Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 – 4 September 2006) was an American dramatic soprano of Hungarian heritage and Swedish birth, who did most of her work in the United States and Germany. She was, along with Birgit Nilsson and Martha Mödl, one of the three leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation. Her voice on record is readily recognisable by its fiery tone and seemingly limitless upper register.
While training with the Metropolitan Opera's singing coach, she took classes in typing and stenography because she thought it unlikely that she would have a career in opera.
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Opera singer.
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World famous opera singer, especially in Wagner and Strauss roles
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Last stage appearance was in Munich in 1995.
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Her professional break came on 6 December 1941.
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Studied voice with New York Metropolitan Opera staff conductor and coach Hermann Weigert, whom she married in 1944.
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Her first voice teacher was her mother, Maria Javor Varnay.
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Moved to the United States in 1920.
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Although born in Sweden, her parents are of Hungarian ancestry.
Sang over 200 performances with the Metropolitan Opera until 1956. Returned to the Met in 1974 after an 18-year absence, singing Kostelnicka in Janacek's "Jenufa." Her final Met performance was as Leocadia Begbick in Weill's "Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny" on December 22, 1979.
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Got her break on December 6, 1941 -- a day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor -- when she filled in for Lotte Lehmann as Sieglinde in Wagner's "Die Walkuere" in a performance that was broadcast nationally on radio.
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Born in Stockholm to Hungarian parents who moved to the United States in 1920.
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She became a mainstay at some of the world's great opera houses, particularly in Germany. Her last stage appearance was in Munich in 1995.
Actress
Title
Year
Status
Character
Elektra
1981
Klytämnestra
The Metropolitan Opera Presents
1979
TV Series
Leocadia Begbick
Salome
1975
TV Movie
Herodias
Soundtrack
Title
Year
Status
Character
Marguerite
2015
performer: "Du zeugtest ein edles Geschlecht" from Die Walküre
Self
Title
Year
Status
Character
Karl Böhm bei den Proben zu 'Elektra'
1982
TV Movie documentary
Known for movies
Elektra (1981) as Klytämnestra
Salome (1975) as Herodias
Marguerite (2015) as Soundtrack
The Metropolitan Opera Presents (1979) as Leocadia Begbick
$100,000
