Sylvia Geszty

Sylvia Geszty (born Sylvia Maria Ilona Wytkowsky; 28 February 1934 – 13 December 2018) was a Hungarian-German operatic coloratura soprano who appeared internationally, based first at the Staatsoper Berlin in East Berlin and from 1970 at the Staatstheater Stuttgart. She is remembered as Mozart's Queen of the Night and an ideal Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos, but also performed Baroque opera and in the world premiere of Kurt Schwaen's Leonce und Lena.

Geszty was for decades a professor of voice at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and also taught a master class in Zurich. She made many recordings and appeared on radio and television and in concert and recitals.

Born in Budapest, she studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest with Erszebeth Hoor-Tempis. She won several singing competitions while still a student, including the Robert Schumann International Competition for Pianists and Singers in Berlin. In 1959, she made her debut at the Hungarian State Opera House and became a soloist of the Hungarian Philharmonic Society. Two years later, she became a member of the Staatsoper Berlin, making her debut there in the role of Amor in Gluck's Orfeo ed Euridice. Her roles included Susanna in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, the Queen of the Night in his Die Zauberflöte, Gilda in Verdi's Rigoletto and the Tsaritsa of Shemakha in Rimsky-Korsakov's Der goldene Hahn. On 15 October 1961, she appeared as Rosetta in the world premiere of Kurt Schwaen's Leonce und Lena. In 1965, she appeared as Die englische Königin (The Queen of England) in Rudolf Wagner-Régeny's Die Bürger von Calais, directed by Fritz Bennewitz and conducted by Heinz Fricke. In 1968, she first sang a role which was to become her signature role: Zerbinetta in Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss. Her interpretation of the challenging role was described by critic John Steane as the "most emotional, multi-faceted and human of all" ("die ausdruckswärmste, vielgestaltigste und menschlichste Darstellung von allen"). In 1969, she appeared as Rosina in Rossini's Il barbiere di Siviglia, staged by Ruth Berghaus.