Maria Jeritza sings Marietta's aria from Die Tote Stadt. 1922.

Maria Jeritza ( 1887-1984) had a spectacular career, both in Europe and the United States. Her accomplishments are far too numerous to mention, except to say that she was a mainstay at the Vienna Opera (1912-35), which overlapped with a long Met stay (1921-32). She created four roles over the course of her long career, including that of Marietta in Eric Korngold's Die Tote Stadt (The Dead City). She starred at the Met premiere of this opera in 1921. She was beautiful, and a powerful actress, and her voice was strong, clear and pure, very well adapted to Wagner and Strauss. She retired to New Jersey, where she died after a very long life filled with honors and recognition.

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• Maria
• Jeritza
• sings
• Marietta's
• aria
• from
• Die
• Tote
• Stadt

[TheNodsille]

Thank you so much for the Korngold. This one of 1922 seems to have been the first. The one I find most moving is one of 1924 With Richard Tauber and Lotte Lehmann. nb: I heard Lotte Lehman give a master class in Kansas City in the early 60s and although too old to actually sing she whispered the Marshallin and had everyone in tears. Do they make these people anymore?

[EdmundStAustell]

@TheNodsille  I'm not sure they do, to be honest. It seems that the whole sense of opera and opera singing was somehow different back then. It had an air and a mystery to it, the near-mystical aura of great art, that I do not always sense today. Thanks for the comment!

[a9z8a743]

Singers had more latitude back then to "interpret". And critics did not have their

complete recordings to verify that every note was sung the way the composer put it down.

[EdmundStAustell]

@a9z8a743 Yes, very true! Thanks for the comments, much appreciated!

[a9z8a743]

When Richard Strauss heard her sing Salome, he said, "If I didn't look at the score, I'd think she was a genius'.

[EdmundStAustell]

@a9z8a743 Ha, ha. Yes, well I guess it's a good thing the audience didn't have scores:-)

[MrGer2295]

BEAUTIFUL VOICE!!! Thank you for sharing this Wonderful video.

[DabneyJonesSoprano]

Not what I was expecting. Yet still her voice is so beautiful. I would have loved to hear the Bb:(.

[Elisabetta611]

@papoocanada Korngold himself adored her. Good enough for me!

[SieglindeMoos]

How can she be cheating, when she created the role?