55 Years In Five Acts: My Life in Opera

About this book

For Astrid Varnay opera was the family business. The daughter of coloratura soprano Mria Jvor and dramatic tenor Alexander Vrnay she literally grew up backstage at the opera. Vocally and musically trained by her mother and mentor (and later husband) Hermann Weigert she was just twenty-three years old when she made her unofficial debut at the Metropolitan Opera as a last-minute replacement for the suddenly ill Lotte Lehmann. Varnays critically acclaimed performance as Sieglinde in Die Walkre catapulted her into the limelight. Varnay reflects on her remarkable life in opera discussing her signature roles and performances vocal preparation and technique interpretive acting style and her seamless transition from leading soprano to character roles including her switch from Elektra to Klytemnstra in Strausss Elektra. Her engaging and witty memoir is filled with frank often critical observations about many of the most significant vocal artists conductors and directors of the twentieth century. She describes her lifelong friendship with operatic idol Kirsten Flagstad the years at the Met and conflicts with Rudolf Bing her appearances at the Bayreuth and Salzburg Festivals and her artistic rift with Herbert von Karajan.