Basilides, Mária

OPERA SINGER (HUNGARY)
BORN 11 Nov 1886, Ilosvár - DIED 26 Sep 1946, Budapest
GRAVE LOCATION Budapest: Kerepesi cemetery (24-1-72 (ashes))

The contralto Mária Basalides was the daughter of Gusztáv Basilides, the mayor of Murányalja. She studied at the Academy of Music in Budapest from 1905 to 1911. József Sík was her teacher. Shortly before she graduated she was engaged at the Folk Opera (now the Erkel Theatre) in Budapest. Her first role in the opera "Quo Vadis" by Nougučs. In 1912 she met the lawyer and music critic István Péterfi (1884-1962).They married and they had two children.

She received a scholarship from the Opera House in Budapest in 1915 and she debuted there as Carmen on 13 May 1916. In 1917 she became a regular member of the company of the Opera House. Apart from Budapest she performed in operas and concerts in Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Prague, Antwerp, London, Brussels and The Hague. On 24 April 1932 she sang in the premiere of Zoltán Kodály's opera "Székely fono". In 1934 she became a member for life of the Opera House. In 1937 she appeared at a Cathedral concert at the Salzburg Festival. Her last new role was the Countess in Tchaikovsky's opera "Pikk dáma" ("The Queen of Spades") in the season 1945-1946. She died in 1946 in Budapest.

Family
• Husband: Péterfi, István (1913-1946)

Images

The grave of Mária Basilides and István Péterfi at the Kerepesi cemetery, Budapest.
Picture by Androom (05 Aug 2018)

 

Sources
Basilides Mária - Wikipédia


Basquiat, Jean Michel

Published: 26 Feb 2024
Last update: 26 Feb 2024