Marianne Schech

Marianne Schech (18 January 1914 – 22 July 1999) was a German operatic soprano and academic who appeared internationally. She was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1946 to 1970. She made several recordings, including in 1951 the role of Elisabeth in Wagner's Tannhäuser, conducted by Robert Heger. She is known for leading roles in works by Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss, playing, for example, the Dyer's Wife in the U.S. premiere of Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss at the San Francisco Opera in 1959.

Born in Geltau near Bayrischzell, Schech studied at the Trapp'sches Konservatorium and at the Akademie der Tonkunst in Munich. She made her operatic debut at the Stadttheater Koblenz in 1937 in the role of Martha in d'Albert's Tiefland. In 1939, she moved to the Theater Münster, and in 1941 to the Düsseldorf Opera.

After World War II, she was a member of the Bavarian State Opera from 1946 to 1970. In 1952, she appeared in Rio de Janeiro as Senta in Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer and as Isolde in his Tristan and Isolde. In 1957, she was the Dyer's Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten by Richard Strauss at the Paris Opera. She often appeared at the Vienna State Opera, in 1958 as Venus in Wagner's Tannhäuser and as Brünnhilde in his Siegfried, in 1962 as Brünnhilde in his Die Walküre and as the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier by Strauss. In 1959, she appeared as the Dyer's Wife in the U.S. premiere of the opera at the San Francisco Opera in 1959.