Erzsébet Házy (1 October 1929 – 24 November 1982) was a Hungarian operatic soprano. She fascinated the critics (see 'Critics' below) and audience not only with her voice but also with perfect acting and her beauty. She was particularly admired for her portrayal of the title heroine in Giacomo Puccini’s Manon Lescaut.
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Born in Bratislava, Slovakia to Hungarian parents, Házy grew up in her parent's native country and was a Hungarian citizen. She studied singing at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music with Géza László. She began her career as a member of the Hungarian Radio Choir before making her professional opera debut in 1951 as Oscar in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera at the Hungarian State Opera House. She remained committed to that house for many years where she excelled in soubrette and coloratura soprano roles. She notably appeared in several world premieres at that house, including Sándor Szokolay's Hamlet (1968), Szokolay's Samson (1973), and György Ránki's Az ember tragédiája (1970, "The Tragedy of Man").[1]
Házy also worked regularly as a performer in operettas at the Vienna Volksoper for many years. As a guest artist she made appearances at the Prague State Opera, Sofia National Opera, the Romanian National Opera, the Great Theatre, Warsaw, the Glyndebourne Festival, the Finnish National Opera, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Oper Köln, the Komische Oper Berlin, the Sydney Opera House, and the Internationale Maifestspiele Wiesbaden.[1]
Házy was awarded the Franz Liszt Prize in 1963, was appointed a Meritorious Artist in 1968, and in 1970 she received the Kossuth Prize by the People's Republic of Hungary. She died in Budapest, Hungary at the age of 53.[1]
"When she stepped on the podium, she enthused the atmosphere with her soul. She was the type of artist who carried a unique aura. This was the main secret of her success at home and abroad. She had that almost indefinable ability by which a great actress or a singer-personality does not live her part, rather she becomes the personification of it." (Musicologist Peter Varnai)
German CDs:
Der Zigeunerbaron, Label: RCA Red S. (Sony Music)
Gräfin Mariza, Philips
Other CDs:
Erzsébet Házy: Soprano Arias; Hungaroton HCD31996
Puccini: Manon Lescaut (Sung in Hungarian); HCD12648-49
Abraham, P.: Operettas; HCD16886
Kálmán: A csárdás királynő (Die Csárdásfürstin) (excerpts) HCD 16780
Kálmán, Lehár: Operettrészletek (Operetta Excerpts) HCD 16847
Lehár: Arany és ezüst - Gold and Silver (The Land of Smiles, Giuditta) (excerpts) HCD 16809
Kálmán: Cirkuszhercegnő/Cigányprímás (Die Zirkusprinzessin/Der Zigeunerprimas (excerpts) HCD 16876
Lehár: Luxemburg grófja / Der Graf von Luxemburg (excerpts)Cigányszerelem / Der Zigeunerliebe (excerpts) HCD 16877
Zeller, C.: Vogelhandler (Der) / Millöcker, K.: Gräfin Dubarry; HCD16583
Szokolay: Vernász (Blood Wedding); HCD11262-63
Simándy, József - Operetta excerpts HCD 16880
Ilosfalvy, Róbert: Tenor Opera Arias; HCD31762
Bizet: Carmen (excerpts) (Sung in Hungarian); HCD32026
Fifty Years of Hungaroton Singers (1951–2001) HCD 32096-98
German operetta films with Erzsébet Házy:
Der Zigeunerbaron (1965, Szaffi) with Rudolf Schock, Eberhard Wächter; (in the archive of WDR)
Gräfin Mariza (1973, Mariza) with René Kollo; (Unitel, in the archive of ZDF)
Budapester Nächte (1973), Musikalische Impressionen einer Stadt; (ZDF’s archive)