Author: Philip Gardner

The Hungarian mezzo-soprano Rosette Anday made her Vienna State Opera debut in 1921 at the age of 18 as Carmen. Franz Schalk, the Company’s director, had first heard the young mezzo-soprano in Budapest, where she studied at the local conservatoire whilst also taking violin lessons. Schalk engaged her immediately, and following her highly successful debut, she went on to become one of Vienna’s most beloved stars. Richard Strauss – no less – was Ms. Anday’s accompanist when she gave her first lieder recital in the Grosse Musikvereinssaal in Vienna soon after her debut.

Rosette Anday’s roles included Mozart’s Cherubino and Dorabella, Verdi’s Preziosilla, Amneris, and Azucena, Wagner’s Fricka, Erda, Waltraute, Brangane, and Adriano in RIENZI, Laura in GIOCONDA, Dalila, and Klytemnestra. She was one of the youngest singers ever to be named ‘Kammersängerin‘.

Banned from the stage during the Nazi occupation of Austria, Ms. Anday was able to resume her career immediately after the war, joining the renowned ensemble at the Theater an der Wien. In 1961, she celebrated the 40th anniversary of her debut with a performance of Klytemnestra.

Also beloved as a concert artist and recitalist, Rosette Anday toured North and South America and appeared in Berlin, Paris, and at the Salzburg Festival. She passed away in 1977.

Rosette Anday – Erda’s Warning ~ RHEINGOLD – 1948 – with F Frantz

Rosette Anday – Printemps qui commence ~ SAMSON ET DALILA

Rosette Anday – Mahler’s Urlicht