Erzsébet Komlóssy

Erzsébet Komlóssy (9 July 1933 – 22 April 2014) was a Hungarian dramatic mezzo-soprano and contralto. She joined the National Theatre of Szeged and stayed there until 1958 before joining the Hungarian State Opera House as a private singer in 1958. Komlóssy performed almost all of the major alto and mezzo-soprano roles, approximately 60 roles until she left the company in 1974. She made her final stage appearance in 1986. Komlóssy was appointed the Hungarian State Opera House's singing master in 1988 and became its master artist in 2003. Komlóssy was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary.

Early life Komlóssy was born on 9 July 1933 in Salgótarján, Hungary. Her father was a military officer and her mother was a nurse, and she was brought up in Lučenec and Salgótarján due to her father's military career. The family was not involved in music but Komlóssy began singing from a young age. From age six, Komlóssy took piano lessons and learnt music at the Béla Bartók Secondary School of Music under the tutelage of the voice teacher .

Career Following the completion of her studies, in 1955, Komlóssy joined the National Theatre of Szeged and stayed there until 1958. Her debut stage appearance was as the Háziasszony (housewife) in Zoltán Kodály's opera Székely fonó. Komlóssy joined the Hungarian State Opera House as a private singer on 1 March 1958 and remained there until 1974, having already appeared with the company in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in 1956 at age 23. and the in 1967. She earned the Kossuth Prize in 1975, the in 1982, and the Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary in 1994. A season ticket for the Zenthe Ferenc Theatre, Salgótarján was named for her.