Maria Reining (August 7, 1903 inVienna – March 11, 1991 inDeggendorf) was anAustriansoprano, honored with the titleKammersängerin.
At first, Reining worked in a Viennese bank, and she did not begin her singing career until the age of 28, at theVienna State Opera, mainly insoubrette roles. Two years later, she moved toDarmstadt, then to theMunich State Opera, where she made her debut as Elsa inLohengrin, underHans Knappertsbusch. In 1937, she followed Knappertsbusch to the Vienna State Opera, where she sang Elsa again.
Reining was a member of the Vienna State Opera ensemble between 1931 and 1933 and again between 1937 and 1957. Between 1937 and 1941, she sang at theSalzburg Festival with great success, conducted, among others, byArturo Toscanini.
Reining predominantly sang roles byMozart,Wagner andRichard Strauss. As a guest, she appeared at the leading European opera houses; among others, she sang at theRoyal Opera House in London and atLa Scala inMilan. Reining also appeared asAriadne and asthe Marschallin atNew York City Opera.
Reining died in 1991 in theLower Bavarian town ofDeggendorf, and was buried inDornbach [de] in Vienna.
There are a number of recordings of Reining: herArabella (Salzburg, 1947, underKarl Böhm),Daphne (Vienna, 1944, Böhm),Ariadne (Vienna, 1944, Böhm), Eva inDie Meistersinger (Vienna, 1937, Toscanini), the Marschallin inDer Rosenkavalier (Salzburg, 1949,George Szell; Salzburg, 1953,Clemens Krauss; Vienna, 1954 (studio),Erich Kleiber; Vienna, 1955, Knappertsbusch) are all on disc. Reining also recorded the last scene ofDie Walküre Act 1 as Sieglinde withMax Lorenz as Siegmund in Berlin in 1941 forDeutsche Schallplatten, conducted byArtur Rother: a fast-paced account full of energy and passion, and with impeccable diction from both singers. Reining recorded severalRichard Strauss songs with the composer at the piano in Vienna during 1942, including "Zueignung", "Traum durch die Dämmerung" and "Cäcilie".
Most of the information in this article is taken from theGerman Wikipedia article.
