Ibolyka Astrid Maria Varnay (25 April 1918 â€" 4 September 2006) was a
Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent
most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of
the leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation. Her voice on
record is readily recognisable by its fiery tone and seemingly
limitless upper register.Both her parents were Hungarian and born in
small towns in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but she was born in
Stockholm, where her parents were living during part of World War I.
During a Da Capo interview in 1988 Varnay claimed that although she
was born in Stockholm, her ancestry was Hungarian, French and German.
Her mother, Maria Junghans (who changed her name to Javor when she
took to the stage as a singer), born October 15, 1889, was a noted
coloratura soprano with acoustic recordings to her credit. Her father
was Alexander Varnay (born September 11, 1889), a spinto tenor. Opera
was the family business, and Varnay grew up backstage at the world's
opera houses. Her father founded, and both parents ran, the Opera
Comique in Kristiania (later Oslo), (1918â€"1921). During one
performance, she was swaddled in the lower drawer of the dressing room
chest of drawers of the young Kirsten Flagstad.The family moved to
Argentina, then New York City, where her father died at age 35 in
1924. Two years later her mother married tenor Fortunato de Angelis
and the family settled in New Jersey. Varnay had been studying to be a
pianist but decided at age eighteen to become a singer and had
intensive vocal lessons with her mother.A year later, Flagstad
arranged for her to start preparing roles with Metropolitan Opera
staff conductor and coach Hermann Weigert (1890â€"1955). By the age of
22 she knew Hungarian, German, English, French and Italian and her
repertoire consisted of fifteen leading dramatic soprano roles, eleven
of which were Wagnerian parts. She also had formidable mezzo-soprano
capability, which she displayed in performances as Ortrud in Lohengrin
and Klytemnestra in Elektra.
Swedish-born American dramatic soprano of Hungarian descent. She spent
most of her career in the United States and Germany. She was one of
the leading Wagnerian heroic sopranos of her generation. Her voice on
record is readily recognisable by its fiery tone and seemingly
limitless upper register.Both her parents were Hungarian and born in
small towns in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, but she was born in
Stockholm, where her parents were living during part of World War I.
During a Da Capo interview in 1988 Varnay claimed that although she
was born in Stockholm, her ancestry was Hungarian, French and German.
Her mother, Maria Junghans (who changed her name to Javor when she
took to the stage as a singer), born October 15, 1889, was a noted
coloratura soprano with acoustic recordings to her credit. Her father
was Alexander Varnay (born September 11, 1889), a spinto tenor. Opera
was the family business, and Varnay grew up backstage at the world's
opera houses. Her father founded, and both parents ran, the Opera
Comique in Kristiania (later Oslo), (1918â€"1921). During one
performance, she was swaddled in the lower drawer of the dressing room
chest of drawers of the young Kirsten Flagstad.The family moved to
Argentina, then New York City, where her father died at age 35 in
1924. Two years later her mother married tenor Fortunato de Angelis
and the family settled in New Jersey. Varnay had been studying to be a
pianist but decided at age eighteen to become a singer and had
intensive vocal lessons with her mother.A year later, Flagstad
arranged for her to start preparing roles with Metropolitan Opera
staff conductor and coach Hermann Weigert (1890â€"1955). By the age of
22 she knew Hungarian, German, English, French and Italian and her
repertoire consisted of fifteen leading dramatic soprano roles, eleven
of which were Wagnerian parts. She also had formidable mezzo-soprano
capability, which she displayed in performances as Ortrud in Lohengrin
and Klytemnestra in Elektra.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.