Viorica Ursuleac facts for kids

Viorica Ursuleac (born March 26, 1894 – died October 22, 1985) was a famous Romanian opera singer. She was known for her powerful soprano voice, which means she sang the highest parts in operas.

Early Life and Opera Career

Viorica Ursuleac was born in Chernivtsi, a city that is now part of Ukraine. Her father was a Greek Orthodox archdeacon. She studied music in Vienna, Austria, to become an opera singer.

Her first opera performance was in 1922 in Zagreb, where she sang the role of Charlotte in the opera Werther. After her debut, she performed in many important opera houses across Europe. She sang at the Vienna Volksoper from 1924 to 1926 and then at the Frankfurt Opera from 1926 to 1930.

While in Frankfurt, she married the Austrian conductor Clemens Krauss. They became a famous musical couple. She continued to perform at the Vienna State Opera (1930–1935), the Berlin State Opera (1935–1937), and the Bavarian State Opera (1937–1944).

A Favorite of Richard Strauss

Viorica Ursuleac was a favorite singer of the famous composer Richard Strauss. He even called her "the most faithful of all the faithful." She was chosen to sing in the very first performances of four of his operas:

• Arabella (1933)
• Friedenstag (1938), which was dedicated to her and her husband
• Capriccio (1942)
• Die Liebe der Danae (1944)

Famous Performances and Roles

Viorica Ursuleac performed at the Salzburg Festival in Austria several times between 1930 and 1943. She also sang at Covent Garden in London in 1934. There, she performed in the first English shows of Schwanda the Bagpiper and Arabella. Arabella was her favorite role to sing.

She also sang the role of Desdemona in Verdi's opera Otello at the Royal Opera House in London. She performed alongside the famous singer Lauritz Melchior.

Ursuleac also sang at La Scala, a very famous opera house in Milan, Italy. Some of her roles there included the Empress in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten and Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre. Her only performances in America were in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1948. There, she sang as Brangäne in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, with Kirsten Flagstad.

Throughout her career, she sang many other important roles, such as the Countess Almaviva in The Marriage of Figaro, Leonore in Fidelio, and the title roles in Tosca and Turandot.

Awards and Later Life

Viorica Ursuleac received special titles for her singing. She was named an Austrian Kammersängerin in 1934 and a Prussian Kammersängerin in 1935. These titles mean "Chamber Singer" and are given to very distinguished opera singers.

She gave her last performance in 1953, singing in Der Rosenkavalier in Wiesbaden, Germany. In 1964, she became a professor at the Salzburg Mozarteum, a music university.

She made several recordings in the 1930s and 1940s, including parts from her famous opera roles and songs by Richard Strauss.

Helping Others

During the 1930s, Viorica Ursuleac and her husband, Clemens Krauss, helped Jewish people escape from Germany. They became friends with two British sisters, Ida and Louise Cook, who were opera fans. Ursuleac asked the Cook sisters to help a Jewish friend, which started their rescue efforts.

Krauss helped by arranging opera shows in different cities. This allowed the Cook sisters to travel and meet people who needed to escape. Thanks to their efforts, at least 29 Jewish people were saved.

Viorica Ursuleac passed away in 1985 at the age of 91 in Ehrwald, Austria. She had lived there since before her husband's death in 1954.

She was also featured in a 1984 documentary about Richard Strauss, called Richard Strauss Remembered.

Selected Discography

• Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos (Krauss, 1935) [live]
• Strauss: Friedenstag (Krauss, 1939) [live]
• Strauss: Arabella (Krauss, 1942) [live]
• Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer (Krauss, 1944) [live]
• Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (Krauss, 1944) [live]
• Wagner: Tristan und Isolde [as Brangäne] (Kleiber, 1948) [live]
• Strauss: Lieder (Krauss, 1952)

Images for kids

• 

  Ursuleac as Fiordiligi, Così fan tutte, Salzburg 1932

See also

In Spanish: Viorica Ursuleac para niños