Geszty (real name, Witkowsky), Sylvia
Geszty (real name, Witkowsky), Sylvia
Geszty (real name, Witkowsky), Sylvia, Hungarian soprano; b. Budapest, Feb. 28, 1934. She studied at the Budapest Cons. In 1959 she made her operatic debut at the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest; was a member of the Berlin State Opera (1961-70), the Berlin Komische Oper (1963-70), the Hamburg State Opera (1966-72; 1973), and the Württemberg State Theater in Stuttgart (from 1970). She sang the Queen of the Night at London’s Covent Garden in 1966, and repeated the role at the Salzburg Festival in 1967; at the Munich Opera Festival she also sang Zerbinetta, a favorite soubrette role, which she chose for her Glyndebourne Festival debut in 1971. She made her North American debut as Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier with the N.Y.C. Opera during its visit to Los Angeles on Nov. 19, 1973; she also appeared with the Berlin Städtische Oper, the Paris Opéra, La Scala in Milan, and the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, and in concerts and recitals.
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire