Karola Agay undertakes one Mozart's opera diva roles

Описание: THE SONGBIRD: Karola Agay (1927 - 2010) (also written as Agai) studied privately in Budapest, where she was born. From 1953 to 1957, she sang in Hungarian choirs. Her debut as an opera singer was in 1955 at the Hungarian State Opera as the Queen of the Night and she stayed with the company, performing coloratura roles there regularly until the early 1980s. Agay made guest appearance in Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Wexford, Moscow, and at The Met in New York (three Lucias in 1969). Her repertoire included Konstanze, Donna Fiorilla, Gilda, Zerbinetta, Fiordiligi, Violetta, Susanna, Alice Ford, Marguerite, Queen Shemaka, Tytania, and Rosalinde). She was prominantly associated with the coloratura roles in two Hungarian operas, "Bank ban" and "Hunyadi Laszlo." Her husband was guitar virtuoso László Szendrey-Karper .

THE MUSIC: Mozart's short comic opera "Der Schauspieldirektor" ("The Impresario") K.486 was given in a private performance on February 7, 1786 for Joseph II at the Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna as part of a composition competition. A German singspiel (Mozart's work) was presented at one end of the room and an Italian opera buffa by Antonio Salieri ("Prima la musica e poi le parole" - "First the Music, then the Words"), was then shown at the other end of the room. Three public performances were given a few days later in Vienna. There are only five musical selections in the work, which pits two rival divas against each other: a fabulous overture, an aria for the first diva Madame Herz, a rondo for the second diva Mademoiselle Silberklang, a trio vocal battle, and a quartet finale. The diva roles were written for two of Mozart's muses: coloratura sopranos Aloysia Weber (Herz) and Caterina Cavalieri (Silberklang), both big stars in Vienna at the time. This is Herz's aria, "Da schlägt die Abschiedsstunde," which touches High D twice.