OperaDB

Selma Kurz

1874Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree.–1933Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree. · Austrian · sopranoKutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree.

Birthplace: Biała, Galicia, or Bielitz, Austrian Silesia, Austria-Hungary (now Bielsko-Biała, Poland)Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree.Kachel, J. (2018) Selma Kurz. Słowik z Bielska i Białej, part 2. (Accessed: 9 October 2026).

Selma Kurz was an Austrian sopranoShawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026). who studied with Johannes Ress in ViennaKutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon 1815-1950 (n.d.) Kurz, Selma; verehel. von Halban. (Accessed: August 2026). Names her birthplace as Bielitz, against Wikipedia's own hedge toward the Galician half of the twin town; used here since ÖBL and Grove agree.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026). and made her stage debut at Hamburg in 1895 as MignonShawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).. Gustav Mahler heard her in Frankfurt and engaged her for the Vienna Court OperaWikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026)., where she sang the same role in 1899Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026). and became the house's prima donna assoluta for three decadesWikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026).. Famous above all in the coloratura repertory, as Verdi's Gilda and OscarShawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026)., she was gifted with an unusually long and pure shake, which she displayed in an inserted cadenza to Oscar's 'Saper vorreste'Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.. In 1916 she became the first Zerbinetta in the revised Ariadne auf NaxosShawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026)., and dazzled Covent Garden audiences between 1904 and 1907 and again in 1924Shawe-Taylor, D. (1992) 'Kurz, Selma', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 2, p. 1064.Kutsch, K.J. and Riemens, L. (1987) 'Kurz, Selma', in Großes Sängerlexikon. Bern and Stuttgart: Francke, vol. 1, cols. 1602-1603.Wikipedia (2026) Selma Kurz. (Accessed: August 2026)..

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