Leopoldine Rysanek (14 November 1926 – 7 March 1998), known professionally as Leonie Rysanek, was an Austrian soprano singer.

Career

Rysanek made her operatic debut in 1949 in Innsbruck, Austria.

In 1951, at the Bayreuth Festival reopening following the aftermath of World War II, Wieland Wagner asked her to sing as Sieglinde in Die Walküre, conducted by Herbert von Karajan.

On 18 September 1956, Rysanek made her American debut at the San Francisco Opera in Der fliegende Holländer, the first of nineteen roles in San Francisco. Other operas she performed were Ariadne auf Naxos, Macbeth, Turandot, Un ballo in maschera, La forza del destino, Tannhäuser, Aida, Salome (as Salome and Herodias), Tosca, Der Rosenkavalier, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die Walküre, Lohengrin (as Elsa and Ortrud), Jenůfa (as Kostelnička), and The Queen of Spades (as the Countess). Her last San Francisco performance was on 12 December 1993.

Rysanek's Metropolitan Opera debut came in 1959 as Lady Macbeth in Verdi's Macbeth, replacing Maria Callas in the production. Over her lengthy career, she sang 299 performances in 24 roles there. She starred in productions of Verdi's Nabucco, in the title role of Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, the Empress in Die Frau ohne Schatten, also by Strauss, and Janáček's Káťa Kabanová.

She played the Countess in Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades in January 1996.

During her final performance season at the Metropolitan Opera, she received confirmation of her cancer diagnosis. Her final performance was at the Salzburg Festival in August 1996, as Klytämnestra in Elektra by Richard Strauss, following her farewell to the Metropolitan Opera earlier that same year.

Voice and roles

Rysanek was known for singing the music of Richard Strauss. Her Strauss roles included the Empress (Kaiserin) in Die Frau ohne Schatten, the title role in Salome, the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier and Chrysothemis in Elektra. She occasionally sang Ariadne (prima donna) in Ariadne auf Naxos and female leads in rarely-staged Strauss operas (Die ägyptische Helena and Die Liebe der Danae). She did not sing Salome until 1972, when she was 46, although she kept the role of Sieglinde in her active repertoire from her early 20s until age 62.

She avoided offers to sing Isolde in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde. She sang Brünnhilde in Die Walküre in 1950, in Innsbruck, but did not return to this role. Among her achievements was her performance in Die Walküre the same week as her appearance as Gilda in Rigoletto.<!-- Needs an objective standpoint: This little-known feat equals the more often cited accomplishment of Maria Callas, who once performed Die Walküre and Bellini's I puritani within the same week. -->

Rysanek sang the title role of Tosca often. She also sang Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio. In Wagner works, she often sang Elisabeth in Tannhäuser, as well as Elsa and Ortrud in Lohengrin. One of the roles most closely associated with her, in addition to Strauss's Kaiserin and Chrysothemis, was Sieglinde in Die Walküre.

Rysanek also took on a number of leading Verdi roles, most notably Desdemona in Otello, Lady Macbeth, Amelia in Un ballo in maschera, Elisabetta in Don Carlos, Leonora in La forza del destino, and the title role in Aida. In 1960, she sang Abigaille in the Metropolitan Opera's inaugural staging of Nabucco. Beyond the German and Italian repertoire, she also developed a keen interest in Czech opera, particularly the works of Smetana and Janáček, despite Czech not being a language spoken in her home.

Rysanek sang Turandot and was praised for her role as Kundry in Parsifal at the Met Opera, Vienna, and the Bayreuth Festival. She had begun her career when Kirsten Flagstad was still alive and Birgit Nilsson and Astrid Varnay were at the peak of their vocal abilities. In 1981, Karl Böhm persuaded her to sing Elektra for a Unitel film (with the soundtrack recorded in the studio), instead of a live production in an opera house. In her later years, Rysanek reverted to mezzo-soprano roles like Herodias in Salome, Klytemnestra in Elektra, and Kostelnička in Janáček's Jenůfa.

Officially published recordings

(Format: work (composer), role, conductor, year of recording, record label)

  • Die Walküre Act 3 (Richard Wagner), Sieglinde, Herbert von Karajan, 1951, EMI
  • Die Walküre (Richard Wagner), Sieglinde, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 1954, EMI
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss), Kaiserin, Karl Böhm, 1955, Decca
  • Fidelio (Ludwig van Beethoven), Leonore, Ferenc Fricsay, 1957, Deutsche Grammophon
  • Operatic Arias, Arturo Basile, 1958, RCA Victor
  • Ariadne auf Naxos (Richard Strauss), Ariadne (prima donna), Erich Leinsdorf, 1958, Decca
  • Macbeth (Giuseppe Verdi), Lady Macbeth, Erich Leinsdorf, 1959, RCA Victor
  • Otello (Giuseppe Verdi), Desdemona, Tullio Serafin, 1960, RCA Victor
  • Requiem (Giuseppe Verdi), soprano, Herbert von Karajan, 1960, EMI
  • Der fliegende Holländer (Richard Wagner), Senta, Antal Doráti, 1961, Decca
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss), Kaiserin, Herbert von Karajan, 1964, Deutsche Grammophon
  • Die Walküre (Richard Wagner), Sieglinde, Karl Böhm, 1967, Philips
  • Médée (Luigi Cherubini), Medea, Horst Stein, 1972, RCA
  • Salome (Richard Strauss), Salome, Karl Böhm, 1972, RCA
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten (Richard Strauss), Kaiserin, Karl Böhm, 1977, Deutsche Grammophon
  • Elektra (Richard Strauss), Elektra, Karl Böhm, 1981, Unitel (video)
  • Jenůfa (Leoš Janáček), Kostelnička, Eve Queler, 1988, BIS
  • Salome (Richard Strauss), Herodias, Giuseppe Sinopoli, 1990, Deutsche Grammophon
  • Elektra (Richard Strauss), Klytaemnestra, Jeffrey Tate, 1990, Claves
  • Elektra (Richard Strauss), Klytaemnestra, Friedemann Layer, 1995, Actes Sud Musicales

Other recordings

  • Senta in Der fliegende Holländer: Bayreuth Festival 1959, cond. Wolfgang Sawallisch
  • Sieglinde in Die Walküre: Bayreuth Festival 1958, cond. Hans Knappertsbusch
  • Title role in Salome: Chorégies d'Orange 1974, cond. Rudolf Kempe
  • Gioconda in La Gioconda: Berlin State Opera, 1974, cond. Giuseppe Patanè
  • Chrysothemis in Elektra: Cologne Radio 1953, cond. ; and Bavarian State Opera 1955, cond. Karl Böhm
  • Elisabeth in Tannhäuser: Bayreuth Festival 1964, cond. Otmar Suitner; and 1966, cond. Carl Melles
  • Elsa in Lohengrin: Bayreuth Festival 1958, cond. André Cluytens
  • Danae in Die Liebe der Danae: Bavarian State Opera 1953, cond. Kurt Eichhorn
  • Helena in Die ägyptische Helena: Bavarian State Opera 1956, cond. Joseph Keilberth
  • Title role in Aida: Vienna State Opera 1955, cond. Rafael Kubelík
  • Amelia in Un ballo in maschera: Metropolitan Opera 1962, cond. Nello Santi

Decorations and awards

thumb|Rysanek's star on the Vienna Walk of Fame

  • 1956: Österreichische Kammersängerin
  • 1956: Bayerische Kammersängerin Soprano Lotte Rysanek was her sister.

She was appointed curator of the Vienna Festival a few months after her retirement, which she held until her death in 1998 from bone cancer, at the age of 71.