Astrid Varnay

One of the most respected Wagnerian sopranos of the mid-twentieth century, Astrid Varnay was born in Stockholm, Sweden, the child of two celebrated Hungarian singers. After spending her infancy in Norway where her father had been engaged as a stage director in Kristiania, she moved with her parents to Buenos Aires and the Teatro Colón; finally, the family traveled on to the United States. After her father died tragically shortly before his 35th birthday, Varnay's mother turned to teaching in order to make ends meet, and Violet (as she was known then) eventually became her most...