Czech soprano Maria Müller studied in Vienna with Erik Schmedes and made her debut as Elsa at Linz in 1919. Engagements followed at the Deutsches Theater in Prague and in Munich, and in 1925 she made her debut as Sieglinde at the Metropolitan. She remained there until the 1934-5 season, singing in a number of American premieres including Alfano’s Madonna imperia (1928), Pizzetti’s Fra Gherardo (1929), Svanda the Bagpiper (1931) and Simon Boccanegra (1932). She first sang in Berlin at the Stadtische Oper as Euryanthe in 1926 and later sang at the Staatsoper until 1943. After World War II she retired to live at Bayreuth, where she had sung regularly from 1930 to 1944 as Senta, Eva, Elisabeth, Elsa and Sieglinde. At Salzburg she appeared as Eurydice (1931), Reiza (1933) and Donna Elvira (1934). She made her Covent Garden debut as Eva in 1934 and sang Sieglinde in the 1937 Ring cycles. Her large repertory included the title roles in Die agyptische Helena, Jenufa and Gluck’s Iphigenie en Tauride, Djula in Gotovac’s Ero the Joker, Pamina, Tosca and Marguerite. Müller possessed a warm, vibrant voice and sang with a rare purity of tone. (Harold Rosenthal)
Discovered by Clemens Krauss, tenor Franz Völker studied singing at Frankfurt and in 1926 was engaged at the opera there, making his debut as Florestan. In 1931 he moved to Vienna, in 1935 to Berlin, and in 1945 to Munich, where he remained until 1952. He also sang at the festivals at Salzburg (from 1931) and Bayreuth (from 1933). He sang Florestan and Siegmund at Covent Garden in 1934. Admired also as Lohengrin, Don Carlos and Radames, he had in his prime the flexibility for lighter, more lyrical roles, such as Ferrando. He appeared with distinction as Max and the Emperor (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and, late in his career, Otello and Canio. (Peter Branscombe)