Marianne Brandt (contralto)

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Marianne Brandt, family name Marie Bischof (12 September 1842 – 9 July 1921) was a German operatic singer. She was born in Vienna and was educated at the Conservatory in that city. She first attracted attention as Recha in La Juive and soon afterward accepted an engagement in Graz. From 1868 to 1886 she was associated with the Royal Opera in Berlin. In 1886 she went to New York, where she sang for several seasons the principal contralto rôles at the Metropolitan Opera House under Seidl. Lilli Lehmann and Emil Fischer were performing in New York City, too. Gifted with a rich contralto voice of extraordinary compass and possessing exceptional histrionic gifts, Marianne Brandt was regarded, in her prime, as one of the greatest German contraltos of the century. As an admirable interpreter of Wagnerian rôles, she contributed largely to the success of the Bayreuth music festivals in 1876 and 1882. In 1890 she took up residence in Vienna as a vocal teacher.