Leonie Rysanek
While best known for her Wagner and Strauss, soprano Leonie Rysanek was also greatly admired in the dramatic Verdi roles, especially Lady Macbeth. She had a rich, full voice that could cut through heavy orchestration, but was also capable of fine piano singing. Her first career ambition was drama, and she was known for her formidable stage and vocal acting, though some critics commented unfavorably on her occasional disruptions of the vocal line and extramusical effects to emphasize a dramatic point. Modestly, she declined offers of the heaviest Strauss and Wagner such as Isolde and Brünnhilde, declaring that Birgit Nilsson's renditions were the ideal. (Compare that to the feuding of many divas and divos!) Vocally, her middle was a weak point through the early years of her career, though it strengthened with time.
She studied at the Vienna Conservatory with Alfred Jerger and Rudolf Grossman, and made her opera debut at the Innsbruck opera in 1949 as Agathe in Weber's Der Freischütz. Her feminine and yet powerfully-voiced Sieglinde at her Bayreuth Festival debut in 1951 brought her to world attention. She made her Covent Garden debut during a Vienna State Opera tour as Danae in Strauss' Der Liebe der Danae in 1953. Her United States debut was in San Francisco in 1956 as Senta in Wagner's The Flying Dutchman. Her Met debut was in 1959, replacing Maria Callas as Verdi's Lady Macbeth, though she was scheduled to appear later that season as Verdi's Aida. Though she had to win over a hostile audience, she became a Met favorite and for the rest of her career, was a regular there as well as in Vienna. In 1981, she starred in Götz Friedrich's film of Elektra, conducted by Karl Bohm and co-starring with Astrid Varnay. In the mid-1980s she began to sing mezzo roles, marking her 30th anniversary U.S. debut by appearing as the Kostelnicka in Janácek's Jenufa at San Francisco, and added such roles as Clytemnestra and Herodias to her repertoire. She retired as a singer in 1996 and became president of the Vienna Festival.
© TiVo
Discography
13 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Richard Strauss: Elektra
Gwyneth Jones, Leonie Rysanek, Anne Evans
Opera - Released by Claves Records on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Die Walküre (Remastered)
Martha Modl, Ludwig Suthaus, Leonie Rysanek, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Wilhelm Furtwängler
Classical - Released by Warner Classics on Jan 1, 1955
24-Bit 192.0 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss: Die ägyptische Helena, Op. 75 (Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on Jul 15, 2003
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
R. Strauss Die Frau ohne Schatten (La Femme sans ombre)
Hans Hopf, Leonie Rysanek, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1956
The Qobuz Essential Discography16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer
George London, Leonie Rysanek, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Royal Opera House Orchestra, Antal Doráti
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 1962
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Macbeth
Leonard Warren, Leonie Rysanek, Carlo Bergonzi
Opera - Released by Urania on Feb 6, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi: Otello
Kon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek, Tito Gobbi
Opera - Released by Urania on Feb 3, 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Leonie Rysanek (Wiener Staatsoper Live)
Opera - Released by Orfeo on Feb 26, 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Te Deum
Classical - Released by haenssler CLASSIC on Nov 20, 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dokumente einer Sängerkarriere - Leonie Rysanek
Classical - Released by Preiser Records on Sep 20, 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wagner: Die Walküre
Martha Modl, Leonie Rysanek, Ferdinand Frantz
Opera - Released by Urania on Jan 1, 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Verdi · Otello
Jon Vickers, Leonie Rysanek, Tullio Serafin, Orchestra Dell'Opera Di Roma
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Mar 3, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Opera Legend
Opera - Released by Unchained Melodie on Oct 1, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo