Sylvia Geszty

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Sylvia Geszty , actually Sylvia Maria Ilona Wytkowsky (born February 28, 1934 in Budapest ; † December 13, 2018 in Stuttgart ) was a Hungarian-German opera singer ( coloratura soprano ) who achieved international renown, especially through her interpretations of coloratura parts .

Life

The young Sylvia wanted to become a dancer or actress, but initially she did not think of a career as a singer. After graduating from high school, she decided to have her voice trained and studied at the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest. a. with Erzsébeth Hoor-Tempis. During her studies, the young woman won various singing competitions, for example the International Robert Schumann Competition for piano and singing in Berlin . In 1959 she made her debut at the Budapest National Opera and immediately advanced to become a soloist with the Hungarian Philharmonic Society. Two years later, the now well-known singer followed a call to the Berlin State Opera (inaugural role Amor in Orpheus by Christoph Willibald Gluck ), where she was frenetically celebrated as the prima donna under the linden trees . At the same time she was still engaged at the Komische Oper Berlin . The artist, who was awarded the GDR Art Prize in 1966 and was promoted to Kammersängerin in 1968 , created large parts of opera and operetta literature, especially important roles in coloratura, such as the Queen of the Night in Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Magic Flute , Lucia in Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti or the Zerbinetta in Ariadne on Naxos by Richard Strauss . In Berlin she continued to take singing lessons with Dagmar Freiwald-Lange. She also went on many extremely successful guest tours and sang a. a. at the opera festivals in Munich and Salzburg.

In 1970 the internationally known singer moved to West Germany and became a permanent member of the Stuttgart State Opera . As Rosina in the opera The Barber of Seville , she celebrated a brilliant start. She was also a permanent guest at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. The soprano sang at almost every major opera house in the world, in Hamburg, Paris, Brussels, Moscow, Amsterdam, London, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles, Vienna and others. a. m. She also shone at the Glyndebourne Opera Festival from 1971 to 1972 as Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos and as Konstanze in Die Entführung aus dem Serail .

The versatile coloratura soprano was also a distinguished song and oratorio singer , a highly valued operetta interpreter and chansonnière . From 1975 to 1997 she taught solo singing (later as a professor) at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts . From 1985 to 1991 she worked in the same position at the Zurich Conservatory. For more than 20 years, the experienced vocal teacher has led master classes in Germany, Poland, Austria, Finland, Luxembourg, Japan and the USA. Well-known students of hers are z. B. Norbert Schmittberg, Katarzyna Dondalska, Gabriella Pittnerova, Melanie Diener , Gunda Baumgärtner, Hermine May , Jutta Böhnert, Anke Sieloff , Annette Luig, Marlis Petersen , Gabriele Rossmanith , Regina Kabis and Lauren Newton.

The International Coloratura Singing Competition initiated by Sylvia Geszty has been taking place since 1988, and in 1998 she made her debut as a highly regarded opera director (with Don Pasquale at the theater in Poznań, Poland). An abundance of recordings, television appearances (over 80 programs for ARD and ZDF) and films through to entertainment programs on radio round off their diverse repertoire. On her 70th birthday, the singer published her autobiography Queen of Coloratura. Memories .

theatre

Autobiography

Discography (selection)

  • An Opera Recital
  • Ariadne on Naxos
  • Cosi fan tutte
  • The Magic Flute
  • The Barber of Baghdad
  • The director of the theater
  • Imeneo
  • An evening at the opera
  • Mozart concert arias
  • Two hearts in three-quarter time
  • Giuditta
  • Illusions
  • Toujours L'Amour
  • Coloratura from German and Italian operas
  • Song of the nightingale

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The family's obituary in the Stuttgarter Zeitung from January 19, 2019
  2. ↑ Art Prize Winner 1966 , In: Neue Zeit , March 27, 1966, p. 4
personal data
SURNAME Geszty, Sylvia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wytkowsky, Sylvia Maria Ilona (real name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Hungarian-German opera singer (coloratura soprano)
DATE OF BIRTH February 28, 1934
PLACE OF BIRTH Budapest
DATE OF DEATH December 13, 2018
Place of death Stuttgart