Maria Jeritza

Maria Jeritza, born Marie Jedličková on October sixth, eighteen eighty-seven, in what is now Moravia, was an illustrious Austrian-born American soprano. Renowned for her powerful spinto soprano voice, she was celebrated as 'the golden girl of opera's golden age' by John Rockwell in The New York Times. Her career flourished from the 1910s to the 1930s, drawing mass adulation akin to that of contemporary rock and pop stars.

Jeritza's artistic journey began in 1904 as a chorus girl at the Brno City Theatre, leading to her first leading role at the opera house in Olmütz in 1906. She captivated audiences at various theaters, including Theater Dortmund and the Munich Art Theatre, before her remarkable performance at the opera house in Bad Ischl caught the attention of Franz Joseph I of Austria. This pivotal moment led to her contract with the Vienna State Opera in 1912, where she quickly earned the nickname 'The Moravian Thunderbolt'.

Her American debut at the Metropolitan Opera in 1921 marked a significant milestone, as she was compensated with a salary comparable to that of the legendary Enrico Caruso. Over her illustrious career, Jeritza performed more than sixty roles, with twenty at the Met, and is remembered for originating roles in notable operas such as Richard Strauss's Ariadne auf Naxos and Die Frau ohne Schatten, as well as Erich Wolfgang Korngold's Die tote Stadt. She was also the first to perform the title roles of Giacomo Puccini's Turandot and Leoš Janáček's Jenůfa in the United States.

Beyond her professional achievements, Jeritza's personal life was often in the spotlight, with her romantic relationships and feuds with fellow artists making headlines. She was married four times, including twice to Americans, and her third husband was the influential Fox Film Corporation mogul Winfield Sheehan. Later in life, she became a naturalized American citizen and resided in New Jersey, where she passed away at the age of ninety-four.