Born 1901, Vienna, Austria
Died 1994, Toronto, Canada
Irene Jessner made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1936 as Ortlinde in Wagner’s Die Walküre. Already established in the theater at that time were Lucrezia Bori, Zinka Milanov, Rosa Ponselle, Elizabeth Rethberg, Maria Jeritza, and Grace Moore. By 1940, Licia Albanese, Eleanor Steber, Bidu Sayão, and Jarmila Novotna had joined that legendary soprano roster, which cast a very large shadow indeed!
Despite the formidable competition, Jessner succeeded in making a respectable career for herself. If she were singing today, she might be among the top sopranos in the world. As an introduction to Jessner’s voice, listen to her 1940 recording of Korngold’s “Glück das mir verblieb” from Die Tote Stadt.
Irene Jessner was born in Vienna. In 1930, she made her operatic debut as Elsa in Wagner’s Lohengrin in Teplice. In 1936, she was invited to join the Metropolitan Opera by Edward Johnson, then General Manager, and she remained there until 1952, singing 261 performances of mostly Wagnerian operas.
Jessner also performed Italian roles. Here she is singing “La mamma morta” from Giordano’s Andrea Chenier:
In 1952, Jessner joined the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto, where she had a long and exceptional career as a voice teacher until her death in 1994. One of her most famous students was Teresa Stratas.
Jessner made a few recordings for RCA Victor and Columbia, one of which is Lisa’s aria from Tchaikovsky’s Pikovaya Dama (Queen of Spades), sung in Italian.