one of the most glorious sounds of the twentieth century. Her endurance in the high tessitura
Tessitura

In music, the term tessitura generally describes the most musically acceptable and comfortable Range for a given singing or, less frequently, musical instrument; the range in which a given voice type presents its best-sounding texture or timbre....
 of Turandot
Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot by Carlo Gozzi....
 and the operas of Richard Strauss and Wagner is legendary.

She excelled in the music of Richard Strauss
Richard Strauss

Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
. She was especially successful as the Empress (Kaiserin) in Die Frau ohne Schatten
Die Frau ohne Schatten

Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
, the title role in Salome
Salome (opera)

Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German language libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann?s German translation of the French language play Salome by Oscar Wilde....
, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier

Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Jean-Baptiste Louvet de Couvrai and Moli?re?s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac....
 and Chrysothemis
Chrysothemis

In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Unlike her sister, Electra, Chrysothemis did not protest or enact vengeance against their mother for having an affair with Aegisthus and then killing their father....
 in Elektra
Elektra (opera)

Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
. She occasionally sang Ariadne
Ariadne

Ariadne, in Greek mythology , was daughter of Monarch Minos of Crete and his queen, Pasipha?, daughter of Helios, the Sun-titan. She aided Theseus in overcoming the Minotaur and later became the bride of the god Dionysus....
/Prima Donna in Ariadne auf Naxos
Ariadne auf Naxos

Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
 and female leads in Strauss operas rarely staged (Die Ägyptische Helena and Die Liebe der Danae). However, cautious of playing out of her league, she didn't tackle Salome
Salome (opera)

Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German language libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann?s German translation of the French language play Salome by Oscar Wilde....
 until 1972 when she was 46, although she kept the role of Sieglinde in her active repertoire from her early 20s until age 62. She avoided offers to sing Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde
Tristan und Isolde

Tristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German language libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Stra?burg....
 despite speculation that the role would be perfect for her.

Strauss sopranos often make excellent Puccini voices and accordingly Rysanek sang many Tosca
Tosca

Tosca is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Victorien Sardou drama, La Tosca....
s and a few Turandot
Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot by Carlo Gozzi....
s. She also sang a remarkable Leonore in Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical music era and Romantic music eras in classical music, and remains one of the most acclaimed and influential composers of all time....
's Fidelio
Fidelio

Fidelio is a German language opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly....
.

In Wagner
Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
, she sang many Tannhäuser
Tannhäuser (opera)

Tannh?user is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two Germany legends of Tannh?user and the S?ngerkrieg at Wartburg Castle....
 Elisabeths and Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
 Elsas, virtually owned the role of Senta in Der fliegende Holländer
The Flying Dutchman (opera)

Der fliegende Holl?nder is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner. The story comes from the The Flying Dutchman, about a ship captain condemned to sail until Last Judgment....
 for two decades, but the role in which she was most revered, in addition to Strauss's Kaiserin and Chrysothemis, was Sieglinde in Die Walküre
Die Walküre

Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
.

Such a powerful, long and expressive voice as Rysanek's allowed her to sing many Verdi leads, notably Desdemona
Desdemona (Othello)

Desdemona is a character in William Shakespeare's Othello . The character's origin is traced to the tale, "Un Capitano Moro" in Cinthio's Gli Hecatommithi ....
 in Otello
Otello

Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare's Play Othello. It was Verdi's second to last opera and is considered by many to be his greatest tragedy....
, Lady Macbeth
Lady Macbeth (Shakespeare)

Lady Macbeth is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is wife to the play's protagonist, Macbeth, a Scotland nobleman. After goading him into committing regicide, she becomes Queen of Scotland, and later suffers pangs of guilt for her part in the crime....
, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
Un ballo in maschera

'Un ballo in maschera' , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The opera's first production was at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, February 17, 1859....
, Elisabetta in Don Carlo, Leonora in La forza del destino
La forza del destino

La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don ?lvaro, o La fuerza del sino , by ?ngel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager....
, and Aida
Aida

Aida an Arabic female name meaning "visitor" or "returning") is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette ....
. She also sang Abigaille in the Metropolitan Opera's first-ever staging of Nabucco
Nabucco

Nabucco is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera, based on the biblical story and the Play by Anicet-Bourgeois and Francis Cornu....
 in 1960.

As an Austrian and a Mitteleuropäerin, Rysanek also took an interest in music from Slavic countries, both Russian (Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – ) was a Russian composer of the Romantic music era. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his Piano Concerto No....
) and Czech (Smetana
Bedrich Smetana

Bedrich Smetana was a Czechs composer, one of the most significant that his country has ever produced. He is best known for his symphonic poem The_Moldau#Vltava , the second in a cycle of six which he entitled M? vlast , and for his opera The Bartered Bride....
, Janácek
Leoš Janácek

Leo? Jan?cek , was a Czech people composer, Music theory, Folkloristics, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style....
).

Of the notorious five "biggest" soprano roles, Rysanek sang Turandot
Turandot

Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot by Carlo Gozzi....
 and enjoyed success as Kundry in Parsifal
Parsifal

Parsifal is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner. It is loosely based on Wolfram von Eschenbach's Parzival, the medieval Epic poetry of the Arthurian knight Parzival and his quest for the Holy Grail....
 at the Met and the Bayreuth Festival. Starting her career when Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Flagstad

Kirsten M?lfrid Flagstad was a Norway opera singer, one of the greatest Richard Wagner sopranos of the 20th century.A restrained and expressive stage performer, she was admired internationally for her voice's sheer tonal beauty, power, stamina, security and consistency of line and tone....
 was still alive and Birgit Nilsson
Birgit Nilsson

Birgit Nilsson was a Sweden dramatic soprano who specialized in operatic and symphonic works. Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register....
 and Astrid Varnay
Astrid Varnay

Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay was an American dramatic soprano of Hungary heritage and Sweden birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany....
 at the peak of their vocal abilities, Rysanek knew better than to go for Wagner's Isolde or any of his three Brünnhildes. However, in 1981, Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm

Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
 persuaded her to sing Elektra (opera)
Elektra (opera)

Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
 for a Unitel film (with the soundtrack recorded in the studio), not a live production in an opera house. She accepted out of consideration for and trust in the great conductor and wouldn't have done it for anyone else.

In her later years, and like many "big" soprano voices, Rysanek reverted to dramatic mezzo-soprano
Mezzo-soprano

A mezzo-soprano is a type of European classical music female voice type whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above ....
 roles like Ortrud
Ortrud

Ortrud is a female character from Richard Wagner's opera Lohengrin ....
 in Wagner's Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)

Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
, Herodias
Herodias

Herodias was a Jewish princess of the Herodian Dynasty....
 in Strauss
Richard Strauss

Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
's Salome and Klytemnestra in his Elektra.

Officially published recordings

Work (composer), role, conductor, year of recording, label.

Only recordings marked thus ! were originally recorded by the respective record companies. All others are recordings of concerts or opera performances generally made by radio stations.

  • Die Walküre
    Die Walküre

    Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
     third act (Richard Wagner
    Richard Wagner

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
    ), Sieglinde, Herbert von Karajan
    Herbert von Karajan

    Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conducting, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years....
    , 1951, EMI
    EMI

    The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
    .
  • Die Walküre
    Die Walküre

    Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
     (Richard Wagner
    Richard Wagner

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
    ), Sieglinde, Wilhelm Furtwängler
    Wilhelm Furtwängler

    Wilhelm Furtw?ngler was a German Conducting and composer....
    , 1954, EMI
    EMI

    The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten
    Die Frau ohne Schatten

    Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Kaiserin, Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    , 1955, Decca
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
    .
  • Fidelio
    Fidelio

    Fidelio is a German language opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly....
     (Ludwig van Beethoven
    Ludwig van Beethoven

    Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. He was a crucial figure in the transitional period between the Classical music era and Romantic music eras in classical music, and remains one of the most acclaimed and influential composers of all time....
    , Leonore, Ferenc Fricsay
    Ferenc Fricsay

    Ferenc Fricsay was a Hungary conducting.Fricsay was born in Budapest in 1914 and studied music under B?la Bart?k, Zolt?n Kod?ly, Ernst von Dohn?nyi, and Leo Weiner....
    , 1956, Deutsche Grammophon
    Deutsche Grammophon

    Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity....
    .
  • Operatic Arias, Arturo Basile, 1958, RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
    .
  • Ariadne auf Naxos
    Ariadne auf Naxos

    Ariadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Prima Donna/Ariadne, Erich Leinsdorf
    Erich Leinsdorf

    Erich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conducting. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality....
    , 1958, Decca
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
    .
  • Macbeth
    Macbeth (opera)

    Macbeth is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi, with an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave and additions by Andrea Maffei, based on Shakespeare's Macbeth....
     (Giuseppe Verdi
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
    ), Lady Macbeth, Erich Leinsdorf
    Erich Leinsdorf

    Erich Leinsdorf was an Austrian-born American conducting. He performed and recorded with leading orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States and Europe, earning a reputation for exacting standards as well as an acerbic personality....
    , 1959, RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
    .
  • Otello
    Otello

    Otello is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on William Shakespeare's Play Othello. It was Verdi's second to last opera and is considered by many to be his greatest tragedy....
     (Giuseppe Verdi
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
    ), Desdemona, Tullio Serafin
    Tullio Serafin

    Tullio Serafin was an Italy Conducting....
    , 1960, RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
    .
  • Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
    ), soprano, Herbert von Karajan
    Herbert von Karajan

    Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conducting, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years....
    , 1960, EMI
    EMI

    The EMI Group is a United Kingdom music company comprising the major record label EMI Music ? which operates several labels and is based in Kensington in London, England, United Kingdom ? and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York City....
  • Der fliegende Holländer
    The Flying Dutchman (opera)

    Der fliegende Holl?nder is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner. The story comes from the The Flying Dutchman, about a ship captain condemned to sail until Last Judgment....
     (Richard Wagner
    Richard Wagner

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
    ), Senta, Antal Doráti
    Antal Doráti

    Antal Dor?ti Order of the British Empire was a Hungary-born conducting and composer.Dor?ti was born in Budapest, where his father was a violinist with the Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra....
    , 1961, Decca
    Decca Records

    Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 in music by Edward Lewis . Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; later the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
    .
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten
    Die Frau ohne Schatten

    Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Kaiserin, Herbert von Karajan
    Herbert von Karajan

    Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conducting, one of the most renowned 20th-century conductors. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted the Berlin Philharmonic for thirty-five years....
    , 1964, Deutsche Grammophon
    Deutsche Grammophon

    Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity....
  • Die Walküre
    Die Walküre

    Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
     (Richard Wagner
    Richard Wagner

    Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, Conducting, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas . Unlike most other great opera composers, Wagner wrote both the scenario and libretto for his works....
    ), Sieglinde, Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    , 1967, Philips
    Philips

    Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. , usually known as Philips, is a Netherlands electronics company. It is one of the largest electronics companies in the world, founded and headquartered in the Netherlands....
  • Medea
    Medea

    Medea is a woman in Greek mythology. She was the daughter of Aeetes of Colchis, niece of Circe, granddaughter of the sun god Helios, and later wife to the hero Jason, with whom she had two children: Mermeros and Pheres....
     (Luigi Cherubini
    Luigi Cherubini

    Luigi Cherubini was an Italy-born composer who spent most of his working life in France. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music....
    ), Medea, Horst Stein, 1972, RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
    .
  • Salomé
    Salome (opera)

    Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German language libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann?s German translation of the French language play Salome by Oscar Wilde....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Salomé, Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    , 1972, RCA
    RCA

    RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten
    Die Frau ohne Schatten

    Die Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Kaiserin, Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    , 1977, Deutsche Grammophon
    Deutsche Grammophon

    Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity....
  • Elektra
    Elektra (opera)

    Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Elektra, Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    , 1981, Unitel (video).
  • Jenufa
    Jenufa

    Jenufa is an opera in three acts by Leo? Jan?cek to a Czech libretto by the composer, based on the Play Jej? pastorkyna by Gabriela Preissov?....
     (Leoš Janácek
    Leoš Janácek

    Leo? Jan?cek , was a Czech people composer, Music theory, Folkloristics, publicist and teacher. He was inspired by Moravian and all Slavic folk music to create an original, modern musical style....
    ), Kostelnicka, Eve Queler, 1988, BIS
    BIS Records

    BIS Records is a record label founded in 1973 by Robert von Bahr. It is located in ?kersberga, Sweden.BIS focuses on European classical music, both Contemporary classical music and Early music, especially works that are not already well represented by existing recordings....
  • Salome
    Salome (opera)

    Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German language libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann?s German translation of the French language play Salome by Oscar Wilde....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Herodias, Giuseppe Sinopoli
    Giuseppe Sinopoli

    Giuseppe Sinopoli was an Italy conducting and composer....
    , 1990], Deutsche Grammophon
    Deutsche Grammophon

    Deutsche Grammophon is a Germany classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. The company has long been known for its high standards of high fidelity....
  • Elektra
    Elektra (opera)

    Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Klytemnestra, Friedemann Layer, 1995, Actes sud.
  • Elektra
    Elektra (opera)

    Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
     (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ), Klytemnestra, Jeffrey Tate, ?, Claves


Other recordings

  • Senta in Der fliegende Holländer
    The Flying Dutchman (opera)

    Der fliegende Holl?nder is an opera, with music and libretto by Richard Wagner. The story comes from the The Flying Dutchman, about a ship captain condemned to sail until Last Judgment....
    : Bayreuth Festival
    Bayreuth Festival

    The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented....
     1959, cond. Wolfgang Sawallisch
    Wolfgang Sawallisch

    Wolfgang Sawallisch is a Germany conducting and pianist....
    .
  • Sieglinde in Die Walküre
    Die Walküre

    Die Walk?re is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen , by Richard Wagner. It is the source of the famous piece Ride of the Valkyries....
    : Bayreuth Festival
    Bayreuth Festival

    The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented....
     1958, cond. Hans Knappertsbusch
    Hans Knappertsbusch

    File:Hans Knappertsbusch.jpgHans Knappertsbusch was a Germany Conducting, best known for his performances of the music of Richard Wagner, Anton Bruckner and Richard Strauss....
    .
  • Salome
    Salome (opera)

    Salome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German language libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann?s German translation of the French language play Salome by Oscar Wilde....
    : Chorégies d'Orange 1974, cond. Rudolf Kempe
    Rudolf Kempe

    Rudolf Kempe was a Germany conducting....
    .
  • Gioconda in La Gioconda
    La Gioconda (opera)

    La Gioconda is an opera in four acts by Amilcare Ponchielli to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Angelo, tyran de Padoue, a play in prose by Victor Hugo, dating from 1835....
    : Berlin Staatsoper, 1974, cond. Giuseppe Patanè.


Many roles in which Rysanek was virtually unsurpassed -- or performed with distinction -- were never recorded or published officially. These include, among others:

  • Chrysothemis
    Chrysothemis

    In Greek mythology, Chrysothemis was a daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra. Unlike her sister, Electra, Chrysothemis did not protest or enact vengeance against their mother for having an affair with Aegisthus and then killing their father....
     in Elektra
    Elektra (opera)

    Elektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903?the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist....
    : Cologne Radio 1953, cond. Richard Kraus, Bavarian State Opera
    Bavarian State Opera

    The Bayerische Staatsoper is an opera company based in Munich, Germany in existence since 1653. Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra....
     1955, cond. Karl Böhm
    Karl Böhm

    Karl August Leopold B?hm was an Austrian Conducting....
    .
  • Elisabeth in Tannhäuser
    Tannhäuser (opera)

    Tannh?user is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two Germany legends of Tannh?user and the S?ngerkrieg at Wartburg Castle....
    : Bayreuth Festival
    Bayreuth Festival

    The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented....
     1964, cond. Otmar Suitner and 1966, cond. Carlos Melles.
  • Elsa in Lohengrin
    Lohengrin (opera)

    Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner.The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself inspired by the epic of Garin le Loherain....
    : Bayreuth Festival
    Bayreuth Festival

    The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented....
     1958, cond. André Cluytens
    André Cluytens

    Andr? Cluytens was a Belgian-born French conducting.He was born in Antwerp to a musical family. At age nineteen he graduated from the Royal Flemish Conservatory with first prizes in piano, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue....
    .
  • Danae in Die Liebe der Danae (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ): Bavarian State Opera
    Bavarian State Opera

    The Bayerische Staatsoper is an opera company based in Munich, Germany in existence since 1653. Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra....
     1953, cond. Kurt Eichorn.
  • Helena in Die Ägyptische Helena (Richard Strauss
    Richard Strauss

    Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer of the late Romantic music and early modern eras, particularly of operas, Lieder and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent Conducting....
    ): Bavarian State Opera
    Bavarian State Opera

    The Bayerische Staatsoper is an opera company based in Munich, Germany in existence since 1653. Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra....
     1956, cond. Joseph Keilberth.
  • Aida
    Aida

    Aida an Arabic female name meaning "visitor" or "returning") is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette ....
     (Giuseppe Verdi
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
    ): Vienna Opera 1955, cond. Rafael Kubelík
    Rafael Kubelík

    Rafael Jeron?m Kubel?k was a Czechs conducting and composer....
    .
  • Amelia in Un ballo in maschera
    Un ballo in maschera

    'Un ballo in maschera' , is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi with text by Antonio Somma. The opera's first production was at the Teatro Apollo, Rome, February 17, 1859....
     (Giuseppe Verdi
    Giuseppe Verdi

    Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
    ): Metropolitan Opera
    Metropolitan Opera

    The Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager and James Levine is music director....
     1962, cond. Nello Santi
    Nello Santi

    Nello Santi is an Italian Conductor . He is often called "Papa Santi" by his fellow musicians to show their high respect for his work....
    .