Eggerth, Mártha |
| OPERETTA SINGER, ACTOR (HUNGARY) |
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BORN 17 Apr 1912, Budapest - DIED 26 Dec 2013, Rye, New York GRAVE LOCATION Warszawa: Cmentarz Powazkowski, Ulica Powazkowska 14 (Aleja Zasluzonych - 1- 80/81) |
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Mártha Eggerth was the daughter of the Hungarian soprano Tilly Herzegh. Her father Paul Eggerth was a bank director. She debuted in the operetta "Mannequins" when she was only eleven years old. She performed compositions by Rossini, Meyerbeer and others. As a teenager she toured in Denmark, Sweden, and The Netherlands. Emmerich Kálmán (1882-1953) invited her to the Vienna State Opera as an understudy for Adele Kern (1901-1980) in the operetta "Das Veilchen vom Montmartre". After Kern became indisposed she took over the title role. In 1929 she appeared in Max Reinhardt's production of "Die Fledermaus" in Hamburg. In the 1930s she embarked on a film career. She appeared in more than 40 films in five different languages, often musical comedies. In 1934 she met the Polish tenor Jan Kiepura (1902-1966) on the set of "Mein Herz ruft immer nach dir". They married in 1936 and became a famous European love pair. Both were both of Jewish descent and in 1938 they moved to France and in 1939 to the USA. Kiepura toured the USA and Eggerth appeared at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway. During the early 1940s she appeared in the Hollywood movies "For Me and My Gal" (1942) and "Presenting Lily Mars"(1942). In Chicago they performed together in "La Bohčme" and in 1943 they joined the stage on Broadway in "The Merry Widow". Their two sons were born in 1944 and in 1950. According to a one Polish publication, she was arrested in July 1945 in Milan because she performed there under a false name and she was hiding the actor Carl Raddatz (1912-2004), who was accused of participating in the production of Nazi propaganda films. No further confirmation of this event is available. From 1947 she and Kiepura lived in Europe again. In 1956 they sang at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and they staged more productions of "The Merry Widow" in the USA. After Kiepura died in 1966 she halted her career for years. In the 1970s she gave concerts in Europe and frequently appeared on television. In 1982 she performed alongside Diana Rigg in the musical "Colette" in the USA. In 1999 she appeared on the stage of the Vienna State Opera and in 2000 she sang at a gala that celebrated the 200th anniversary of the Theater an der Wien. Her last performance was in 2011 at age 99. She died in Rye, New York and she was buried in the grave of Kiepura at the Powazkowski cemetery in Warsaw. |
| Images | ||
 Mártha Eggerth. (1931-1932) |
 Mártha Eggerth. (1937-1938) |
 The grave of Jan Kiepura and Mártha Eggerth at Cmentarz Powazkowski in Warsaw. Picture by Androom (12 Sep 2026) |
