Ivogün, Maria (real name, Ilse Kempner)
Ivogün, Maria (real name, Ilse Kempner)
Ivogün, Maria (real name, Ilse Kempner), esteemed Hungarian soprano; b. Budapest, Nov. 18, 1891; d. Beatenberg, Switzerland, Oct. 2, 1987. Her mother was the singer Ida von Günther. She studied voice with Schlemmer-Ambros in Vienna, then with Schöner in Munich, where she made her debut as Mimi at the Bavarian Court Opera (1913). She became renowned there for her portrayal of Zerbinetta, and also created the role of Ighino in Pfitzner’s Palestrina (1917). In 1925 she joined the Berlin Städtische Oper; also made guest appearances with the touring German Opera Co. in the U.S. (1923), at the Chicago Opera (1923), at London’s Covent Garden (1924, 1927), and at the Salzburg Festivals (1925, 1930). She gave her farewell performance as Zerbinetta at the Berlin Städtische Oper (1934). She was subsequently active as a teacher, later serving on the faculties of the Vienna Academy of Music (1948–50) and the Berlin Hochschule für Musik (1950–58); her most celebrated pupil was Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. She was married to Karl Erb (1921–32), then to her accompanist Michael Raucheisen (from 1933). Among her other notable roles were Constanze, the Queen of the Night, Norina, Gilda, and Oscar.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire