Astrid Varnay (born April 25, 1918 in Stockholm, Sweden) is an American soprano. April 25 is the 115th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (116th in leap years). ... 1918 (MCMXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. ... Stockholm [, ] is the capital and the largest City of Sweden. ...

Her mother Maria Javor was a noted Hungarian coloratura soprano, and her father Alexander, also from Hungary, was a spinto tenor (Javor's acoustic recordings show her to advantage.) Opera was the family business and Varnay, like Claudia Muzio, grew up backstage at the world's opera houses. As an infant in Oslo, Norway (then called Kristiania) where her parents were busy running a new Opera Comique Theater that was founded by Alexander Varnay, she was swaddled in the opera house in the lower drawer of the dressing room table of a young soprano named Kirsten Flagstad. Coloratura is an ornate, flowery style in classical singing. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

The family moved to Argentina, then New York where Alexander died at age 35 in 1924, and two years later Javor married tenor Fortunato de Angelis. Varnay had been studying to be a pianist but decided at age eighteen to become a singer and had intensive vocal lessons with her mother. A year later, Flagstad arranged for her to start coaching and preparing roles with Metropolitan Opera staff conductor and coach Hermann Weigert (1890 - 1955). By the age of 22 she knew Hungarian, German, English, French and Italian and her repertoire consisted of fifteen leading dramatic soprano roles, eleven of which were Wagnerian parts. State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ...

She made her sensational debut at the Metropolitan Opera on December 6, 1941 at a broadcast performance singing Sieglinde in Wagner's Die Walküre, substituting with no rehearsal whatsoever for an indisposed Lotte Lehmann. Never before had she appeared in a leading role on any stage and her appearance was a triumph. Six days later she replaced an ailing Helen Traubel as Brünhilde in the same opera. Varnay and Weigert became closer and were married in 1944. It was also at this time that she had lessons with former Metropolitan Opera tenor, Paul Althouse. A full house at the old Metropolitan Opera House, seen from the rear of the stage, at the Metropolitan Opera House for a concert by pianist Josef Hofmann, November 28, 1937. ... December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or music dramas). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate... Die Walküre (The Valkyrie) is the second of the four operas that comprise Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung), by Richard Wagner. ... Lotte Lehmann The German soprano Lotte Lehmann (February 27, 1888 – August 26, 1976) was a famous opera singer who was especially associated with German repertory. ... Helen Traubel (June 16, 1899-July 28, 1972), was an American operatic soprano, best known for her Wagnerian roles, especially that of Brünnhilde. ...

In 1948 she made her debut at Covent Garden and in 1951 in Florence as Lady Macbeth. In that year she also made her debut at Bayreuth - Flagstad, after declining the invitation to Bayreuth recommended that Wieland Wagner engage Varnay. She sang at Bayreuth for each of the next seventeen years, and appeared regularly at the Metropolitan until 1956. She left when it was clear Met director Rudolf Bing did not appreciate her, and went on to become a mainstay of the world's other great opera houses, especially in Germany, in Wagner and Strauss but also several Verdi and other works. She had already made Munich her home, where audiences considered her a goddess. Covent Garden is a shopping and entertainment complex in central London. ... Founded 59 BC as Florentia Region Tuscany Mayor Leonardo Domenici (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  102 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 356,000 almost 500,000 3,453/km² Time zone CET, UTC+1 Latitude Longitude 43°47 N 11°15 E www. ...

In 1969 she gave up her repertoire of heavy dramatic soprano roles after singing them continuously for a longer period than any other soprano, and began a new career singing mezzo roles. After being the world's leading Elektra for over twenty years, she now established herself as a great interpreter of Klytemnestra. The role of Herodias became her most often-performed role: 236 performances. She returned to the Metropolitan in 1974, singing continuously for two seasons, and last appeared there in Weill's Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny in 1979. Mezzo may refer to one of the following: The Mezzo TV cable channel in Spain. ...

In the mid-1980s, character roles now became Ms. Varnay's metier. Her last appearance on stage was in Munich in 1995, fifty-five years after her Metropolitan debut. In 1998 she published her autobiography, fittingly titled "Fifty-Five Years in Five Acts: My Life in Opera," written with Donald Arthur.

In 2004, a documentary about her life and first New York career entitled "Never before" received acclaim in the U.S.A. Her recordings of Strauss heroines such as Elektra and Salome along with the Wagnerian roles are among the treasures of the medium, while transcriptions of broadcast performances of her great roles document her art in sound, and a few video recordings of her late career preserve evidence of her acting ability.