A Silver Age legend has died, aged 101
mainThe glamorous and indomitable Marta Eggerth breathed her last, in New York, on December 26.
Budapest born to a Jewish mother, Marta was on stage at 11 and in a Max Reinhadt Fledermaus at 17. Note perfect and good looking, she was the darling of the leading operetta composers Lehar, Stolz and Oscar Strass
A 1930s film star, she married the Polish tenor Jan Kiepura in 1936 and made the rest of her carer in the US. Kiepura died in 1966. They are survived by two sons.
Such a beautiful talented lady and it was my privilege to have met her a few years ago.
RIP lovely lady xx
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A gracious lady indeed, with a wonderfully relaxed sense of rhythm, ideal for all those waltz songs!
Farewll to the very last link with the silver age of Operetta. Below is a link to one of her last radio interviews. It was my privilege to know and work with her. A unique artist, and quite irreplacebale. http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/marta-eggerth-callas-operetta-dies-101/
A charming singer round table with Martha Eggerth, Anneliese Rothenberger, Inge Borkh and
Gwyneth Jones can be found on youtube under ‘Martha Eggerth very funny in 4 times a high C’,
all in German, from a TV talkshow, 1996.
Here’s my obit in the Washington Post, with quotes drawn from years of interviews, most recently in 2012. At that meeting, she greatly admired my then-six-month-old son, and said, “I would like to adopt a baby, but at 100, they won’t give me.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/marta-eggerth-operetta-star-of-stage-and-film-dies-at-101/2013/12/28/db3f42e0-6fe0-11e3-a523-fe73f0ff6b8d_story.html