Viorica Ursuleac

Viorica Ursuleac, born on March 26, 1894, in Czernowitz, Austria-Hungary, was a Romanian operatic soprano. She studied at the Vienna Music Academy and made her debut in 1918 as Charlotte in Werther by Jules Massenet in Zagreb. Ursuleac joined the Vienna Volksoper in 1922 and became a member of the Vienna State Opera in 1930. She gained international fame as an interpreter of Richard Strauss's works, performing roles such as Ariadne and Arabella. Ursuleac collaborated extensively with her husband, conductor Clemens Krauss, including in the premieres of several Strauss operas: Arabella (1933) and Capriccio (1942). She was named an Austrian Kammersängerin (chamber singer) in 1934 and a Prussian Kammersängerin in 1935. Ursuleac retired from performing in 1954 following Krauss's death and later taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She died on October 22, 1985, in Ehrwald, Tirol.