INTERNET GRANDFATHER®

Marthe Eggerth

                                        I've been a fan of opera singers for 60 years. My mother, who never heard or saw an opera, for some reason gave me a set of Enrico Caruso recordings and I've been a fan ever since. I've been attending opera performances for almost 50 years and I've collected recordings of hundreds of singers. The tenor Jan Kiepura is a favorite of mine and since the advent of internet videos I watch and listen to him almost every day. But until I heard a radio broadcast late last year I knew nothing of his widow, Marthe Eggerth. Since I heard the radio broadcast, I've listened to everything I could find and watched as many of her movies as I can. I can't get enough of this remarkable lady. The radio broadcast I heard included excerpts from a concert she gave in honor of her 95th birthday. She also gave a concert in honor of her 96th birthday and, if she gives another one for her 97th, I'm going to try to attend in person.

                                                  She was born in Hungary in 1912 and became a popular singing star in Europe in the late 1920s and 1930s. She married Jan Kiepura in 1934 and remained married until his untimely death in 1966. She alone and with her husband appeared in numerous movies in Europe. Her voice fit operetta (lighter opera) and she became popular on stage as well. Forced to flee Europe because both she and her husband were of Jewish extraction, she made a new career in America. She enjoyed success on stage. She made at least two movies for MGM but times change, operetta was not as popular and her film career slowed down. She raised two children and apparently is enjoying a comfortable old age in New York.

                                                I enjoy any story involving people who refuse to stop working, who refuse to allow age to slow them down, who refuse to succumb  to comforts in preference to effort. I enjoy the story of Marthe Eggerth, who at an age considered by most to be great age, maintains her efforts to entertain, to use her great talent to entertain. I enjoy the undeniable fact that at that age she is still able to sing, skillfully and with good tone. Admittedly, it's not the tone I hear in the sounds of the 1930s but good tone. Marthe Eggerth is an inspiration to me and, I hope, to everyone who knows about her. Listen to her singing, think about her life and, with me. recognize that while we may slow down, we don't have to stop at any age. Let's all keep going as long as we can and try our hardest to use whatever talents we have to help others.

9-15-08