{{Short description|German opera singer}}{{Infobox person | name = Maria Olszewska | image = MariaOlszewska1927.png | caption = Maria Olszewska from a 1927 publication | other_names = Marie Berchtenbreitner | birth_date = 12 August 1892 | birth_place = Germany | death_date = 17 May 1969 | death_place = Germany | occupation = Opera singer }}
'''Maria Olszewska''' ('''Olczewska''', also '''Marie Berchtenbreitner''';<ref>{{Cite Grove |last=Rosenthal |first=Harold |last2=Blyth |first2=Alan |title=Olszewska, Maria|name-list-style=amp}}</ref> 12 August 1892 – 17 May 1969) was a German [[opera]]tic dramatic [[contralto]].<ref name="oper">[http://hosting.triboni.com/triboni/exec?method=com.operissimo.artist.webDisplay&id=ffcyoieagxaaaaabfleo&xsl=webDisplay&searchStr=Maria Olszewska, Maria Biography at operissimo.com (in German)]</ref>
==Biography== Olszewska was born in {{interlanguage link|Ludwigsschwaige|qid=Q1875450}}, Germany. She studied singing in Munich with [[Karl Erler]] for three years<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Wagner-Semrau |first=Laura |date=2015-06-03 |title=Maria Olszewska - Contraltos |url=https://www.operavivra.com/artists/contraltos/maria-olszewska/ |access-date=2026-04-19 |website=Opera Vivrà |language=en-US}}</ref> before beginning her career singing in [[operetta]]s in that city in 1913. She made her first opera appearance in 1915 as the Page in [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Tannhäuser (opera)|Tannhäuser]]'' at the [[opera house]] in [[Krefeld]], where she already had a two-year contract.<ref name=":0" /> [[Arthur Nikisch]] attempted to secure her services. Soon after she was engaged at the [[Oper Leipzig]] up through 1919.<ref name="oper" />
Olszewska left Leipzig to join the [[Hamburg State Opera]], where she was engaged from 1919 to 1922. While there, she notably portrayed Brigitta/Lucienne in the world co-premiere<ref>The opera was premiered simultaneously in Hamburg and Cologne.</ref> of [[Erich Wolfgang Korngold]]'s ''[[Die tote Stadt]]'' on 4 December 1920. While singing in Hamburg, she was appointed to the roster of artists at the [[Vienna State Opera]] (VSO) in 1921 where she sang through 1923. She was a member of the [[Bavarian State Opera]] in [[Munich]] from 1923 to 1925, after which she returned to the VSO from 1925 to 1930. In 1925, she married the baritone {{interlanguage link|Emil Schipper|qid=Q19816891}} (1882–1957).<ref name="oper" />[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13226, Josef Schildkraut und Maria Olszewska.jpg|thumb|170px|Actor [[Joseph Schildkraut]] with Maria Olszewska in 1932]]Olszewska appeared frequently as a guest artist at opera houses around the world. In 1923 and 1928 she was heard as a guest at the [[Teatro Colón]] in Buenos Aires. She made numerous appearance at the [[Royal Opera, London]] between 1924 and 1932, where her performances in such roles as Fricka, Ortrud, Brangäne and Herodias drew the highest critical acclaim. Her Carmen and Amneris were less successful, but her Octavian and Orlofsky were highly regarded. In the United States, she sang in Chicago (1928–1932) and at the [[Metropolitan Opera]]. She also gave performances at [[La Scala]], [[La Monnaie]], and highly successful tours in South and Central America.<ref name="oper"/>
From 1947, Olszewska taught at the [[University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna]] and in 1948 she became a lecturer at the Vienna State Opera. From 1951 to 1955, she again appeared at the [[Vienna Volksoper]], singing roles like Agricola in [[Johann Strauss II]]'s ''[[Eine Nacht in Venedig|A Night in Venice]]''. She retired from the stage in 1955, after which she devoted her time to teaching.<ref name="oper"/> She died in [[Klagenfurt]].
==Recordings== {{Unreferenced section|date=June 2020}} Olszewska is best known for her Octavian in the 1932 abridged recording of ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'', conducted by [[Robert Heger]], with [[Lotte Lehmann]] as the Marschalin, [[Elisabeth Schumann]] as Sophie, and [[Richard Mayr]] as Baron Ochs.
==References== {{reflist}}
==Sources== *[http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Olszewska-Maria.htm Bach Contatas.com]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Olszewska, Maria}} [[Category:1892 births]] [[Category:1969 deaths]] [[Category:German operatic contraltos]] [[Category:20th-century German women opera singers]] [[Category:Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna]] [[Category:People from Dillingen (district)]]